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Senior Lincoln McCarthy (2018-)

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McCarthy is a ‘natural’ footballer. Quick, balanced, courageous, great by hand and foot, sensational contested mark and a high football IQ. He is possibly the most underrated small forward in the competition, but us Lions supporters know what an asset he is to our club.
 
McCarthy: We're Still Committed to Achieving That End Goal

Half-forward Lincoln McCarthy said regardless of whether Gunston is called upon or not, his influence has already been telling.

"Obviously he's an elite player," McCarthy said prior to Thursday morning's training session at Springfield.

"We'll wait and see how he goes over the next couple of weeks. He's been progressing really well and he's great to have ready to go for us.

"I get along with Jack really well and he's such a calm, intelligent operator. He's obviously had those really good experiences at Hawthorn to help us go through this period.

"Hopefully he gets himself to a position where he's available."

McCarthy said the versatility of Brisbane's forward line had made it easy for players to come in-and-out this season.

Zac Bailey has spent more time in the midfield, Rayner and Dayne Zorko have also gone in there for bursts, while Callum Ah Chee has been just as dangerous on a wing as he has been inside forward 50.

Aside from Will Ashcroft (knee), the Lions have an almost full squad to pick from to face either Melbourne or Carlton.

They will complete a high-volume session at the Gabba on Saturday morning to replicate the usual running load of a game.

"Unfortunately, we've been through some times over the last four years where we haven't been able to get the job done, but I feel like it has made us stronger, and we're still so committed to achieving that end goal," McCarthy said.

"Even myself, I feel a little bit calmer about what's ahead for us.

"Amongst the group it's quite a good feeling at the moment, but talk is cheap, we have to get out there and deliver."
 

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From rural SA basketball buddies to AFL stars McCarthy and Neale set for the nation’s biggest sporting stage

They say you can take a boy out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the boy, and that is true for SA footy star Lincoln McCarthy.

As McCarthy prepares to hit the biggest stage at the highest level for the Brisbane Lions in Saturday’s AFL premiership decider against Collingwood, his mother Katrina McCarthy told The Advertiser of her son’s strong connection to his South-East hometown.

The proud mother also detailed McCarthy’s special bond with Brownlow Medallist and fellow 2011 draftee teammate Lachie Neale, who played at a rival club just 30 minutes away but joined McCarthy as a teammate on the basketball court.

McCarthy played for Bordertown while Neale while Neale played Kybybolite before the both headed to Adelaide to play for Glenelg.

However, such was McCarthy’s love for country life and his home club at Bordertown, he almost didn’t leave home to start his football career.

The talented junior was identified as a prospect with potential to make it to the highest level but first opted to stay home and play for his hometown Rooster.

Katrina attributed Glenelg talent manager Brenton Hole for putting her son on the pathway to the big time.

“He loved playing locally, there were a lot of phone calls to get him to go down … when he realised he couldn’t play SANFL and at home, he actually chose Bordertown for a while,” she said.

However, with Hole’s support McCarthy made the move to Adelaide for year 11 schooling and to play for the Bays, the start of his rise to the AFL ranks.

She said her star son liked to travel under the radar, so much so the family had little idea of his draft prospects as AFL recruiters started to take notice.

“When it came to the draft, we didn’t have Fox Footy and we weren’t going to watch it,” she said.

“He didn’t talk about that sort of thing but the night before the draft at about 10pm he messaged saying ‘Geelong have messaged saying they are going to pick me haha’ and I thought he was joking, you dork.”

However, it became pretty real pretty quick and he was taken with pick 66 in the 2011 draft.

Katrina said draft night was a Thursday but Lincoln had partner Taylah’s formal back in Bordertown on the Friday, so he made the trip back home before packing his bags and moving to Geelong.

She said Geelong was a fantastic club McCarthy who had an unfortunate run with injury during his seven years at the Cats.

McCarthy then joined Brisbane in 2019 and reunited with childhood friend and now dual Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale who joined the Lions from Fremantle in the same year.

