DREW Petrie won’t like to harp on it, but his record against Carlton commands plenty of attention from the Blues in today’s NAB Challenge at Eureka Stadium.
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The North Melbourne forward, who will captain the club this afternoon in the absence of injured skipper Andrew Swallow, has dominated his AFL rivals in a number of past fixtures.
But it’s his two most recent outings against the Blues that have been among his best.
The big number 20 has collected five Brownlow Medal votes in those encounters, with his four-goal effort in round 17 last year earning him two, following a seven-goal display that saw him named best on ground in the Kangaroos’ big win in round 16 of 2012.
As far as Dream Team points go, Carlton is also one of Petrie’s fondest opponents.
Since 2001, his average return of 83.3 against the Blues is only topped by his efforts against Gold Coast, Western Bulldogs and Greater Western Sydney, with four of his past six outings against coach Mick Malthouse’s men returning scores in excess of 100.
Petrie says he approaches Carlton like any other side.
“I approach every game basically the same. You might look at past games against a particular side and try and work out what you did well and do it again – see if that can replicate the same form as what might have happened in previous years,” Petrie said.
Petrie said he was extremely proud to be skippering the side in his home town of Ballarat, where he anticipated he would get plenty of game time in the Kangaroos’ first competitive hit-out of the season.
Today’s game kicks off from 4.40pm and will be broadcast live on Fox Footy.
