AFL 2020: Christian Petracca, AFL best player in the competition, Melbourne, Christian Petracca SuperCoach, Demons, Melbourne Hawthorn, Dustin Martin

An extraordinary statistic from Christian Petracca’s game on Sunday underscores why he is considered one of the “top three” best players in the competition right now, with one AFL champion declaring he’s “gone past Dustin Martin”.

The 24-year-old’s 2020 season has been underscored by a move to far more midfield minutes, which has seen him explode in the past couple of weeks in particular.

Speaking on the First Crack podcast, Fox Footy analyst David King explained just how important the 2014 Pick two was in Melbourne’s scoring during their 42-point win over Hawthorn.

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“They scored 21 times Melbourne and he was involved in 14 of them. That is unbelievable, I can’t remember a player being involved in 14 of his team’s scores.”

“His kicking at the moment is next level, hard and flat. There was a couple of opportunities that were half-opportunities but he turns so quick and lasers the ball.

“He made goals out of nothing.”

While King said it will take “another couple of weeks” to determine whether he considers Petracca one of the top three players in the competition, Tom Morris and Nick Dal Santo said he is in theirs.

“His last fortnight, it’s not just his numbers, it’s his influence on games and his impact with what he’s currently doing, even though his numbers do look very good,” Dal Santo said.

“I can’t go any further I think than Lachie Neale (for players who are in better form).”

Hawthorn champion Shane Crawford went even further, saying Petracca had gone past one of the modern era’s greats on current form.

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“I just think his impact on the game has been outstanding. I think he‘s the new bull, he’s gone past Dustin Martin,” Crawford told Nine’s Full Time.

“I know I might be jumping the gun, but this year so far what he’s produced is some absolute first-class footy and the way he’s going, for me at the moment, he is my first pick if I’m putting a team together.

“He is in rare, rare form, very hard to stop at the moment. I’m sure all the coaches are scratching their head thinking how do we stop Christian Petracca.

“He’s added another string to his bow, he’s going into the middle, he’s hitting the scoreboard, and at the moment, for me, he’s the number one player in the competition.”