COMING off a Best and Fairest triumph and third place in the Brownlow Medal, it was never going to be easy for Christian Petracca to take his game to another level in 2021.

But he has done just that – in ways that may not be credited externally.

The 25-year-old, who is in the prime of his football career, has matured significantly in recent times, and has become a leader of the Melbourne playing group in his own right.

“I think the year last year was very frustrating for me,” Petracca told Melbourne Media.

“I think individually I had a great year … but as a team perspective we weren’t great – we were disappointing.

“I felt like I really wanted to make amends for last year and the years that I’ve been here, and push this club to where I know, and the club knows, it can get to, which is winning premierships and being at the top of the ladder for a long time.

“I feel like when my communication and energy is high in leadership on the field, I feel like my game goes to another level because I’m constantly worrying about other people and trying to get them into the game too.”

A major focus for Petracca this season has been being a good teammate.

And for the star midfielder, that was a simple adjustment to make.

“I think it’s just being a good person, being respectful, being humble, doing the little things – helping each other out, not being selfish,” he said.

“I think Jordan Lewis is someone who has had a great influence, not just on my life, but on the Melbourne Footy Club in general, in what the culture was like at Hawthorn and how everyone just played for each other.

“I felt like he tried to drum that into us a couple of years ago and it probably didn’t resonate, but I feel like now we’re starting to realise what it actually means to play like a team.”

On the back of that, the Dees head into their mid-season bye with an 11-2 record to their name.

And for Petracca, that success, and the hunger to achieve the ultimate, outweighs any award he can win on his own.

“It’s a team sport, you want to be winning premierships – you’re not in this to be winning individual accolades,” he said.

“For me and a lot of other guys, when the team’s going well, your individual game grows to another level because the confidence you have in your teammates, and the confidence they have in you as well.

“For me, I’m at an age point where now I don’t really care about individual accolades, all I want to do now is just win premierships for this footy club who have been starved of success for a long, long time.”