Footy great slams one AFL superstar Christian Petracca for daring to shed a tear after a devastating loss: ‘Never do that on the field’
Former Hawthorn hero Jordan Lewis has sparked controversy by criticising Christian Petracca’s emotional response to the Demons’ nightmare start to the 2025 AFL season.
The incident occurred after Melbourne slumped to their fourth loss of the season, losing to Geelong 12.13 (85) to 6.10 (46) at GHMBA Stadium on Friday night.
It was a familiar tale for the Demons, who had more inside-50s than the Cats but used the ball horrendously and finished with just six goals for the match.
Petracca cut a shattered figure as he walked off the field following the match, angrily putting his hands on his face and wiping away tears in a visceral reaction captured by the broadcast cameras.
Appearing on Fox Footy’s On the Couch on Monday, Lewis said he understood Petracca’s reaction but said it should have been kept behind closed doors.
‘I feel for him. He’s clearly an emotional person. Now, would I do that, or would I want one of my teammates to do that? No,’ Lewis said.
Jordan Lewis has slammed Christian Petracca’s emotional response to the Demons’ loss, which saw the star in obvious distress and wiping away tears as he walked off the field
The dejected Demons are pictured after they went 0-4 thanks to their loss to Geelong last Friday night
‘Behind closed doors you can be emotional and have really constructive conversations, but — and maybe it’s old school — never show that type of emotion on the field.
‘Because I think at end you’ve got him, who’s clearly disappointed, it means a lot to him, he’s a competitor, he likes to win. And then you’ve got Clayton Oliver — who is also competitive — effectively joking with opposition players at the end of the game. So, they’re miles apart in terms of (type of emotion).’
Footy legends Jonathan Brown and Jack Riewoldt both agreed that they’d prefer an emotional Petracca to a relatively unphased Oliver, but Lewis insisted
‘I think we know he cares,’ Lewis continued. ‘I don’t know, I just think (he should) have those conversations and let those emotions boil over behind closed doors.
‘And I don’t know whether that’s right or wrong, (but) that’s just what I expected of my teammates … you just never wanted to show weakness or emotion.’
AFL great Nathan Buckley said it’s great that Petracca cares about his team, but he would like to see actions on the field more than anything else.
‘His actions (on the field) were positive. He emptied out. He was upset that they didn’t get the results,’ Buckley said.
‘That’s where you’ve got to come back to if his emotions had a negative impact on what he did during the game … or a negative impact on his teammates — that’s when you need to challenge it.
Jordan Lewis (pictured in his playing days) says he was against that kind of on-field emotion
Petracca’s emotional reaction came after rumours he wanted to leave the club last year
‘After the game, that’s just an outpouring of emotion, and to be honest, it’s had no consequence.
‘It’s just a very public display of disappointment. But he performed really well, compared to his cohort, so he can’t be disappointed with that.’
Some footy fans have taken to social media to defend Petracca and slam Lewis for what they see as his insensitive take, which comes at a time when the AFL is ramping up its efforts to help players who are suffering mentally.
‘Scream and cry for a men’s mental health round then say sh*t like this,’ posted one X user.
‘Shame on you Jordan Lewis,’ replied another.
Melbourne will face Essendon (1-2) during a Gather Round clash at the Adelaide Oval next Saturday night.
