Earlier this month AFL.com.au watched Petrie go through his weekly training regime, and in a recent practice game against the Hawks in Craigieburn, our cameras closely followed the North forward.
The video captures Petrie playing kick-to-kick with his son Jack at home, his chance encounter with teammate Nathan Grima while driving to Craigieburn's Highgate Reserve, and behind-the-scenes footage in the Roos' rooms.
Click here see our photos of Drew Petrie's week
Petrie told AFL.com.au his wife, Nicole, let him sleep in until 8am on match days, but said since becoming a dad to Jack, two, and Abby, nearly one, he was not as self-centred before and after games.
"I probably (used to) spend a bit more time in bed in the mornings, and (would) float through and kind of do my own thing, go for a bit of a longer bike ride, read the paper," Petrie said.
"Now it's not about me anymore, it's about them. It does put it back into perspective. You just evolve, get used to the new way of things are with two little kids."
After North's 81-point loss to the Hawks, Petrie said he expected his kids would help take his mind off football that night.
"Often when you used to come home after a loss, or a bad one like today, you'd sit on the coach and be grumpy all night," Petrie said.
"So the kids I'm sure they'll run up and give me a cuddle and my little daughter will run around and terrorise me.
"She'll want to sit on my lap for the next couple of hours until she goes to bed, so it quickly shifts your focus from yourself back to your family."
Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick
