By Nick Creely
FOR Mitch McCarthy, 2015 was the year he realized that his true love in life was Australian Rules Football.
A highly talented and well sought after basketballer, McCarthy, 19, moved to the United States last year in order to try and make it in the big time.
At the start, basketball consumed him – but the love and lure of the peculiar shaped football was strong.
Even his parents moved across the world with him, and even though he had their on-going support, there was something missing.
But home is where the heart is – and McCarthy returned on Christmas Day 2015, ready to pursue a different avenue.
It’s been a stunning rise for the tall utility since, and he says the transition from basketball has advanced his development into a viable draft prospect.
“It does help having a basketball background – I’ve had people and coaches tell me that if you are good on the basketball court, you can be just as good on the footy field,” he said.
“I was a bit worried at the start of the season- I wasn’t watching AFL but I was still an avid NBA fan – but I spoke to some different people and they said that even Jarryd Roughead still loves basketball and loves playing it, but it’s a leisurely thing for him.
“Ruck-work and my vision around the ground has been heavily aided by my basketball background.”
The decision to switch sports was agonizing, but something he will never look back on with regret.
“It was literally one of my toughest ever decisions – I had over 20 phone calls back and forth with my family, and I kind of tested the waters when I was overseas – and I tried to estimate if it was worth coming back to Aussie Rules,” he said.
“After those phone calls, I decided to come back and I’m adamant I made the right decision.
“I selected the basketball path halfway through 2014, and then I went to America – but it was so hard to come back, and I did around this time last year and made the decision to pursue footy.
“I’ve only really played footy for six months – but yeah I feel like I’m on the right path.”
Although he had to re-learn some essential skills, McCarthy’s ability to learn quickly catapulted him to an exciting 2016, with the Dandenong Stingrays and Vic Country.
“It was very exciting to be in a group full of such talented boys – there are some extremely great off-field characters, and then on-field, McCluggage, Ainsworth and Brodie to name a few, we all have what it takes – it was crazy to see who I was with, “McCarthy said.
“I’ll bring an x-factor – that’s what got me through my basketball – I feel like I have some attributes that not that many other guys do.
“In footy, for my size, 90 per cent of the time I can athletically outdo my opponent, and once my footy smarts are down-pat, I think that will make me a special player.
“I look at Jack Watts, kind of a mobile, quick and agile player – I’m not even close to his standard yet, but he is someone I’ve loved watching.
“I feel like I can play anywhere, even a wing type role if I wanted it, kind of like Mark Blicavs.
“I haven’t had much experience in any real position, and I think that’s a positive.
“A club can really train me in any position.”
With the National Draft so close, the nerves are truly kicking in, but McCarthy is confident his last six months, despite some injuries and lack of experience, will pave the way for his dream.
“I’m feeling pretty nervous – I haven’t really had a full season to have a bit of confidence, so it’s kind of made me nervous, “he said.
“I feel like what I have done has been enough to show where my ceiling is at.
“I’m trying to give myself a bit of confidence and cut myself some slack – it is an exciting time for all of us but yeah pretty nervous.
“It’s so hard to know what clubs think of you – I mean a club that sounded like they weren’t keen might actually want to take you, so it’s really difficult to know.”
But recently, St Kilda nominated McCarthy as a next generation academy rookie, as he has only recently realized he had an indigenous background, and can be taken by the Saints if he is overlooked in the draft.
With so much excitement about the depth of the draft, McCarthy warned this draft will see some future AFL champions.
“This year there is so much balance – there is probably a lack of key-position players, but the outside and inside mids are really strong, “he said.
“There is no top 10 – there is a top 40 – there will be a lot of decade long AFL players coming from this draft.”
But amidst all the excitement, McCarthy acknowledged one particular person in shaping his life, his mum.
“Mum has been amazing – she puts in so much for me, and probably more than I give her credit for, “McCarthy said.
“She drives, takes me to games and puts in money for gear, and she motivates me – and I’m very proud of her and she makes me want to work harder – it may sound a little soft, but she has been my number one support.”
Profile
Measurements: 196cm/93kg
Plays like: Patrick Ryder/Jack Watts
2016 Statistics (averages)
TAC CUP
6 matches, 8 disposals, 4 marks, 19 hit-outs
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
2 matches, 6 disposals, 1 mark
Prediction: If McCarthy had not had an injury interrupted season, he could go in the first two rounds. But it’s more likely he will go from 50-70. Several clubs would be heavily interested in bringing in the exciting tall. Sydney are after more talls and could use pick 56 to obtain him, but Richmond at 61 could be more realistic. The Tigers, after losing Vickery to the Hawks, could be after a tall utility project player, and McCarthy fits the bill perfectly. He is someone the Tigers simply don’t have.
