IS HE a nerd, like his teammates contend, or a genius ahead of his time?

Shy, indecisive and nerd are not words normally associated with Drew Petrie.

At 197cm and 102kg, Petrie has a presence even as he ambles through his pre-match warm-up. And once the ball is bounced, the North Melbourne vice-captain becomes imposing, charging at the ball, splitting packs and taking contested marks.

At his best, the 28-year-old can monster opposition defenders. Just look at the way he used Brisbane Lions defender Matt Maguire as a stepladder to pluck his speccy in the first quarter of last Saturday night's game at the Gabba.

But on the other side of the circular white line, Petrie's personality is almost diametrically opposed to his on-field persona. It's a side into which Petrie's father, Trevor, Roos skipper Brent Harvey and former captain Adam Simpson gave the AFL Record an insight.

The Petrie most of us don't see is shy, Trevor Petrie says.

He says as a five-year-old starting prep at Ballarat Grammar School, Petrie had been so shy he had gone hungry rather than telling his teachers he couldn't figure out how to remove the plastic wrapping from the sandwiches his mother, Sue, had packed in his lunchbox.

This went on for about two weeks before Sue worked out why Petrie was so hungry when he got home from school each day.

In fairness to Petrie, Trevor says those sandwiches would not have been easy to unwrap: "My wife's a fastidious person, so she would have wrapped and rewrapped them in a hygienically sealed way."

But Trevor says Petrie's shyness persists to this day.

"Sure, he can now represent the club on the radio or talk in front of a camera and do it quite well," Trevor says.

"But a lot of the time he'd still much rather hide behind a fence post than talk to anyone."

Then there's Petrie's indecision. Harvey and Simpson say it's an intrinsic part of his make-up, so much so it has become an in-house joke at Aegis Park.

"You'll be sitting there in a leadership meeting and you’ll say 'What do you think, 'Drewy'? Do you agree or disagree?'" Harvey says.

"And he'll go, 'No, I agree, but I sort of know where he's coming from as well. But I know what you're saying'.
 
"So the funny thing is he'll never give you a straight answer. You leave thinking, 'What did Drewy end up telling me?'
 
Simpson agrees, saying Petrie's "the biggest fence-sitter you'll ever see".

As for Petrie being a nerd, Simpson and Harvey are again in agreement, although Simpson - light-heartedly - applies the label more colourfully.

"Drew's probably the nerdiest footballer in the AFL," Simpson says, his tongue firmly in his cheek.

"He's too straight. He's one of those honest, straight-shooting guys you'd like to do your tax. He's got the characteristics of an accountant."

Dig a little deeper, though, and Simpson's sledge is a compliment in disguise.
Once you translate his footy-club banter, you realise he's simply saying Petrie's the most diligent footballer he's met.

One who has been a trailblazer for the professionalism that now defines clubs' approaches to recovery and preparation.

Before ice baths were a normal part of players' weekly routine, Petrie was volunteering for them, Simpson says.

When he was slightly injured, he'd drive into the city each day to have physio, the 50-minute round-trip not deterring him in the slightest.

Seeking an edge in his pre-game preparation, for a time he went down to the beach and walked in the shallows the morning of a game.

"He was doing things from a professional point of view that other North players, including myself, thought were a bit over the top," Simpson says.

"Close enough wasn't good enough for him. He'd make sure he meticulously covered everything with his preparation.

"He was at the forefront of professionalism as an AFL footballer. Once (coach) Brad (Scott) got to the club, he lifted the standards of the whole group probably up to where Drew was."

Petrie has not slackened off in his approach since Simpson's departure from North at the end of the 2009 season, Harvey reveals.

He says Petrie maps out his week in a diary, listing his training, physio, massage and other football commitments.

Harvey also pokes fun at such nerdy tendencies, but acknowledges they're really more a reflection of Petrie's dependability, as a teammate and as a friend.

When the AFL Record caught up with Petrie in the boardroom at Aegis Park last week, he had just ticked off a couple of his weekly recovery commitments, having completed physio and massage sessions.

However, although he may be single-mindedly focused and driven, he soon showed he's not above laughing at his own expense.  

Told Simpson and Harvey had branded him an indecisive nerd, he broke into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"As soon as you said you'd spoken with them, especially 'Simmo', I thought, 'All right they’re going to come up with something'," he says.

"I probably am a nerd; I'm pretty straight.

"Simmo's probably exaggerated the accountant bit, but I think he's on the right track."

Petrie also acknowledges he can be indecisive, but says it's a trait his teammates overplay.

"I think what the boys get confused with is that I'm neither here nor there when it comes to making a decision," he says.

"If they ask, 'Do you want to go to this café or that café for lunch?' I don't care, let's just go to one of them.

"I just go with the flow."

Asked about his uncompromising approach to his training and preparation, Petrie gives an insight into what has made him such a strong leader at the Kangaroos in recent seasons.

