Cameron McCarthy
McCarthy playing in August 2015.
Personal information
Full name Cameron McCarthy
Date of birth (1995-04-01) 1 April 1995 (age 29)
Original team(s) South Fremantle (WAFL)
Draft No. 14, 2013 national draft
Height 192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 92 kg (203 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2014–2016 Greater Western Sydney 21 (36)
2017–2020 Fremantle 49 (63)
Total 70 (99)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2020.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Cameron McCarthy (born 1 April 1995) is an Australian rules footballer who last played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants from 2013 to 2016.

Early career

McCarthy came from a cricket background and focused on becoming a footballer after being the last player chosen in the Western Australia under 18 team in 2013, this was due to his talents in both cricket and football. He chose the AFL pathway after some inspiration from a South Fremantle colts coach. He came to prominence with an impressive AFL Under 18 Championships with the highlight being when he kicked the after-the-siren winning goal for Western Australia against Vic Country in round four of the Championships, before suffering a broken leg in the final round against South Australia.[1]

AFL career

He was drafted by the Greater Western Sydney Giants with pick 14 in the 2013 AFL draft. He made his debut in round 23, 2014 against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium, McCarthy started the game as the substitute, but kicked a long goal from the boundary line with his first kick in AFL football.[2]

On 10 September 2015, news broke that McCarthy was requesting a trade to his home state of Western Australia,[3] the next day, Greater Western Sydney "categorically rejected" his trade request due to him being contracted until the end of the 2017 season.[4] Despite persistent efforts by Fremantle during the trade period,[5] he remained at Greater Western Sydney.[6] After the failed bid to move to Fremantle during the home period, McCarthy decided to return to Western Australia due to homesickness and did not play for the entirety of the 2016 AFL season. He was officially traded to Fremantle during the 2016 trade period.

In 2017, McCarthy kicked 25 goals from 19 games. He finished first in Fremantle's leading goal kicking. He was suspended for two weeks in round 15 for careless contact with St Kilda's Sam Gilbert. He was also surprisingly omitted from the round 23 team who took on Essendon. His most noted performance came in Round 4 where he kicked a late goal, with a toe-poke deep in the goal square, with 2 minutes remaining to lead Fremantle to a 2-point victory over Melbourne, in Melbourne. Another impressive performance was a 4-goal haul, with 18 disposals, against Gold Coast in round 20 at Domain Stadium.[7]

In 2019, ahead of the Round 1 clash with North Melbourne, McCarthy was called up to the senior team seemingly as a replacement for new recruit Jesse Hogan, despite not playing in either pre-season match. He was arguably Fremantle's best player in the demolition of North Melbourne in a career-best performance, kicking five goals and collecting 20 disposals.

In August 2020, McCarthy was notified by the Fremantle Football Club that he would not be receiving a contract for the 2021 AFL Season; McCarthy and Fremantle mutually parted ways.[8]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2020 season[9]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2014 Greater Western Sydney 25 1 1 0 3 2 5 2 2 1.0 0.0 3.0 2.0 5.0 2.0 2.0
2015 Greater Western Sydney 25 20 35 14 132 48 180 73 24 1.8 0.7 6.6 2.4 9.0 3.6 1.2
2016 Greater Western Sydney 25 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
2017 Fremantle 23 19 25 19 150 65 215 65 45 1.3 1 7.9 3.4 11.3 3.4 2.4
2018 Fremantle 23 17 19 17 107 62 169 65 30 1.1 1 6.3 3.6 9.9 3.8 1.8
2019 Fremantle 23 12 19 7 94 42 136 49 15 1.6 0.6 7.8 3.5 11.3 4.1 1.3
2020 Fremantle 23 1 0 1 8 3 11 3 1 0 1 8 3 11 3 1
Career 70 99 58 494 222 716 257 117 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

References

  1. ^ Quayle, Emma (12 November 2013). "AFL draft hopeful Cameron McCarthy is unfazed by the attention". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  2. ^ Landsberger, Sam (31 August 2014). "GWS Giants kick goal with 30 seconds remaining to seal thrilling win over Western Bulldogs". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  3. ^ Barrett, Damien (10 September 2015). "Giant wants out: Cam McCarthy requests trade to WA club". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  4. ^ Curley, Adam; Sutton, Ben (11 September 2015). "Giants 'categorically reject' McCarthy's trade request". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  5. ^ Ryan, Peter (20 October 2015). "Fremantle refuse to give up on securing Cam McCarthy". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  6. ^ Hope, Shayne (23 October 2015). "We can cope without McCarthy: Dockers". The West Australian. Seven West Media. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Mega-trade sees Giant McCarthy join Freo". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  8. ^ Cleary, Mitch (21 August 2020). "UPDATE: Goalkicker sensationally quits Freo, 2020 WAFL hopes also dashed". AFL.com.au.
  9. ^ "Cam McCarthy". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 February 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cam McCarthy.
Fremantle Football Club · leading goalkickers
2015 AFL Rising Star nominees
2013 AFL national draft
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