In episode five of Inside Melbourne, Christian Petracca joins us to chat about his move into the midfield (2:40), the big fortnight ahead (3:50), his powerful goal celebrations (4:20), his rough transition to football (5:00) and all things basketball (10:30). He also answers some questions from the fans on social media (13:30) and shares his thoughts on taggers in the game (20:00). Special guest Troy Chaplin drops in to discuss Melbourne’s selection headaches (22:10), how Angus Brayshaw is tracking (24:40) and who he believes has stepped up significantly from season 2017

CHRISTIAN Petracca says he never considered leaving Melbourne after recently signing a contract extension.

Petracca will remain with the club until at least 2020 and he told Inside Melbourne that he never looked at any other options.

“I was never going to be leave to be honest,” he said.

“They drafted me and put the faith in me, and all I want to do is win premierships for this footy club, which we haven’t done in a while.

“There are a fair few guys who are staying – and the culture we are building at the club is unreal.

“[Coach] Simon Goodwin is unbelievable and the coaching staff he has surrounded himself by is awesome and I just can’t wait [for the future].”

Meanwhile, Petracca acknowledged that it was difficult for several players to enter the team, given the health and form of the list.  

“It’s pretty tough at the moment,” he said.

“Our midfield is playing such good footy.

“Christian Salem and Josh Wagner at half-back is playing great footy and it just shows our depth in the midfield.

“Guys like Gussy, Mitch Hannan and Jayden Hunt – there is no more best 22 anymore. There are 30 to 35 guys who could potentially be playing every single week, and that’s what we want as a team.

“Gussy knows what he has to do to play, and he played well on the weekend and he’s slowly improving.”