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PART 3

Friday, July 11, 2014 – THINGS change when you win the Larke Medal as the best player in division one of the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships. You join an impressive list of players, including Lachie Whitfield (now at Greater Western Sydney), Marc Murphy (Carlton), Harley Bennell (Gold Coast) and Tom Hawkins (Geelong).

People tell you they played against you growing up. The lady at the bank recognises your face from the local paper when you are depositing money. Returning to TAC Cup-level feels a little strange. Expectations grow. This was the case for Christian Petracca, who put together a dominant six weeks for Vic Metro during the national carnival and was the standout player in the country.

And importantly for his progression as a player, it was as a midfielder. He powered through, past and into anyone who got in his way, averaging 24 disposals in five games to claim the medal.


But now, a week after it was draped around his neck following the final game of the carnival, he's back with the Ranges, and has felt a quiet shift.

"We had a session on Tuesday night, but I was still stuffed from the champs. I wanted to be out there showing why I was the Larke medallist, and I couldn't," Petracca says.

"This back-end of the season is obviously about getting Eastern into the finals, but also proving why I was the medallist. I don't want to have a slump.

"My teammates at Eastern have been awesome. But the biggest thing now is they actually listen to me. Before, they paid attention, but being that guy who jokes around a bit more, they might have thought I was joking or might not have believed it," he says.

"But now they know my head's into gear, I'm focused, and what I'm saying is good advice."

Teammates need only have watched some of the championships to notice how damaging Petracca could be. But the carnival hadn't started the way Petracca hoped.

This year the AFL changed the championships format, with six home-and-away rounds played over eight weeks. Every team had to field 32 players in at least two games, which meant most would get a game off at some stage, including the best players.

"They were asking: 'Why aren't you playing?' I said, 'I don't know'."

Petracca entered the period in peak form – having enjoyed two strong games for the Ranges. At the final training session before Metro's first game, coach David Flood told him he would be playing about 60 per cent through the midfield, 30 per cent in the forward line and 10 per cent across half-back during the championships.

And another thing: he told Petracca he wouldn't be playing the first game against Vic Country. They were in the Visy Park rooms when Flood grabbed Petracca and teammates Ed Vickers-Willis and Connor Menadue to inform them they weren't going to play, but were guaranteed inclusions for the second game against Western Australia.

The coach told them not to think they were being dropped. But Petracca found it hard to see it any other way. He walked into the toilets, closed the door and started crying.

He came out, got dressed and headed to the ground's function room, where the Vic Metro leadership group was announced.

"Everyone was congratulating me on being picked as a leader, but they were also asking, 'Why aren't you playing?' and I said 'I don't know'. They saw I was a bit upset and my eyes were a bit red," he says.

The questions kept coming at the game a few days later as he walked past huddles of recruiters. "What they didn't think about is how he'd deal with it," one scout said. "Why should he have to explain his omission?"

After a running session on the ground before the game, Petracca watched as Metro lost by 15 points, wondering how he might have helped. "The game was there for someone to break open. I could've done that."

"Watch me turn it on in the fourth quarter"

But Petracca's time would come. He played against Western Australia at Medibank Oval in Perth, and started with the first goal. He had 15 cousins at the ground, all from mum Elvira's side, and was determined to do well.

At half-time he told midfield coach Brian Royal he felt he was running to the wrong areas. "Just keep at it," Royal said. "Trust me, keep working."

The carnival's not over: Petracca finally gets amongst it at the NAB AFL Under-18s. Picture: AFL Media

Petracca had 19 touches in the second half to finish with 27 for the game, as well as two goals in Metro's 85-point win. He took that form into game three at Simonds Stadium, when he captained the team. Metro lost again to Vic Country, but Petracca picked up 31 disposals.

The good games kept coming; he travelled to South Australia and had 26 touches. Then, back at Simonds Stadium against Western Australia, he finished his team's highest possession winner, with 24 and five tackles.

With every game he became more confident he was achieving what he set out to do: "I just didn't want anyone to pigeon-hole me as a forward."

WATCH: Christian Petracca's NAB AFL Under-18s highlights
By the last game, against South Australia, it was clear the Larke Medal was there to be won. So was the division one title. If Vic Metro won by more than two goals, it would claim the championship.

Petracca started slowly. "The beauty about footy is you can get into the game plenty of ways: be it a tackle, or a bump, or shepherd," he says.

In the third quarter he had a scuffle with an opponent, who said Petracca hadn't done anything all day. "It was true, and I said 'Watch me turn it on in the fourth quarter'," he recalls.

He had seven touches in that term, and two marks, almost willing his side over the line. South Australia took the trophy and Petracca was named Larke medallist, accepting the medal and giving a speech over the stadium's PA system.

Christian Petracca's 2014 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships

Games	Avg disposals	Marks*	Tackles*	Clearances*	Efficiency	Total goals
5	25	5	4	5	68 per cent	3
*average

Petracca's draft stocks built rapidly during the championships; many observers pegged him as a possible No.1 pick and most as a likely top-three selection. Comparisons flew: he was Dustin Martin, had a bit of Steve Johnson, a lot of Mark Ricciuto. Any doubts he could be a midfielder at the top level were gone.

Supporters who had barely seen him play started talking about him joining their club at November's draft, excited by what they had heard about this unique and robust prospect who can shape games like no other in the pool.

"I don't want to be the person who wins the Larke Medal and goes lower than expected."

"At the start of the year I thought I was going to go high in the draft, and then there was a bit of a slump. There was all the talk about talls, so I thought maybe I'd go 10-20 or maybe later," he says.

"It hasn't been until now that I think I could go No. 1, or in the top three. I want to go high. If you're the best player in the draft, you want to be picked high.

"I don't want to be the person who wins the Larke Medal and goes lower than expected. I want to be picked as high as possible.

"It would be unbelievable to go No. 1, from where I've come from, a basketball background. Imagine if I didn't take this path, where would I be? Would I be in college playing basketball in America? Where would I be?"

Where will he land? The championships went as well as he could have hoped, and he proved the type of player he can be. But he's no clearer on which club he'll end up at.

After the carnival, he hit AFL.com.au and had a go at the end-of-season ladder predictor to try to work out which clubs would have the first few picks and where he could fit in.

Wherever he ends up, he is setting himself to start well. "I don't want to get into the system behind the eight-ball. I want to be right, gung ho, straight away," he says.

"My aim right now is to help Eastern into the finals, but long-term, I want to play round one next year. I'll do everything it takes to get there."

Read part 2 – The Joker gets a clip and earns a comparison to a Hawk great
Part 1 – Why Petracca said yes to footy and no to an NBA dream

NEXT: Part 4 – 'There's no backing off. There's no hiding behind cameras'

Twitter: @AFL_CalTwomey