PART 4
Monday, September 22, 2014 – PADDY McCartin tries not to think about what this season could have been, only what it was.Two weeks on from the Geelong Falcons' TAC Cup semi-final loss to the Dandenong Stingrays (which McCartin missed with a groin strain), the 18-year-old is able to break up the year in his own mind.
There are things he wishes hadn't happened, especially the four niggling injuries, to his foot, finger, quad and groin.
And there are things he was happy with: when he played he made a big impact, he felt his goalkicking and running improved, and his on-field leadership was far greater than what he produced last season.
Weighing it all up, McCartin is disappointed but not discouraged. "It was just one of those years," he says.
What could have been: Paddy McCartin rues a frustrating 2014 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships. Picture: AFL Media
After the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, McCartin returned to the Falcons for their round 14 clash with Gippsland Power. It was his second game for the club this season, and he was anxious to do well.
It was muddy and wet but he kicked six goals, and the Falcons won by 28 points.
'Plugger' takes hold
After that it was back to school footy for Geelong Grammar as it faced Caulfield Grammar. McCartin kicked five goals in a four-point loss, and was also involved in a heated exchange with a Caulfield official, who abused him from the sidelines after he bumped an opponent after he disposed of the ball.McCartin is a lot bigger and stronger than most players in the private school competition, but his approach to every game is the same, something recruiters like. He wasn't afraid to respond.
"He gave me a mouthful and in the heat of the moment I gave it back to him," McCartin says.
"I'm a pretty relaxed person off the field, but once I cross the white line I'm pretty competitive. I was a bit fired up."
The following week he lined up against Geelong College defender Zaine Cordy, a Falcons teammate and likely father-son pick for the Western Bulldogs. They had a good battle; McCartin kicked four and Grammar beat its close rival.
Click here to check out Zaine Cordy's draft profile
The next game was his last for the school, a big win over Scotch College. That day, students from Scotch sat behind the goals and sent plenty of barbs about the draft McCartin's way.
Several times throughout the year he was called 'Plugger', a reference to champion retired full-forward Tony Lockett. "That was probably because of my figure than my ability," says McCartin in the dry, self-deprecating style that makes him a popular teammate.
McCartin returned to the Falcons against the ladder-leading Oakleigh Chargers in round 17. He kicked two of the final goals to finish with five, and steer his side to a one-point victory. You can watch the highlights below.
That confidence and form followed on against the Dandenong Stingrays, when the Falcons beat the finals aspirant by 59 points in the final game of the home and away season to lock in a top-four berth.
'People might pigeonhole me as an old-school key forward'
With teammate Dylan Hodge's ankle injury restricting him to deep in attack, McCartin played a new role, roaming further up the ground and took 11 marks.Click here to check out Dylan Hodge's draft profile
He's heard people question whether he is one-dimensional, and whether he would stand up to the aerobic rigours of back-and-forth modern football at the top level. He thinks he answered those queries.
"I feel people might pigeonhole me as an old-school key forward who doesn't move outside the 50," McCartin says.
"But when I get a chance to play up the ground I usually do it pretty well. It's more been about opportunities. That's been my role to play as a deeper forward and make a contest a bit deeper.
"I'm not too bad about going up the ground," he says.
"That game gave people a look to see that I can do it, it's just that the opportunity hasn't been there.
"It can be a bit annoying that I feel confident in my own ability, but I'm not really worried about what anyone thinks, apart from the team I'm playing for."
A fitting end to a frustrating year
The sun was out for Geelong's qualifying final against Oakleigh at Visy Park.McCartin was involved early with two shots at goal. On the lead in the first term, he changed direction late and then leapt. As soon as he did, he felt a muscle in his groin stretch. It hurt, but having never done any damage to his groin before, McCartin thought it might have been another corkie. At quarter-time he had it inspected and then strapped, but for the rest of the game was limited.
McCartin stretches out in his final TAC Cup game for 2014. Picture: AFL Media
The Falcons were 11 points up with about two-and-a-half minutes to play when Oakleigh kicked a goal to reduce the margin to five points. The ball swung into Geelong's attack and into McCartin's hands, but his set-shot sprayed wide and Oakleigh kicked a behind and then a goal to win by one point. McCartin was quiet on the drive home, lamenting his miss.
Despite wanting to play in the club's semi-final the next week against Dandenong, McCartin was ruled out with the strain. He watched from the coaches' box as the Falcons endured a 53-point thrashing.
"It seemed like we didn't have much up forward to kick to. I felt like I should have been out there making a contest," he says. "It was tough."
In a way, it was a fitting end to a frustrating year for McCartin, whose good patches of form were invariably ruined by injury setbacks.
The dust now settled, the injuries have taught McCartin about his preparation. He's become more aware about the importance of diet, doing extra recovery sessions, getting treatment when it's required and not leaving anything to chance. One injury, he's found, can easily lead to another if he's not careful.
'Needs to improve his defensive efforts'
McCartin has shared the ride with his family. Matt, the head of craft beer and ambassadors for Lion, and Jo, a speech therapist, attend every game they can, if it doesn't clash with their other sons' footy fixtures.Charles, in year 10 at Geelong Grammar, has enjoyed watching his older brother move through his draft year, and particularly the interactions with recruiters who have visited for interviews. After the Western Bulldogs came around for dinner, list manager Jason McCartney asked Charles if he wanted to spend a day with him at a game to see how recruiters operate.
