IF DAMIEN Hardwick is unsure how to get the most out of Christian Petracca heading into 2027, these statistics might help.
Petracca started life with his second club in blazing fashion early in the season, but as Gold Coast’s doomed campaign wore on, the form of the four-time All-Australian also waned.
It reached a head in Saturday night’s loss to Brisbane, where he finished goalless from 12 disposals.
"I've got to get better at utilising him to his absolute strength. I haven't found that right lever yet," Hardwick said post-match.
Since then the Suns have revealed the 2021 Norm Smith Medal winner has been dealing with a foot problem, ruling him out of Thursday night's final match of the season against St Kilda.
But the question remains – how does Hardwick best utilise Petracca next year? A year that is going to be critical in both the short and long-term for Gold Coast with captain Noah Anderson and Brownlow medallist Matt Rowell both set to become free agents.
Statistics provided by Champion Data show a clear delineation between when Petracca spends a majority of his time in the midfield against when he spends a majority of his time forward, and the resulting impact he has.
In 12 matches where Petracca has attended at least 55 per cent of the centre ball-ups, his Player Rating is above 18.
In eight matches where he's attended less than 55 per cent, that rating drops to 10.
|
Rnd v Opposition (Result) |
AVG |
CBA% |
|
09 v St Kilda (W) |
14.1 |
84.0 |
|
10 v Port Adelaide (W) |
13.0 |
79.3 |
|
08 v GWS GIANTS (W) |
20.6 |
78.3 |
|
07 v Hawthorn (L) |
15.0 |
75.9 |
|
11 v North Melbourne (L) |
20.0 |
74.3 |
|
13 v Brisbane Lions (L) |
10.9 |
71.4 |
|
14 v Geelong Cats (L) |
14.3 |
70.4 |
|
06 v Essendon (W) |
20.5 |
70.3 |
|
01 v West Coast Eagles (W) |
31.0 |
67.6 |
|
19 v Western Bulldogs (L) |
8.8 |
60.9 |
|
00 v Geelong Cats (W) |
36.9 |
57.6 |
|
15 v Hawthorn (L) |
17.3 |
55.9 |
|
20 v Carlton (L) |
12.7 |
54.3 |
|
02 v Richmond (W) |
12.4 |
53.1 |
|
16 v Fremantle (L) |
10.1 |
50.0 |
|
22 v GWS GIANTS (W) |
7.5 |
48.0 |
|
18 v Adelaide Crows (L) |
5.2 |
31.0 |
|
17 v Collingwood (L) |
19.7 |
23.5 |
|
23 v Brisbane Lions (L) |
1.9 |
20.8 |
|
21 v Melbourne (L) |
5.2 |
13.9 |
Petracca's drop-off in the second half of the season directly correlates with a shift to the front half of the ground.
Before Gold Coast's mid-season bye, where it was sitting pretty at 7-4, the 30-year-old spent just 31 per cent of games as a forward. Post-bye, when the Suns have free-fallen to a 1-10 record, Petracca has been forward 56 per cent of the time.
So, to get the most from the former Demon, it's clear he needs to spend a small majority of his time in the middle before shifting ahead of the ball.
The problem for Hardwick though is whether or not that use of Petracca is best for the team’s collective output.
Petracca playing forward has resulted in Matt Rowell's best stretch of 2026 (along with Rowell's body finally being right after multiple injuries).
The coming off-season looms as Hardwick's biggest since he was backed-in by Richmond after a horror 2016, and at the core of it is how to get his A-grade talent firing at the same time.