Ricky Petterd will train with Richmond in a bid to revive his AFL career. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun
FORMER Melbourne forward Ricky Petterd has been invited to train with Richmond next week as he seeks to resuscitate a career that has stalled at just 24.
Petterd yesterday said he was desperate for another chance - most likely as a rookie - after revealing his achilles soreness was so painful he struggled to walk at times this year.
The talented mid-sized forward underwent surgery after Round 18, and was subsequently delisted by Melbourne on the last day of the trade period.
Petterd knocked back a lucrative Gold Coast offer just two years ago, and is aware how quickly his reputation has slumped.
Richmond is one of several Victorian clubs considering him as a rookie option, and Petterd says he is training hard for a second chance.
"I have had a couple of chats with Richmond and a couple of other clubs, so I will just have a run around with them," he said.
"I kind of had an idea it was coming. I had a couple of years with injury and I am a realist - footy clubs can't hold on to players forever. For 20 months I have had a really bad achilles and it was grounding me. I lost a lot of pace and jump.
"It was affecting my mechanics with the way I ran, and then I started doing hammies and calves. I wasn't being honest about how my body was feeling. Halfway through the year I couldn't walk when I got out of bed.
"The pain was excruciating, but I tried to get through it and I knew I was playing for a contract or to impress other clubs and I kept playing."
Surgery to ease the pressure on the sheath that surrounds his achilles was successful, with Petterd working recently with former teammate and personal trainer Daniel Bell to regain fitness.
He can run with only minimal pain, and given the lack of scar tissue has no doubt his best football is ahead of him.
The 54-game player says he had no regrets about knocking back the Gold Coast's cash as well as other rival offers to stay put at the end of 2010.
"(My career) has turned around a fair bit," he says.
"I had a chat with other clubs too, and knocked them back to give Neeldy (Mark Neeld) a chance. It wasn't his fault what happened. It was me. But I definitely feel like I can get back to that early-2010 form.
"If a rookie spot came available somewhere, I would be stoked. I would have that year to prove myself and fit in, and try to go from there."
Petterd was a regular in Dean Bailey's forward line during the much-scrutinised late-2009 games, but is adamant he was never given instructions not to try to win matches.
"Yeah, it was a little confusing but we got told by Bails he was trying to play people in different positions to see what they had to offer, and we have to take his word on that, and I do.
"He was really good to me, and he backed me in, so that will all unfold under time. There was definitely no talk in the locker room of whatever is being discussed in the media at the moment," Petterd said.
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