While they were drafted to different sides of the country, with Neale going to Fremantle and McCarthy heading to Victoria, their friendship rekindled at the Lions with McCarthy telling The Advertiser of weekly golf outtings between the pair of laid back South Aussies with hometown banter.

Katrina said she had fond memories of the pair carpooling as part of the same Limestone Coast basketball team as 10-year-olds.
 
Linc McCarthy aiming for a premiership and a new contract with the Brisbane Lions

Lions forward Linc McCarthy will strive to be a “better teammate” this season as he bids to not only help Brisbane win the AFL premiership, but also secure his own future.

McCarthy, 30, has entered the final year of Lions contract, and is yet to start talks with the club about a new deal.

“I’m keeping it pretty low key,” McCarthy said ahead of the Lions’ second pre-season intra-club trial at Springfield on Friday.

“No discussions as of yet, but I’m pretty keen to just play footy at the moment. I’m sure in due time it’ll roll out.”

And when negotiations do start, McCarthy wants to be in the strongest possible position to secure another Brisbane contract, having been an integral part of the Lions plans for the past five seasons after a tough period at Geelong, where he made only 29 top-flight appearances in five years.

The South Australian product has resurrected his career in Brisbane, having played in 114 of the club’s 118 AFL matches since his arrival ahead of the 2019 season.

However, that’s not enough for McCarthy, who wants to improve as a player and win a flag with the Lions after experiencing the pain of a grand final loss – by only four points – last year against Collingwood.

“I want to get better at being able to apply more efforts,” he said.

“Defensively last year, I played a little bit higher up the ground. You’ve got to be able to apply lots of efforts up the ground but then get back inside the (attacking) 50 (metre zone) and be dangerous, or help your talls.

“The key one for me is give myself more opportunity to be a better teammate, and that’s to be able to apply more efforts and get back inside 50 and be dangerous.”

He said the Lions – who start their 2024 premiership campaign on March 8 against Carlton at the Gabba – could not afford to “disappointed for too long” about their grand final agony if they wanted to go “one better” this season.

“You’ve got to kick yourself back into gear and get to work. If you really want it, that’s what you’ve got to do,” McCarthy said.

“Just because you made a grand final year the year before doesn’t mean you start in second again. You’ve got to build it all the way back up.

“We’ve just come back as hungry as ever. We’ve got some belief there that we can really match it with the top teams, and we showed that all the way through last year and in the finals.

“We’re just really motivated to go one better.”
 
Brisbane Lions forward Linc McCarthy to make his 150th AFL appearance

Lions forward Linc McCarthy doubted whether he was “made for the game” when he left Geelong to make a fresh start in Brisbane at the end of the 2018 AFL season.

And with good reason. During an injury-riddled seven years with the Cats, McCarthy played just 29 top-flight games.

“I found myself in a bit of a rut, and I was really questioning whether I was made for the game, to be honest,” McCarthy said.

However, those doubts have been well and truly erased at the Lions, where he has played in 120 of the club’s 124 AFL matches since the start of 2019.

“The original goal for me (when joining the Lions) was just to see if I can get back and play footy again,” McCarthy said ahead of his 150th AFL appearance on Thursday night against the GWS Giants in Canberra.

“I’m really stoked to be able to get to 150 – I didn’t think I’d get to 50.

“I’m just really thankful for all the medicos and all the support crew in Brisbane

“Life’s changed a lot for myself and my partner since moving up. We’ve really settled into Brisbane. We love the club, we love the state, we love Brisbane.

“We’ve got three boys now as well … and they’re all making the trip down to Canberra, so it’s going to be a nice (night), and hopefully the main thing is we get the win.”

Lions coach Chris Fagan said McCarthy was a “real team player”.

“He had a lot of trouble with his body at Geelong,” Fagan said of the 30-year-old Bordertown product.

“I’m pretty sure he would have played a lot more games. I know he was rated really highly by the Cats.

“If you wanted to show a young player what a real team player looks like, Linc is a shining example of that. We’ve got others but he’s up there with the best.

