Cam McCarthy - What's Going On?

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FreoStillNil

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We all know Cam McCarthy collapsed and was later diagnosed with epilepsy. At the time Peter Bell said "There’s no reason, according to the specialist, that he can’t continue to play AFL football."

So what's the deal? He sat out a year of football because he wanted to come home. The general feeling seems to be he is a confidence player. He is still only 25.

Fremantle aren't going to be challenging for finals this year so I think it is worth giving him some games and backing him in. We know what he can and can't do. The coach should throw him in there. Tell him he won't be dropped after a week, which seems to be his career so far at Freo. Tell him he doesn't need to kick two goals each week, just contribute.

Does anyone know how his WAFL form has been? Or is there still a medical issue that needs sorting?

Otherwise he should be given a go, a chance at least. So much was done to get him to Freo and it seems he's just in limbo.
 

Freeeoo

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Yeah it's a little puzzling. Someone on here mentioned that it can take a very long time to get medication levels right for his condition so that is a possible explanation. However I believe he's been playing some minutes in the seconds.
 
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Bit of a conundrum really.

Saw him play some reasonable footy up here for the Giants, always looked like he still had another gear to go up to but never did.

Drafted in 2013, debuted in 2014 and this is his fourth season with the Dockers, he has only played 70 games which seems rather "light" considering he has been around for a while now.

With so many of your young guys coming through now coupled with the fact Hogan is also out of the team, he doesn't have the luxury of being let cruise through the season. I reckon he has to force his way into the seniors now and cement his place, otherwise, he is a near certainty to be moved on.
 

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Big Flappy

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On the hard ball gets podcast Cam was brought up and Ryan Daniels said "he is good to go nothing holding him back", and then mentioned that he didn't think the relationship was great (between the club and Cam) and he didnt think we'd see him again.

For what its worth Daniels also said we would never see Hogan play for freo again.
 

Freoforever86

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We all know Cam McCarthy collapsed and was later diagnosed with epilepsy. At the time Peter Bell said "There’s no reason, according to the specialist, that he can’t continue to play AFL football."

So what's the deal? He sat out a year of football because he wanted to come home. The general feeling seems to be he is a confidence player. He is still only 25.

Fremantle aren't going to be challenging for finals this year so I think it is worth giving him some games and backing him in. We know what he can and can't do. The coach should throw him in there. Tell him he won't be dropped after a week, which seems to be his career so far at Freo. Tell him he doesn't need to kick two goals each week, just contribute.

Does anyone know how his WAFL form has been? Or is there still a medical issue that needs sorting?

Otherwise he should be given a go, a chance at least. So much was done to get him to Freo and it seems he's just in limbo.

what we paid for him & him sitting out a year is irrelevant.

what is relevant, is atm, he’s not in Freos best 22. Right now the team is playing pretty decent footy, and Cam unfortunately finds himself out the 22. He might get back in, he might not.

Not the end of the world if someone else is playing his role better.
 

ImperialPurple

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Sad if he’s had a falling out with the club. The sentimental romantic in me says that it’s a tragedy (in the true sense of the word) that there’ll be bad blood between him and the club he worshipped all his life. And especially that he sat out for 12 months before finally having his dream come true and getting to play for Freo.

Whatever happened, I hope he gets another year to show if he’s got it. Offer him $100K for 12 months, and see if he’s dardy enough to earn a longer, bigger money contract after 2021. Be tough to delist a bloke on a shortened (fake) season, and an epilepsy diagnosis.
 

FreoStillNil

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what we paid for him & him sitting out a year is irrelevant.

what is relevant, is atm, he’s not in Freos best 22. Right now the team is playing pretty decent footy, and Cam unfortunately finds himself out the 22. He might get back in, he might not.

Not the end of the world if someone else is playing his role better.

I disagree, of course what was paid is relevent. You want to pay whatever a year for someone who isn't getting a game?

Team playing pretty decent footy? It has been encouraging. But a team sitting in 14th is not playing "pretty decent footy".

Sitting out a year shows how home sick he was, but only he knows the details.

He's with us and I think we should at least try to get what we can from him.

I just think he should be given a chance to show what he can do at the top level.
 

stax on the mull

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Why would there be a falling out with the club? Didn't they show him on the TV coverage at the game sitting with the other boys last night. There was supposed to be a scratchie yesterday morning, but there's no report so far.
 

