But this November, the 31-year old will forego his neat and tidy appearance all in the name of raising awareness for men’s health, supporting the Movember Foundation in partnership with the AFLPA.
“I’ve done Movember once before, it was about five years ago and it was one of the worst efforts of growing a moustache,” Petrie told NMFC.com.au.
The Kangaroos' attempts at Movember a few years ago
“I put my family to shame because my dad Trevor has sported a mo ever since I can remember, so I thought I might have been able to grow a good one but that wasn’t the case.”
“It’s pretty ordinary, mine grows really well for two weeks and then it stops. It’s a rather mangy, catfish type of moustache so it’s not one I’m looking to sport too often but it’s for a great cause and we can have a laugh at each other as well.”
Despite his unimposing facial growth, Petrie is passionate about the Movember cause and is looking forward to raising awareness for mental illness amongst men. It’s the number one health issue for 15-25 year old males alongside suicide, which remains the leading cause of death for men aged 15-44.
“We, the players, fall into the age bracket and if we can help raise some awareness and get more people talking about it so we break down more barriers then we will have achieved something,” Petrie said.
“I think over the last ten years or so, the stigma around the illness of mental health has been broken down and people are more willing to speak about it but I’m sure there’s still a long way to go. When you see the stats that mental illness and suicide is affecting young men in their prime, it makes it hit home.
“Movember is the month that we’re all going to be growing dirty, rotten moustaches, creating good awareness that men’s health is very important and not just something you worry about when you become sick, you need to be preventive.”
Former Roos Wayne Schwass and Nathan Thompson have become vocal advocates around raising awareness of mental illness after battling with it during their own playing careers. Petrie believes their openness is encouraging others to speak up.
“Unfortunately we kind of wait until someone with a bit of a profile speaks out until the rest of feel comfortable enough to talk about. Schwatta (Schwass) and Nathan went public with their illness and have since become really healthy and have been able to put the spotlight on it.
“Having played football with Nathan and to see how brave he was in speaking about his illness it certainly makes you more aware and it taught the players who were at the club at that time, a whole lot more about mental illness and what a significant issue it is.”
Petrie will be keeping North fans posted on his progress (or ‘mogress’) via his Twitter account and is hoping to get a few other involved at Arden Street.
“I will be encouraging all the North players to grow a moustache, but I might get shown up by a few of the young boys I think. Last time there were boys who had been at the club for 2-3 years and they had better mo’s than me.
“Spud (Michael Firrito) can grow a pretty good moustache but I don’t know if his wife Bonnie will allow him to grow one."