“He’s always prepared to play a role for the team. He does all the little things in footy that you love players to do.

“He’s a cheerful bloke around the club. He’s always optimistic. He just checks on people. He’s a natural carer.

“It’s great for him that he’s playing his 150th (game). It’s been hard-earned because it could easily be well over 200 by now if injury hadn’t got in the way.

“We’ve got good fortune since he’s been at our club. He hasn’t had too many injuries and we’ve had the benefit of him being in our team just about every week.”

The Lions are intent on bouncing back from last Saturday’s 26-point loss to the Cats. It was Brisbane’ fourth defeat in six games this season.

“You’ve definitely seen a lift in our effort and our pressure. We just want to capitalise on those efforts now,” McCarthy said.

“We want to bring a bit more composure into our game, (and) really punish sides with the way we move the ball.

“We still think when we’re at our best we can beat anyone. We’ve just got to keep putting that together for longer periods.”
 
Linc's Journey To 150 Games

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Lincoln McCarthy will play the most significant 121st game for the Brisbane Lions in history on Thursday night in Canberra.

Why? Because the game against the GWS Giants at Manuka Oval will be the 150th of his career. And in the AFL 150 games is a big deal. So much so that it means automatic Life Membership at the Lions.

And while there will be no side benefits for McCarthy – yet – it will still be a big deal for the former Geelong forward, who will run out for his 150th with long-time close mate Lachie Neale.

It will be a fairytale moment for the pair, who met as 10-year-olds playing basketball in south-east South Australia. McCarthy was from Bordertown and Neale from Naracoorte an hour down the road. Soon they were playing school sports together – basketball, cricket and football.

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They moved to Adelaide together to finish school and pursue their football dream, joining SANFL club Glenelg, and at 17 were candidates for the AFL National Draft, which was the primary establishment draft for the GWS Giants, who would join the AFL in 2012.

Neale was not only overlooked by the Giants but by both SA clubs before going to Fremantle at pick #58.

McCarthy waited anxiously through the next seven picks, who would deliver a total of 109 AFL games. Nick O’Brien went to Essendon at #59 to play 14 games before St.Kilda took Jay Lever at #60 and Sydney took Alex Brown at #61 without getting any return. They did not play.

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Dylan Buckley went father/son to Carlton at #62 to play 39 games at the Blues and two games at GWS, and at #63 West Coast promoted rookie Ashton Hams for no extra return.

Cam Ellis-Yolman was pick #64 to Adelaide and played 39 games for the Crows and nine for Brisbane, and Corey Gault played six games after going to Collingwood at pick #65.

At #66, after McCarthy was similarly overlooked by Adelaide and Port Adelaide, Geelong picked him to send the long-term good mates on a shared journey, albeit in different directions.

The 2012 AFL Guide said of McCarthy: “(He) could be another late draft gem for the Cats. Has genuine pace, is a quality finisher, and is good overhead for his size. Represented SA at cricket at U17 level and was an excellent basketballer”.

Despite the curious fixation with his other sporting skills, they got it right. He had all those attributes in spades. But what wasn’t mentioned and what was impossible to foresee was the extraordinary run of bad luck that would come with him.

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He played 29 games in seven injury-plagued years at Geelong before deciding enough was enough in late 2018 and seeking a trade to Brisbane. He needed a fresh start. And, just for good measure, he planted a spark with his long-time mate which ultimately them move north together.

By this time, while McCarthy had needed 10 separate stints in the Geelong side to reach 29 games, with consecutive blocks of 1-2-2-3-3-8-5-3-1-1 games (if such few games can be called blocks), Neale had played 135 games with Fremantle.

How things can change. With the Lions McCarthy has played 120 of a possible 124 games, missing two through separate one-week suspensions and two through separate one-week injuries. Neale has played 116.

So on Thursday night, as McCarthy plays his 150th career game, Neale will play his 252nd game.

