THE PETRACCA name is growing in the AFL.

While the youngest of the three brothers, Christian, is playing a starring role at Melbourne, his older brother Julian is beginning to carve his own reputation in the game.

Having been hired to Hemisphere Management Group just over three years ago, Petracca is one of the League's youngest accredited player agents, rising up the ranks in management circles.

This year, his first crop of clients are set to enter the AFL system; Xavier O'Halloran could potentially hear his name called in the first-round of the NAB AFL Draft, while the likes of Connor Idun and Jack Ross are also on the radar of clubs ahead of next week.

Fellow draft hopefuls such as Jackson Hately, Xavier Duursma and Jacob Koschitzke are also in Hemisphere's stables and are likely to be picked up next Thursday or Friday.

One of Petracca's biggest qualities as a player agent is the fact he's experienced the draft from the perspective of a sibling. He witnessed the high of Christian being recruited with the second pick, to the low of seeing his brother tear his ACL during his first AFL pre-season.

Acknowledging the importance family plays in the rise of a budding footballer, Petracca can empathise with his clients, their families and the journeys they are currently going through.

"It's an emotional rollercoaster for everyone involved, not just for the player," Petracca told AFL.com.au.

"I understand what the parents and their families are going through in that top-age year and sometimes it's the parents and the siblings who can read too much into things on social media.

"My job is to guide them all through it. I'm still quite young, still playing footy and understand the pressures of society and social media.

"I think that's what I bring to my players. I've experienced it and the pressures involved, but I do still get a bit nervous at this time of year."

The Petracca family is a tightknit one. While they regularly attend Christian's Melbourne games, you're just as likely to see them watching Julian and Rob, the oldest of the three brothers, run around for North Ringwood in the Eastern Football League.

And while Julian takes a lot of pride in watching his little brother have some success, there's a sneaking suspicion in the family that Christian likes having a brother working in the AFL just as much.

"I think he enjoys the fact I'm in the industry as well," Petracca said.

"But he's been good and it's really helped me, having a brother that is in the AFL system. I can lean on him for advice about what club-land is like and the behaviours of AFL players."

Petracca's journey into AFL management was an unusual one. After completing a handful of internships at management companies while studying at La Trobe University, he soon started his own suit business.

He held contracts with the Melbourne Football Club, servicing the Demons with their corporate attire, before his name was eventually recommended to Hemisphere's managing director Alex McDonald for a position in their team.

But while working in suits wasn't initially on Petracca's radar as he sought his way into management, it taught him valuable lessons about people and patience as he entered the AFL industry.

"It was all about selling the suit and satisfying the customer straightaway," Petracca said.

"The learning curve for me in the early days was about dealing with parents and with kids.

"Management isn't their priority. They've got family, school, footy and other commitments, so those early days were about finding a balance and finding out how to manage the kids."

With over 25 years of AFL experience under his belt, McDonald has taught Petracca plenty since he arrived at Hemisphere. He's someone Petracca says he "leans on" regularly.

But fellow manager David Trotter has also taken Petracca under his wing, teaching him arguably the most important lesson about looking after clients in the AFL system.

"The best thing I've learnt from David is the way he invests his time in his players," Petracca said.

"He really understands their situation, because he was a high draft pick himself. But he was out of the system within four years, doing numerous hamstrings in that four years.

"When you're not getting a kick, you're not talking to the coach, you're injured or you're out of contract … all of that stuff he's been through.

"He passes that on to his boys, but also to us as well. He tells us that's when our job as managers becomes most important."