However, Neal-Bullen has told the club he would like to return home to South Australia for family reasons.
Saturday’s was one of several meetings that Petracca has had with teammates and leaders, but they have done little to sway his view that he wants to play for a rival Melbourne powerhouse club in 2025.
The 28-year-old reiterated his position in his exit review meeting on Monday, although he has not formally requested a trade.
Petracca was in immediate pain after the collision in the King’s Birthday clash.Credit: AFL Photos
He has told coach Simon Goodwin and other senior figures that he is frustrated with continuously playing in front of small crowds.
In two of Melbourne’s last three home games, the crowds have been 16,246 (against Greater Western Sydney) and 17,867 (against Port Adelaide).
He has also told them that representing a larger club could increase his brand and marketability. Petracca’s representatives have denied that personal brand issues are having any impact on his decision-making.
Petracca was seriously injured when an accidental knee from Collingwood captain Darcy Moore on King’s Birthday left him with broken ribs, a punctured lung and a lacerated spleen.
The injuries left him fighting for his life, and he has since shared details of the harrowing surgery from which he recovered in the intensive care unit.
“It’s been really, really tough. Probably the most traumatic thing I’ve experienced in my life,” Petracca told The Howie Games podcast released this week.
“The trauma of everything … it’s actually not necessarily the incident of it, it’s the aftermath of it…
“Bella [Petracca’s partner] came to the ICU the next day and basically said that at three in the morning … we got the number off the surgeon because he called to say you might not make it, basically. He’s in critical condition.”
Petracca has said it was his decision to return to the field after he was hurt, and backed his care from the Melbourne doctors. However, according to several teammates, he believes he was not contacted enough in the fortnight following the collision.
Collingwood ruckman Mason Cox, who suffered a similar – albeit nowhere near as serious – spleen injury in the previous season, reached out to offer the name of the specialist he saw during his rehabilitation.
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Moore, who is a friend of Petracca’s, also checked in on him.
Goodwin, CEO Gary Pert and football boss Alan Richardson have vehemently defended the club’s culture, privately and publicly.
But Petracca has expressed frustration over previous off-field issues including the club’s handling of Clayton Oliver and the controversy surrounding teammate Joel Smith, who is facing a two-year ban and remains provisionally suspended for testing positive to cocaine after the club’s round 23 match last year against Hawthorn.
However, there are frustrations with Petracca, too.
Several players were disappointed at the level of Petracca’s social media activity while on holiday in Noosa, when the Demons were fighting to stay in finals contention.
Harry McKay is contracted until 2030.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Carlton remain an interested party in the evolving Petracca situation.
Any potential trade involving a contracted Blues player will be put on hold as the team prepares for an elimination final against the Brisbane Lions next Saturday, according to two club sources not prepared to publicly discuss the issue.
But the club has internally raised the significance of Petracca’s availability and is willing to act aggressively to pursue a deal.
Petracca and his management declined to comment.
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