It is a statistic that underlines beautifully the resilience and persistence of the Lions #11, who is now second for games in the jumper worn most often for the club by Alastair Lynch, having gone past Pearce Hanley’s 117 this year.

McCarthy will be the 35th player from the 2011 draft to play 150 games. And possibly the last, with only two players from his draft year who are short of this mark still playing.

Joel Hamling, taken 34 spots ahead of McCarthy at pick #32, played 23 games with the Bulldogs in 2015-16 and 65 games with Fremantle from 2017-23 before moving this year to Sydney, where he is yet to add to career total of 91 games.

And Tom Campbell, rookie pick #27 in 2015, has been stranded since late 2022 on 56 games, having played 42 games with the Dogs from 2012-17, 10 games with North from 2020-21, and two games with St.Kilda in 2022.

Significantly, not one but two of the statistical standouts from the 2011 draft will play alongside McCarthy in his milestone game on Thursday night.

Dayne Zorko, a Gold Coast junior overlooked by every AFL club in the 2007-08-09-10 drafts and picked up by the Lions as a traded concession choice from the Suns after they shunned the Broadbeach star, leads the Class of 2011 with 256 games.

Geelong’s Mark Blicavs, a former middle-distance runner and steeplechaser taken with rookie pick #54, is second at 252 from Neale (251) and pick #15 Brandon Ellis, Richmond turned Gold Coast wingman (250).

Perhaps the most telling statistic which underlines the depth of McCarthy’s persistence belongs to Ellis. He was the first player from the 2015 draft to 150 games in Round 20 2018 on his 25th birthday.

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At the same time McCarthy had played his 29 games at Geelong and was contemplating his move to Brisbane. When he plays his 150th game on Thursday night he will be more than five and a half years older than Ellis at 30 years 186 days.

Chad Wingard, pick #6 to Port Adelaide and now at Hawthorn, and Elliot Yeo, pick #30 at Brisbane and now at West Coast, were also 25 when they played their 150th.

Only three players from the Class of 2011 have been older than McCarthy at 150 – Suns captain Jarrod Witts, drafted by Collingwood via the old NSW scholarship scheme with the pick immediately after McCarthy, was 30 years 235 days old. Adam Kennedy, claimed by GWS as a previously nominated choice, was 22 days older. And Aaron Hall, taken by Gold Coast in the Pre-Season Draft being moving to North Melbourne, was the oldest at 31 years 215 days.

Yet for all that, only eight players from the 2011 draft have kicked more goals than McCarthy’s 166 – Jeremy Cameron (598), Toby Greene (340), Wingard (300), Jamie Elliot (277), Zorko (230) the retired Josh Bruce (234) and Tory Dickson (181) and Will Hoskin-Elliot (172).

And only three players have played more finals than McCarthy’s 15 - Blicavs (24), Neale (19) and Geelong pick #86 Jed Bews (18).

Interestingly, after McCarthy and Neale were reunited at Brisbane Sarah Olle of Fox Sports revisited their early friendship and recounted their first impressions of each other.

Neale said of McCarthy: “Left and right foot, overhead ability and his lateral movement are crazy. He could kick 50 metres on both feet when we were 14.”

McCarthy said of Neale: “My first impressions of Lachie in the Under 14s was that he was skilful and hard working. He seemed to be everywhere.”

After Neale won the Brownlow Medal and the AFL Players’ Association MVP award in 2020 McCarthy penned a piece for the AFLPA on his long-time mate. He described his preparation as “obsessive” as he works to maximise his skills and finds way to beat his opponent each week. He said he deserved all the accolades that had come his way simply because he worked so hard.

Ask Neale now about McCarthy and you’ll get a similarly glowing tribute in return. And rightfully so.

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Qscan Injury Update: Results in for Linc and Dizz

The Brisbane Lions confirm duo Lincoln McCarthy and Darcy Gardiner will miss the rest of the 2024 season after both rupturing their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

McCarthy and Gardiner underwent scans on Tuesday after the pair both injured their right knees in the first half of Sunday night’s win against the Gold Coast SUNS.

