Drew Petrie’s exploits on the field are well known and broadly publicised, but now his work away from football is being recognised. The North Melbourne vice-captain has been nominated for the Philips Sports Dad of the Year award, which highlights ten elite athletes across a number of sporting fields, providing insights into how they deal with fatherhood and their sporting commitments.

The 29-year old is now proud dad to Jack, 22 months, and Abby, 4 months.

“Although they really don’t understand too much about what I do, Jack does love putting his footy jumper on and heading to footy club, or to support the Kangaroos at our games. It’s such a special moment for me seeing my wife (Nicole) and kids in the crowd as we walk off the ground,” Petrie said.

Known for his tremendous work ethic and professionalism at Aegis Park, Petrie admits he can’t wait to leave work and make his way home.

“I love getting off training and home in time to join my wife and the kids at the park in the afternoon. It’s the perfect end to a day at work for me, and what my son Jack looks forward to every day. We take the footy and have a kick, burn some energy and ensure that we all have a good night sleep ahead of us.”

Petrie’s wife Nicole describes her husband as a hands-on father.

“He loves spending quality time with the kids when he can. He doesn’t mind changing nappies or even doing housework,” she said.

“When he can, Drew also often offers to let me have some precious time to myself while he looks after the kids. He regularly takes Jack into the footy club if he has to go in there on his day off for physio or to do some recovery at the beach. Jack gets very excited when Daddy says they’re going into the footy club. He takes his little footy and has a kick with the boys.”

Jack was made famous most recently when he interrupted one of Petrie’s media conferences following a recovery session at Williamstown beach. The youngster created a stir after voicing his displeasure at being left in the hands of Jamie Macmillan, Shaun Atley and Ben Mabon. It forced Petrie to cut the interview short and offer him a calming cuddle.

“With all the hype that surrounds football players it could be easy to get caught up in the propaganda of being recognised and admired by fans. We are so fortunate that Drew is so grounded,” Nicole Petrie explained.

“He believes he is very fortunate to have made a successful career out of football. While it takes up a large portion of his time at the moment, he realises that it’s only a small part of what makes you the person you aspire to be in life. Our family is the most important thing and he always considers what is best for us foremost.”

While time with his family is what he enjoys most, time away from them is sometimes tough.

“The hardest time I’ve had away from my family was the three weeks we spent at a training camp in Utah late last year. Jack had just turned one and he was changing and doing new things every day. I missed him like crazy and it was hard not coming home to them after a hard day of training,” he said.

“I look forward to a call from the family to say goodnight and wish me luck before an interstate game. Jack’s putting a few sentences together now. Even if it is just him saying, 'Go Daddy!'."

This year’s nominated athletes have been profiled at sportsdads.com.au and the AFL is again well represented. Brett Kirk and Sam Mitchell took out the title in 2010 and 2011 respectively, with Collingwood big man Darren Jolly, Brisbane Lions captain Jonathan Brown and Petrie in contention this year.

The sporting dad who gets the most votes will win $5000 to donate to the charity of his choice.

Voting ends on Tuesday, August 28, and the winner will be announced on Father’s Day, Sunday, September 2.

Vote for Drew now at http://www.sportsdads.com.au