Richmond's Ricky Petterd not satisfied with career to dateDaniel Cherny
The Age
March 14, 2015 The Monday after Ricky Petterd's AFL debut, Fairfax Media's Tim Lane described the young Demon's game as "a performance full of merit". The Queenslander had 23 disposals in a heavy Melbourne loss to Sydney at the SCG, with Lane rating Petterd "one of his team's best players".
Alas, that has not quite been a foreteller of things to come.
Petterd (pronounced "Pedderd", not "Pettard" as many commentators seem to think) is now 26, and his self-assessment is blunt.
"I'm honestly nowhere near where I wanted to be."
The reasons for his tally of just 83 games in eight years are varied. That first season of promise was ended in round 14 - the previously unidentified cyst that burst almost took his life. From there it's been a tale of frustration, injuries aplenty, fluctuating form and a lack of an identifiable position for a man who has played in the middle, on the wing, and at both ends of the ground.
While his two seasons since switching to Richmond have included time in the rehab group and the VFL, but he was in the team for both of the Tigers' finals.
Where his reputation as a jack-of-all-trades caused him angst, Petterd mow knows it is an advantage. "I think my flexibility is one of my strengths, and it took me a while to understand that. I never knew where I was in a team, I never knew my position and as I get older and starting to mature I start to realise that it's a strength of mine. I don't think I'm ever going to settle in one position."
It may sound trite, but without any off-season surgery, this pre-season has been Petterd's best. The extra time afforded by the Cricket World Cup has allowed Richmond's conditioning staff to better manage Petterd's load, and he has completed around 85 per cent of training.
"I don't think I've done half of that in any of the years that I've played," he said.
In particular, Petterd credits the club's rehabilitation and conditioning coach Luke Meehan for helping him reach peak condition. Since arriving at the Tigers, Petterd has done more muscle endurance work to prevent the calf and hamstring injuries that had stymied his progress.
Also, Petterd now has an extra sense of belief. "Richmond have been really good at giving me confidence, that was probably the biggest thing for me. Being able to back up training sessions gives you confidence in itself."
Alongside teammate Matt Dea, Petterd has recently started studying criminology on line, and is now helping out with the club's recruiting staff, tagging along to scout talent in the TAC Cup. Where he takes him will play out in due course, but Petterd expects to remain in Melbourne when his playing days finish, rather than going back to Queensland or joining family in Tasmania.
For now though, he's "still got a little bit of footy left in me", and taking Richmond to their first finals win since 2001. "A lot of people say we need to win a final. But we need to get there first."
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/richmonds-ricky-petterd-not-satisfied-with-career-to-date-20150313-143b21.html
