Petrenko rated Adelaide's incredible come-from-behind victory as the best win of his career and said booting the match-winning goal was his finest moment in the AFL.
The 23-year-old was called into the side from the SANFL at the weekend and, as the only indigenous player lining up for the Crows, he said he couldn't believe he was the one to win the game.
But he admitted it could have so easily gone horribly wrong when he decided against grabbing the ball as it bounced towards goal and instead threw a foot at it in mid-air.
"I was just praying that the siren didn't go," Petrenko said.
"I thought 'This would be heart-breaking if we don't get this'… I didn't really think I had enough time to pick it up.
"It could have come off either side of my boot. I wasn't even in line with the middle of the goal when I kicked it.
"We've seen them come off the side of the boot before, but thankfully mine didn't … it was just luck.
"I couldn't stop shaking for about an hour after the game."
The self-effacing Petrenko is uncomfortable at being seen as playing the hero, instead pointing out the efforts of teammates Josh Jenkins and Sam Kerridge.
He said just happened to be "in the right place at the right time".
And while a scoreboard malfunction meant several of Petrenko's teammates didn't know his goal had put them in front, the man himself was fully aware.
"I knew because I was looking at the scoreboard the whole last quarter," he said.
"I knew we were two goals down when we kicked the goal before, hence why I went nuts."
Petrenko said Sunday's match had been talked up as a season-making encounter within the club.
The victory lifted the Crows to sixth on the ladder, well within striking distance of a top four spot after a lacklustre start to the 2013 season.
The forward said it also highlighted the internal belief within the group ever since coach Brenton Sanderson arrived at West Lakes in late 2011.
Petrenko said initially he couldn't understand Sanderson heaping praise on the Crows before the 2012 season, but said his belief in the players had rubbed off.
"He … was talking us up before we'd even played a game and a lot of us sort of thought, 'We won seven games last year – don't know what he's talking about'.
"He's been a huge part of our success in terms of the belief he's brought.
"We're starting to believe what he's seen in us.
"No matter what position in a game we get, we always think we're going to win now."
Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
