Former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon believes Christian Petracca has a long way to go to prove he’s worthy of the hype.
Petracca has played 65 games for the Demons, but is yet to take the next step and Lyon wants to see more.
“He’s had enough opportunity, he was targeted 14 times (against Geelong). Petracca was the primary inside 50 target on the weekend,” Lyon told SEN Breakfast.
“He didn’t score. He’s got enormous work to do.
“I keep hearing people saying what a great player, what a great talent – he is not a great player. He is a great talent. He’s a mile off it.”
The Dees suffered an 80-point thrashing at the hands of Geelong on the weekend and former St Kilda star forward Nick Riewoldt believes his issue is at a fundamental level.
“I don’t see any craft in his game. What I mean is, when you’re a forward you’ve got someone playing on you consistently trying to stop you getting a kick,” Riewoldt said.
“Now if you’re fast and he’s fast, you’re essentially playing athletics. Defenders now are so good at being able to go with you step for step and getting in a fist.
“You have to try and create some separation for yourself somehow and this is where the craft comes in.
“There are so many ways to create that separation. You can try and get in behind the defender to make him turn his head and then come back at the ball.
“You can stand and push and give yourself a meter with a push-lead, I don’t see any of that from Christian Petracca. What I see is, he’s always been the bigger kid and he’s always been more talented and he’s going to beat you on talent.
“There is an opportunity for him to take his game to another level by implementing some forward craft into his game.”
Melbourne takes on Essendon on Friday night in a game between two winless teams, with the pressure mounting fast on both clubs.