“It’s devastating news and everyone at the club are really thinking of Lincoln and Darcy,” Lions general manager football Danny Daly said.

“Linc and Diz are quality players and quality people who we know will do all that they can to overcome these injuries.

“We as a Club will continue to all wrap our arms around them and their families as we support them in whatever way we can during their recovery.”
 
Linc Inks New Deal With Lions

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The Brisbane Lions have rewarded Lincoln McCarthy with a new one-year deal that will keep him in the maroon, blue and gold until at least the end of 2025.

McCarthy produced an impressive start to the season kicking eight goals from the opening seven rounds as one of the Lions most consistent.

Unfortunately, the forward’s season was cut short after suffering an ACL injury in the club’s Round 8 win against the Gold Coast SUNS.

The new contract was agreed to during that period, however McCarthy only informed his teammates at training late last week.

“I am just really happy to sign on with the club again,” McCarthy said.

“The body was feeling really good before my knee injury and I’m confident I can come back better with this amazing club and group of people who have given me so much.

“I am excited for what is still to come, and I can’t wait to be back at The Gabba in front of our amazing fans next season.”

McCarthy, who hails from Bordertown and SANFL club Glenelg, will now go around for his 14th season in the AFL - which has resulted in 151 games and 167 goals.

The 30-year-old was a key member of Brisbane’s 2023 Grand Final side and is determined to overcome his ACL injury and get back playing for the Lions.

Brisbane Lions General Manager of Football, Danny Daly said that McCarthy deserved the new contract and was thrilled to have him going around again.

“Linc has contributed greatly to our Club both on and off the field in his six seasons with us and we are thrilled to have him extend his time here,” Daly said.

“From a playing perspective he has been super consistent, reliable and a terrific teammate and leader of our Club.

“Linc, his partner Tayla and their young family are much-loved members of our Club and to have them stay with us for at least another season is great news.

“We know that recovery from an ACL is a challenging period for any player, but we are all behind Linc and will support him each step of the way.”

The crafty goal sneak, who started with the Geelong Cats after being selected with Pick 66 in the 2011 National Draft, celebrated his 150th AFL match earlier this season.
 

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I must admit I did think Linc was already signed for the 2025 season. Anyone else in the same boat?
I think he was basically earlier in the season but they either didn't officially sign off on it or didn't announce it until now.
 
I must admit I did think Linc was already signed for the 2025 season. Anyone else in the same boat?
It was announced as done but not by the club. We had a long enough winning streak that we didn't need to drop any good news stories.
 
Lion to undergo radical surgery in bold September bid

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AFTER suffering a second ruptured ACL inside 10 months, Brisbane forward Lincoln McCarthy is hatching a remarkable plan to return to playing this year.

In a high-risk, high-reward strategy, McCarthy will undergo surgery in Brisbane on Tuesday with the lofty ambition of making it back by September’s finals.

Traditional rehabilitation usually takes 10-12 months, but McCarthy – with the support of the Lions – is rolling the dice on a non-traditional course of action.

Rather than the usual approach of replacing the torn ACL with a graft from the hamstring tendon, it is believed surgeons will graft from the patella tendon (between the bottom of the kneecap and top of the leg).

If the graft knits, it provides a chance at a quicker comeback, but there is significant risk attached.

McCarthy was presented with a number of options by Brisbane’s medical staff, including the traditional approach that he used last time, but after doing his own research, landed on the above option.

The 31-year-old has been an integral member of Brisbane’s rise under Chris Fagan, missing just three games from 2019 until early last season when he first ruptured the ACL against Gold Coast in round eight.

After recovering and taking part in the Lions’ AAMI Community Series match against Adelaide, McCarthy suffered the second rupture six days later in an intraclub that was organised to replace the postponed Opening Round match against Geelong.

The dynamic forward is out of contract at season’s end, and after missing out on last year’s premiership, believes he can still contribute in Brisbane’s best team should he get back this year.
 

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Senior Lincoln McCarthy (2018-)

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