Freoforever86

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I disagree, of course what was paid is relevent. You want to pay whatever a year for someone who isn't getting a game?

Team playing pretty decent footy? It has been encouraging. But a team sitting in 14th is not playing "pretty decent footy".

Sitting out a year shows how home sick he was, but only he knows the details.

He's with us and I think we should at least try to get what we can from him.

I just think he should be given a chance to show what he can do at the top level.

Freo were desperate for a fwd. couldn’t speak for his pay, but meh. Can’t change it, if he doesn’t deserve a spot, then so be it. since that trade, Tabs has come on, traded for Lobb & Hogan. So the teams in a diff place.

the team, as in the guys in the 22, have been playing decent footy. Just cause we’re 14th doesn’t mean everyone gets a chance, chances of which Cam has had plenty.

Yeah he could be in over a Guy like Colyer, Crowden or Frederick, but they have been in for pace or pressure.

every chance Cam gets back, as I said, but if not, so be it
 

FreoStillNil

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Freo were desperate for a fwd. couldn’t speak for his pay, but meh. Can’t change it, if he doesn’t deserve a spot, then so be it. since that trade, Tabs has come on, traded for Lobb & Hogan. So the teams in a diff place.

the team, as in the guys in the 22, have been playing decent footy. Just cause we’re 14th doesn’t mean everyone gets a chance, chances of which Cam has had plenty.

Yeah he could be in over a Guy like Colyer, Crowden or Frederick, but they have been in for pace or pressure.

every chance Cam gets back, as I said, but if not, so be it

I agree, if he doesn't deserve a spot he doesn't get one.

But I don't believe he has had plenty of chances, at least not lately.

Tab, Lobb, Hogan (who isn't playing) are a formidable forward line. We all know McCarthy isn't a key forward but add him to that lot and it looks pretty good.

Very few spots for a defensive forward like the ones you mentioned. One at most, the others need to learn how to apply forward pressure. They can't always just run one way.
 

88mph

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Someone mentioned his contract clause and playing a minimum amount of games ensures an extension.... perhaps we're looking to leverage this?
 

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Really think he should get one more year.
With the epilepsy meds, covid maybe he's not quite in the right headspace? I'd even have someone at the club have a quiet word, ask if he wants to take a couple months off. Get out of the footy bubble, take some time to rediscover the love for the game (if that's been lost??) and come back and hit the preseason with everything he's got for 2021.
 

Scham

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He’ll be back when he’s ready and I think he’ll go alright. I’m much more confident in our development and coaching underneath the top side than I have been for years.
 

ImperialPurple

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Fan account on Instagram - not sure if ripped from official club account.

3EC754D5-466F-4C54-8F61-595343BF1787.jpeg
 

StingBitten

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From an outsiders perspective I guess the three factors are form, health and behavior.

We know that his form has been average since arriving, half a dozen great games where's he impacted games and kicked a bag - only to be negated it for the next month afterwards. He barely got a look in last year. Has the club been persevering with him to raise another gear? Definitely. On the reverse, he was often required to play as the second or even first tall forward which he never claimed to be.

Health - who knows what the go is with the epilepsy diagnosis, I can remember only one comment from the coach advising they were trying to get that right but that was over a month ago.

Finally behavior, probably more among the rumor mill that Cam doesn't have the same dedication to his craft as others, some people say they'd seen him out hitting it hard in the off-season, but then again so does a lot of players. I know there were suggestions that when Neale left he was unhappy with how some players didn't work hard like the rest, Inc Bennell, Kersten and Cam. All innuendo of course.

We lost our first 4 games and I think if we were still losing he'd be a closer in, but we've won the last 4 out of 6 games. They feel that Hogan has more of a role down back while we've got Taberner, Fyfe and Lobb up front.

I do think Cam is likely to play this year, I just don't know if he's going to play consistently well.
 

DeanS

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Why would there be a falling out with the club? Didn't they show him on the TV coverage at the game sitting with the other boys last night. There was supposed to be a scratchie yesterday morning, but there's no report so far.
Falling out with the club does not mean falling out with his teammates.
 

stax on the mull

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Falling out with the club does not mean falling out with his teammates.

I wasn't asking a rhetorical question. I was just asking for an explanation of why others think that. I tend to think something as dramatic as a falling out would mean that he's not been training or playing in the scratch match simulations - which he has been.
 
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