"There are days when you come off the track and nearly everyone else has gone and you think, 'I could easily go home here and not have an ice bath'," he says.

"But you jump in and do it because you know it's going to help your body and prolong your career.

"I think the players who last more than five or six years in the AFL are the ones who have done all the right things."

But even when you're doing everything right, things can still go wrong.

Petrie discovered that the hard way last season. After avoiding major injury in his first nine AFL seasons, Petrie broke the fifth metatarsal - the long bone on the outside of the foot that connects to the little toe - in his left foot in an innocuous training incident on the eve of last season.

It kept him out of North's first nine games, but that was just the start of Petrie's troubles.

On his return, against Fremantle in round 10, he broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. He missed just four games with that injury, but broke the same bone again in his first game back, against the Sydney Swans in round 15.

Although Petrie was never concerned his foot problems would be career-threatening, 2010 was still an incredibly frustrating season for him.

"So much of the time I just felt like a waste of space around the club," he says.

"Everybody was up and about and happy playing, and you stand in a corner and just feel as though you're getting in the way."

Missing games through injuries you can't control is one thing, but missing them when your feet have healed and you're in peak fitness after a solid pre-season is another matter entirely.

Petrie found himself in that predicament when he had to sit out North's round-one game against West Coast through suspension. It was his penance for bumping Geelong's Darren Milburn in round one of the NAB Cup.

"It was really frustrating," Petrie says.

"Missing 20 games last year with injury I can accept, but when I'm fit and not able to play it does not sit well with me."

The Milburn misdemeanour is now well and truly behind Petrie. Although he initially took some time to readjust to the tempo of the AFL, he officially announced he was back with a six-goal haul against Richmond in round five.

He dominated all over the ground. Up forward, he toyed with Richmond's young key defenders, marking almost everything that came his way, sharking goals at ground level and, in the second quarter, kicking a remarkable fall-away banana goal after a marking contest on the goal-line.

Then when the game started to turn Richmond's way, Petrie worked further up the ground to give his under-the-pump defence a long target to kick to.

Petrie was also outstanding last Saturday night against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba. In rainy and greasy conditions not suited to big men, he battled tirelessly, tacking seven marks and kicking 2.4.

As most of his teammates faded in the final quarter as the Lions stormed to victory, Petrie was still running himself into the ground, racking up eight of his 20 possessions in that term.

Ironically, Petrie says his injury-decimated 2010 helped rejuvenate him this year. 

"Missing a whole season of footy probably made me realise I've only got three or four years left in the game, so this year I've just tried to let it all hang out," he says.

Petrie is also enjoying his permanent return to North's forward line this season. 

It was as a key forward that he highlighted his immense potential in his third season (2003) when he kicked 28 goals and finished sixth in North's best and fairest.

However, inconsistent form in 2004 and 2005 meant then North coach Dean Laidley started to rotate him between the forward line and the ruck.

It looked like Petrie may have reinvented himself as a centre half-back when he strung together an impressive second half of 2006 in defence.

However, his remarkable versatility meant he subsequently became North's 'Mr Fixit', with Laidley sending him to plug holes all over the ground.

"Under Dean I played ruck, forward, back and lined up on the wing a few times as well," Petrie says.

"I did enjoy that variety for a while but it was probably never going to work long term playing all over the place.

"I've certainly enjoyed being able to play just the one position this season. It's also more fun kicking goals than trying to stop them."

Just as importantly, Petrie's had no recurring problems with either of his feet. Surprise, surprise, he's taking every possible pre-caution to ensure this continues.

In one sense this hasn't been easy for him. Overuse was identified as one of the causes of Petrie's broken feet last season, so he has had to swallow his pride and accept he can no longer do every minute of every training session.

He had also had to spend any extra fitness sessions swimming or riding a stationary bike rather than running.

However, in keeping with his character, Petrie has found another way to go the extra mile.

Although Jerry Seinfeld might wear runners with jeans as a misguided fashion statement, Petrie has started following the American comedian's fashion 'trend' in the interests of his feet. Thongs and flat-soled shoes do not offer his feet as much support as runners, so nowadays Petrie nearly always leaves them in his closet.

Although Petrie's return has been a huge positive for North, it has otherwise been a tough start to 2011.

Although no one could question the young Kangaroos' endeavour, they have too often let themselves down with lapses in skill and defensive pressure. After nine rounds, they sit 14th on the ladder with just two wins.

Nonetheless, Scott is confident he has the youthful talent at his disposal to mould a formidable team in coming seasons.

Harvey is equally confident Petrie will help set the example that ensures these youngsters develop the necessary work ethic to do justice to their ability.

"Drewy sets a really good standard for people to follow," Harvey says. "He's not big on words, he leads more by example.

"But he's always doing a little bit extra and others at the club see that and know it's what they should be aiming to match.

"If everyone can do that, we'll be well and truly on the right track."