Cornes questions Petracca’s decision to miss best and fairest for overseas training camp

Kane Cornes cannot understand Christian Petracca’s decision to miss Melbourne’s best and fairest count on October 4.

Petracca has been in the spotlight this off-season after the treatment of his serious and season-ending injuries suffered against Collingwood on King’s Birthday was among multiple reasons that led him to reportedly push for a trade to a rival Victorian club.

After those trade chances faded given he has five years remaining on his deal, Petracca publicly stated his commitment to the Demons, but Cornes thinks this latest decision to miss the club’s best and fairest doesn’t necessarily back that up.

Instead of attending the count, the Herald Sun revealed that the superstar will attend a training camp with his sponsor Red Bull in Austria as he works to return from his injury.

While the report says Petracca goes to Austria with the club’s blessing, Cornes thinks that the 28-year-old had to attend the night to not only celebrate the season but also prove his commitment to his teammates and club supporters for season 2025 and beyond.

“I can't for the life of me work out why Christian Petracca wouldn't attend Melbourne's best and fairest,” Cornes told SEN Sportsday.

“Petracca is going overseas for a Red Bull training camp to focus on clearly his rehab from the serious injury and get himself right for 2025.

“He has Melbourne's blessing, I get all of this, but best and fairest to me about two things, recognising the great individual performances of the year at your footy club and it is about setting the tone of the attitude of the club for the following year.

“We saw Damien Hardwick's speech already at Gold Coast, his message was all about, ‘How are you going to come back on day one of pre-season? Everything you need is in this room. We're going to support you as much as we can. Your limitations are limitless’.

“This has to be a night that Christian Petracca attends. Angus Brayshaw is going to speak for the first time since he's retired, I think he should be there for that.

“And he just should be there with everything that he's gone through and with everything he's put the club through with all his angst towards the footy club.

“He needs to be there on that night to say, ‘Ok, I'm in. I’m in because this is about setting the tone for next year’, not off on a paid partnership with Red Bull.”

While Cornes understands Petracca’s reasons to head to Austria in the off-season, he thinks that the camp could have come at another time given the amount of time off AFL players have.

“Clearly the overseas training camp can wait,” Cornes said.

“These players get so much time off.

“If anyone needed to be at this best and fairest, it had to be Petracca, Clayton Oliver two, and then the rest are there.

“I can't for the life of me work out why Melbourne has allowed him to do this and why he wouldn't be there on a significant night with everything that's gone on with his future.”