{"id":486048,"date":"2026-02-17T16:06:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/486048\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:06:25","slug":"gold-coast-suns-recruit-christian-petracca-slams-brand-petracca-critics-as-wallabies-great-reveals-retirement-struggles-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/486048\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold Coast Suns recruit Christian Petracca slams \u2018Brand Petracca\u2019 critics, as Wallabies great reveals retirement struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Christian Petracca cuts a relaxed figure on the Gold Coast, relishing life away from the Melbourne spotlight that shone harshly on him for two seasons.<\/p>\n

Sneers that \u201cBrand Petracca\u201d was behind his push to leave the Demons reached the Norm Smith Medal winner. He describes them as \u201claughable\u201d, but the Suns\u2019 marquee recruit admits those critics affected him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrand Petracca\u201d was coined in reference to the champion midfielder\u2019s off-field pursuits, including his OnTrac5 cooking channel, which boasts 554,000 Instagram followers, and his On Trac cookbook.<\/p>\n

When he sought a trade away from Melbourne \u2013 torn between Adelaide and the Gold Coast \u2013 pundits speculated that wherever best fitted \u201cBrand Petracca\u201d would be his destination.<\/p>\n

\"Christian<\/p>\n

Christian Petracca\u2019s popular cooking channel keeps him busy off the field.Credit: Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

But as he revelled in being \u201cthe healthiest I\u2019ve felt mentally for quite a while\u201d, Petracca condemned his naysayers and stressed that athletes pursuing other ventures needed to be encouraged, not torn to shreds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does frustrate me a little bit, this whole \u2018Brand Petracca\u2019. I think, if anything, we should be promoting and celebrating guys for having something away from football,\u201d Petracca said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe average career length is 4\u00bd years as an AFL player, so having something away from footy is really important to me. I found my cooking stuff has had a direct correlation with my performance.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSome of the comments about me wanting to leave because of a cooking channel were kind of laughable. I\u2019ve always put my best foot forward with footy, and it\u2019s always been my number one priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Petracca\u2019s output will be paramount in the early rounds of the AFL season, with the Suns revealing fellow star midfielder Matt Rowell would miss the opening exchanges after undergoing finger surgery.<\/p>\n

But Petracca\u2019s point about a career\u2019s fleeting nature spans across codes, with the average NRL tenure hovering around the 40-game mark.<\/p>\n

Form, competition for spots and injuries are factors, with the latter inspiring Petracca\u2019s new Suns teammate, Zeke Uwland, to prepare.<\/p>\n

While Uwland was snapped up as the second pick in November\u2019s AFL draft, stress fractures in his back sidelined him for six months last year.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old was \u201cbullish\u201d that he would return, but said there was a moment he feared his body would curtail his AFL ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have your moments of doubt,\u201d Uwland told this masthead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was unsure what the path would be like, not knowing the severity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of wallowing, Uwland pursued other passions; beginning degrees in law and commerce, having been encouraged by his parents to have a \u201cPlan B\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been a pretty studious person, it\u2019s an outlet away from footy, and I love arguing over the small indiscretions,\u201d Uwland said.<\/p>\n

\"There<\/p>\n

There is more to Suns draftee Zeke Uwland than a blossoming AFL career. Credit: Justin McManus<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more to life than football. You never know when that moment will be if you get an injury you can\u2019t come back from, and I want to be prepared.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s optimal for me when I\u2019m not worrying about football so much. You want to come out as best prepared to tackle the next challenge, so the quicker I do that, the more I\u2019m prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the athletes who spiral in retirement \u2013 roughly 40 per cent suffer from depression or anxiety<\/a> \u2013 the biggest factor is the loss of identity once they\u2019re removed from those routine-based, adrenaline-charged team environments.<\/p>\n

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Former Queensland Maroons enforcer Christian Welch, who retired before the 2025 NRL season due to injuries and concussions,<\/a> revealed he became overwhelmed when invited into the Melbourne Storm sheds by his former club.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said to my girlfriend I had to go home. You have real withdrawal, and really miss it,\u201d Welch said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a really awkward predicament \u2013 they\u2019re your best mates, but it\u2019s sad you\u2019re not out there on that journey with them chasing that glory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite holding a Master of Business Administration \u2013 having studied in Brisbane, Stockholm, Berlin, and at Harvard \u2013 Welch admits, \u201cyou could have that many degrees, and you\u2019ll still feel a bit lost\u201d.<\/p>\n

Australian cricketer Jess Jonassen has already experienced the toll of leaving elite sport, lamenting the loss of her national contract after 13 years as \u201ca massive change and shift in my life\u201d.<\/p>\n

While she has degrees in forensic psychology and law, and is not yet retired, she has planned for a career in the army, revealing, \u201cI need something that\u2019s a bit more high-octane, high-interest, and keeps me getting out of bed\u201d.<\/p>\n

As Wallabies great Berrick Barnes attests: \u201cI don\u2019t care if you\u2019ve got five degrees and a bloody job on the side \u2013 it\u2019s still the identity piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barnes was first embedded in elite sport when he debuted for the Brisbane Broncos as an 18-year-old, before swapping to rugby union.<\/p>\n

He played 51 Tests \u2013 his first at the age of 21 \u2013 before retiring in 2020.<\/p>\n

While he found purpose as a backline coach with Saitama Wild Knights, he endured a harrowing period once his playing days ended.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone asks you, \u2018Berrick, how are you going mate? What are you up to? What are you doing with yourself?\u2019 You used to be able to say you were still playing rugby,\u201d Barnes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you now? I\u2019m a dad, but I don\u2019t really know. You get low, for sure. I think everyone would be lying if they said they didn\u2019t have tough moments.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was fortunate, rugby was pretty good to me, but some guys have to make that transition to work pretty quickly, and that\u2019s a tough one.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until Barnes found a group in Lennox Heads \u2013 a network of about 90 people who partake in fitness and charity initiatives \u2013 that he felt at peace as he sought to \u201creplicate\u201d what he had.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about reaching out and asking for help. That\u2019s f–king not easy because as a footy player, you get told to suck it up, toughen up, show that masculinity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bullshit identity thing, but once you realise you\u2019re a human being doing your best, you don\u2019t have to get caught up in that sort of stuff. Then you find your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size Christian Petracca cuts a relaxed figure on the Gold Coast,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-486048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}