Petracca wants out. Star Demon seeks a ‘fresh start’

1 week ago 7

Christian Petracca has told Melbourne he wants to play elsewhere next year.

Demons chief executive Paul Guerra confirmed Petracca’s request in a letter to club members on Tuesday, saying the 2021 Norm Smith medallist expressed his wish for a fresh start in a meeting late last week. The 29-year-old premiership star was disgruntled last year but elected not to request a trade.

Christian Petracca is chaired off after a victory in his 200th AFL game earlier this year.

Petracca, a four-time All-Australian and dual Melbourne club champion, is contracted until the end of 2029, so the Demons will expect a strong return in any trade.

He was in Adelaide on Monday to meet with the Crows – who have money to splash after missing out on St Kilda’s $2 million man Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera – while Gold Coast are also interested and arguably in a better position to broker a deal.

“As a footy club, we couldn’t be more excited and confident in where our AFL program is headed,” Guerra wrote in his letter to members.

“We know our future success will be built on people and players who are fully committed to where we are heading. We met with Christian late last week, where he expressed his desire to explore a fresh start in 2026.

“Christian is contracted for a further four years and is a once-in-a-generation player. With this in mind, any decision regarding Christian’s future will be made in the best interest of the Melbourne Football Club.”

Melbourne list boss Tim Lamb echoed Guerra’s sentiments about Petracca, who he called a “great of our club”.

Petracca is estimated to earn north of $1.2 million annually for the remainder of his deal. A major part of negotiations will be whether his new club takes on all that money, or if the Demons agree to continue paying some of it for a greater draft pick and/or player return.

Adelaide hold the No.14 selection in this year’s draft, which will be pushed back further by free agency compensation, and father-son and academy bids.

The Suns are poised to match bids on two academy prospects within the first six selections – Errol Gulden-clone Zeke Uwland, and dasher Dylan Patterson – but are flush with talent, including midfielder Sam Flanders, who Melbourne are interested in.

Gold Coast’s Bailey Humphrey emerged as a name of interest in the past fortnight, but his club and management have so far been adamant that he is not available for trade.

This masthead revealed in March that Petracca had split with Connors Sports to be represented by Scullie, who had already been involved in some of his marketing deals and is the wife of former Crow and Blue Eddie Betts.

The Demons are set to be one of the most active clubs in the free agency and trade period, including asking another premiership player, defender Steven May, to explore his opportunities elsewhere. Young defender Judd McVee has also requested a trade to Fremantle.

Premiership forward Charlie Spargo will also depart in free agency to play for North Melbourne, where his father Paul played 81 of his 90 career games.

Lamb said there was still a “strong chance” that May, who is contracted for next season but has interest from Collingwood, was still at the club in 2026. Lamb was pleased for Spargo to secure his future at the Kangaroos after two injury-marred seasons, but was disappointed with McVee’s decision.

“We’ve been trying to re-contract Judd since the middle of last year, and put a number of different options to him,” Lamb said.

“Judd was a rookie selection, a great pick by Jason [Taylor, Melbourne’s recruiting manager] and the team, who’s developed into a really critical part of our team. He is definitely a part of our best 23 and a big part of our plans going forward.

“Unfortunately, he’s out of contract and looks like he wants to head back to WA, so we now work as hard as we can to get the best result we can for the club.”

The Demons have also targeted Collingwood’s unrestricted free agent forward Brody Mihocek and emerging St Kilda ruckman Max Heath. Lamb confirmed that recruiting an experienced key forward and developing big man were priorities this off-season.

However, they missed out on Suns small forward Malcolm Rosas jnr, who nominated Sydney as the club he wants to play for next year, and Saints midfielder Marcus Windhager, who re-signed on a four-year deal.