Charles was already a converted Bulldogs supporter – his best friend at school is Lockey McCartney, coach Brendan's son – so naturally jumped at the offer. He got a backpack and notepad, and watched three players closely during the Geelong Falcons' win over Oakleigh in round 18. One was his brother. "Needs to improve his defensive efforts," Charles wrote of Paddy, the report now logged in the club's online recruiting network.
Tom is less interested, keener to ride his motorbike around the backyard, crack his cattleman’s whip and wear his R&M Williams boots. (The moment Tom saw his granddad's whip, he wanted to learn how to use it, and now pulls it out for a laugh.)
"They're both pretty funny. They're pretty different," the eldest McCartin brother says.
"Tom doesn't have much of an idea about what's happening but Charlie's pretty involved. They represent what we're like as a family – pretty down-to-earth, pretty funny.
"It's good having them and mum and dad at the interviews, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
The growing-up process
As well as the Bulldogs, Melbourne and St Kilda have made the drive down to Batesford, and last week Greater Western Sydney and the Brisbane Lions paid visits. Ahead of next month's trade and free agency periods, those clubs hold the first five picks at the draft.Knowing he will be an early pick is one thing. Where he goes is another, but it's a little less scary than before.
The Lions indicated to McCartin that if he was available at their first pick (currently No.4) they would draft him, and although the prospect of moving away worried him not so long ago, it now sits more comfortably.
Amid the hustle and bustle of a busy season McCartin thinks he has grown up.
"As the year's gone on, and I've done different things like gone to Europe, spent a week training at Geelong and moved around through the nationals," he says.
"I've developed a mindset that it wouldn't be too bad going interstate.
"I've got my head around it a lot more now than I had at the start of the year. If the draft was tomorrow and Brisbane picked me, it'd be sad to leave mum and dad and the boys and my house, but I'd be fine.
"I've matured and a few different experiences have helped me believe it wouldn't be too bad."
Studying the landscape
Thursday, October 16, 2014 - PADDY McCartin has had a few late nights recently, staying at Geelong Grammar until 8.30pm to study for his end-of-year VCE exams, flicking through textbooks, jotting down figures and trying to take in as much as possible.Through the year it's been hard to make homework a priority with all the time he's dedicated to footy, but in the past two weeks it has taken hold as an important part of his education draws closer. Well, mostly. "There have been a few distractions," McCartin admits.
The AFL's trade period finished this afternoon. From afar, McCartin felt strangely involved in the two-week process.
He's heard his name mentioned many times when speculation has risen about early draft picks being swapped, and found it difficult to ignore.
At school, classmates opened their laptops during periods to check if there had been any action. "It's been very weird to watch it unfold," he says.
McCartin (r) watches on at the NAB AFL Draft Combine with fellow draft prospects Hugh Goddard (l) and Lachie Weller
Click here to check out Lachie Weller's draft profile
'A lucky position'
But now the order is set. St Kilda will take pick one to the draft, and Melbourne has selections two and three. Greater Western Sydney, with picks four, six and seven, have another strong hand, and Collingwood is nestled in between at five.McCartin is all but assured of joining one of those clubs, and might go No. 1 to the Saints.
He would like to know exactly where he will be picked, and the clarity that would provide, but he's realistic about the process.
"I'm in a really lucky position because it looks like I'll get picked up. It's all well and good to be nervous about it but I have to be pretty thankful for the position I'm in because I know a few other kids who are on the edge of being picked or maybe not being picked and that would be really nerve-racking," he says.
"You have to weigh it up and take a step back sometimes and see what's going on around you. It's not too bad."
In the hot seat as AFL clubs circle
The groin injury that kept McCartin out of the Geelong Falcons' final game saw him sidelined at the NAB AFL Draft Combine earlier this month.He did get the opportunity to chat with six clubs – the Demons, Saints, Giants, Lions, Suns and Bulldogs. Most kept the conversation relaxed, but the Bulldogs had a psychologist in the room firing plenty of questions at him.
One club also asked him to name the players who would make up the top five of this year's draft. He was hesitant to put himself in there – "I didn't want to because I thought I'd come across as a flog" – but, after some persuading, reluctantly listed himself at No.5.
McCartin undergoes an eye test at the NAB AFL Draft Combine. Picture: AFL Media
McCartin's other examination was more physical, in the medical assessment from club doctors. In a dimly lit room, McCartin sat on a massage table as club doctors huddled around him, first asking about his injuries this year and then progressing on to his diabetes.
They wanted to know his medical history, an update on his 'HbA1c' (a three-monthly measurement of his overall diabetes management), and how many severe 'lows' he's had since being diagnosed.
"It is pretty personal and it can be a bit weird explaining it to people you've never met before who want pretty in-depth information, but that's part of it."
Smart and perceptive, McCartin understands why it's happening, and why clubs would want to know every little detail about him. He thinks they should: he's been told a first-round draft pick is usually at least a $200,000 investment for a club.
McCartin would never have thought he'd be an early draft pick, but it's prepared him for what lies ahead.
In the middle of November he's going to Bali for a week with his family, and by the time he gets back two days before the draft, his moment will have almost arrived.
"At the start of the year I was hoping to be picked up anywhere. I had bugger-all idea where I fitted into things," he says.
"But I played some good games, people started talking and it all developed. One thing I will look back on and be pleased about is I haven't changed because there's been more attention.
"I haven't done much differently in the way I've acted or gone about my business compared to last year, and that's important to me.
"Getting drafted is something I thought about growing up, and always wondered how awesome it would be. It's surreal it's almost here."
Read part 1 – The diagnosis that almost cost Paddy McCartin a crack at the big time
Part 2 – 'What just happened?'
Part 3 – The next no.1?
Twitter: @AFL_CalTwomey
