Melbourne defender Jake Lever says a team meeting with Christian Petracca, amid speculation over his future, was an “eye-opener” into the mental toil a horror spleen injury had taken on the gun midfielder.
Premiership teammate Lever believed the meeting had taken a weight off Petracca’s shoulders, and he insists reports the Norm Smith Medallist was disgruntled and wanted out of the club came as a shock to him.
Petracca suffered a lacerated spleen, punctured lung and four broken ribs when crunched by an accidental knee from Collingwood captain Darcy Moore during the King’s Birthday match in June.
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Recently he spent time away from the club, including a stint in Noosa.
On Monday, Petracca addressed teammates for the first time since reports emerged he was considering his future, despite being contracted until 2029.
“The thing with ‘Trac’ is we probably just haven’t understood what he’s gone through since his injury. He spent a long time away from the football club,” Lever told SEN.
“For senior players like myself it was more a real eye-opener of what he’s been going through and then a greater understanding.
“I know he wasn’t in (at the club) a hell of a lot over the last 10 to 12 weeks.
“But since he’s spoken to the group about what he’s gone through .. it was almost like a weight had lifted off his shoulders and he’s back involved and (has) his smiling face at the football club again.
“That’s the Christian Petracca that I’ve missed over the last 10 to 12 weeks.
“I fully understood once he explained to me that he needed time away from the footy club and needed time with his fiancee Bella to really get away and football wasn’t the priority at that time – which is completely understandable.
“He said to us he couldn’t speak to us five or six weeks ago. He wasn’t ready to talk about it. He hadn’t come to terms with it himself, let alone trying to speak in front of 44 guys that you see every day.”
Lever dismissed the suggestion teammates had been angry about Petracca spending time away from the club, and was adamant he hadn’t believed reports the gun midfielder was disgruntled and wanted out.
“My first reaction was, ‘I don’t think that’s true at all’,” Lever said.
“Christian Petracca, I’ve known since he was 17 years old and for the past seven years we’ve been driving the club forward together and been really passionate about making Melbourne a great team again.
“A couple of years ago he signed a seven-year deal.
“For me, I’ve seen a person that comes into the club every single day and tries to drive the club forward.
“So for someone that I’ve seen every day do that and then the story comes out, it was a big shock to me.”