Draft Profile Patrick McCartin

[Skippos]

Patrick McCartin - KPF
193cm, 95kg
19/4/96
Geelong Falcons/Vic Country

Knightmare's Profile:

Player comparison: Jarryd Roughead
Range: 1-3
Profile: McCartin is an interesting case as an imposing key forward but has his health issues which complicates the analysis of his playing ability. McCartin has diabetes so he’s done exceptionally well to manage that to this point and adjust his diet and practices to allow it not to affect his football. As a result of this McCartin has been especially careful with his diet and his body and has developed a great level of professionalism towards his football. As a footballer McCartin is a strong unit for his age. He’s already shown that he can take over games both through the TAC Cup but also through the u18 champs. McCartin is best marking on the lead and has some pace allowing him to create separation and he’s got clean heads both overhead and a rare ability to take the ball down low at his toes on the lead with cleanness like you’ve never seen. McCartin is also an excellent 1v1 mark. He has incredible strength and can go to the goal square and take advantage of his direct opponent with his superior ability to read the drop of the ball and his superior strength and ability to take a grab. He’s also a very capable pack mark and if he doesn’t take it he’ll bring it to ground. He’s also for a key forward got rare ability when the ball hits the deck with his pickups, picking it up cleanly and without fumbling and having the ability to quickly get it onto his boot or off to someone in better position by hand. The weakness in McCartin’s game is his set shot goalkicking and it’s definitely a mental thing with him. I’ve never seen a key forward who likes a goal less than McCartin. He can shank those set shots more than most and quickly loses confidence in his kick and more often than not elects to go the unselfish option and find team mates in better positions but on the positive his field kicking is good and his vision finding those inside 50 targets is as good as you’ll see from a high level key forward. McCartin often also opts to play on or snap instead of drop punt with his shots on goal when losing confidence in his set shot goalkicking.

Skippos's Profile:

Range: Top 3
Style: Brendon Fevola
Profile: Of all the talls in the draft, McCartin is perhaps the safest bet. Don't get me wrong - there are question marks, but McCartin has runs on the board already that others don't. It's not so much a 'pick him on what he might become' situation as opposed to 'pick him on what he is' kind of situation. He's a smart footballer - times his leads well, leads to the right spots and comes straight at the ball. For a bloke with his dimensions he's got quite a good burst and is capable of creating separation through both smart timing and genuine acceleration. He's got sticky hands; you rarely see him fumble or drop a mark on the lead - he's a real one grab kind of player. 1 on 1 he's dominant. He outmuscles his opponent regularly but is also quite intelligent; not only can he read the drop of the ball better than most but he knows exactly when to edge out his opponent to ensure they don't get back in to the contest but to ensure he'll clunk the mark. I'm not entirely sure he'll be as dominant at AFL level 1 on 1 as his strength advantage over the generally wirey KPDs at junior level won't translate. That said he'll still be a well above average 1 on 1 mark by virtue of his superior smarts and read of the flight. At ground level McCartin is excellent and in today's game he needs to be at his below average height. He's an excellent mark below the knees and surprisingly good with his pickups for someone who doesn't look very athletic. At an AFL club McCartin will have the resources and time to condition his body further and get rid of the unnecessary weight that doesn't really help much. In the air I'm not sure McCartin is dominant like a genuinely elite KPF should be but he's certainly at worst passable. It's certainly an area I think there's some room for improvement in and something I reckon will come. As for his weaknesses two present themselves. He's got diabetes which today isn't a huge problem but there's always a little risk there. He has had to come off the field for blood checks (or something - I'm not a doctor) more often than you'd want a KPP to and his set shot goalkicking is below par. Technically it's okay but it seems that mentally he struggles which might actually be better than technical struggles; an AFL sports psychologist might be able to see some results with him pretty quickly. Right now he too often looks for another option or plays on and when he does back himself he's not very accurate. I think there's more room for recovery in him than Daniher or Butcher though.

Jourdan Canil's Profile:

Player Comparison: Brendon Fevola (without the baggage)
Strengths: One on One, goal kicking, marking in general
Areas needing improvement: working up the ground, defensive pressure
Profile: McCartin is my favourite of the key position crop this year, as he is the most dominant, week in, week out. As a 17 year old in the Championships last year, McCartin showed he is one of the better pack marks to come through since Jack Riewoldt. His marking is so strong, as he can win in the air, in a wrestle and on the lead. He’s got a bit of leg speed, so he makes one metre gaps into two or three on the lead. McCartin is also an excellent shot on goal, with set shots being one of his biggest draw cards. His health is of no real concern, as he has dealt with type-one diabetes for over 10 years.

Paige's Profile:

Projected Draft Range: Top five
Plays Like: Jonathan Brown
Profile: Only one bag away from becoming the clear number one seletion, Patrick McCartin might be one of the smartest and influential key forwards in a draft that is rich in key position talent. The big, lead-up forward has a presence on the field, and that’s not just because of the aggression he asserts or the fear he strikes in those looking to get in his way. McCartin has a great turn of foot, and his physicality he displays one-on-one makes him one of, if not the most significant key forwards available in this draft crop. McCartin relishes the one-on-one contest, especially when he’s isolated one-out in the goal square – it’s where he does his best work. With such strong body position, he’s rarely beaten because he understands where to protect the drop of the ball, and how to utilise his strong core and upper body to edge his opponent out of the contest. If he’s unable to clunk a pack mark, which he does often, he’s smart enough to bring the ball to ground and crash packs to spill the ball to the advantage of his smaller teammates. It’s well known McCartin has diabetes, but his professionalism and training loads whilst managing it have been highly commendable. This will no way affect the way he plays football at the next level.

Gee Dub's Profile:

Player comparison: Taylor Walker
Profile: McCartin is possibly the best pure forward in the draft and the Saints would be pleased to add him as a long-term replacement for Nick Riewoldt. His marking is his best asset and he clunks marks on the lead, in the air and with defenders hanging off him. He shields his opponent from the drop of the ball and takes it with his arms outstretched. His goalkicking has improved from last year, where it was very hit and miss. He appears to have more confidence when kicking for goal now and is kicking through it which is delivering better results, although I’m still not completely confident in him slotting it every time. He doesn’t need a lot of opportunities to impact a game, but in saying that, his work rate needs to improve so he can get involved more often. McCartin is a diabetic and needs to come off to check his blood sugar but it hasn’t held him back, which shows how driven he is.

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Media:

Diabetes won't hamper Patrick McCartin's AFL Career
Falcon tall forwards shape as top 10 prospects in AFL national draft
TAC Cup stats


Footage:

2013 Champs highlights

 

[TradeDraft]

Be Pick 1 or 2

 

[aussierulesrules]

Terrific article on him from the HS today, talking about how he's worked his ass off since the season finished to get his skinfolds down from about 80 to about 64, something that would have impressed our recruiting team no-end and possibly put any potential doubt that he could do it due to his diabetes to rest:

"When his season finished in September, McCartin turned to Geelong Falcons strength and conditioning chief Matt Critchley to steel himself physically and mentally for the demands of the AFL. So, in the Falcons’ Highton gym, Critchley put McCartin through an hour-and-a-half of hell, three times a week in the lead-up to the national draft.

And not once, over the two months of “super high intensity workouts”, did the prized goalkicker complain, or ask for a break.

“You could sell tickets to the workouts, they were that intense,” Critchley said. “We would box for 90 minutes-plus and in that time he might only be resting for four or five minutes, for the whole session.

“He (McCartin) is everything-you-have, every time kind of trainer.”

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/af...er-with-st-kilda/story-e6frf7jo-1227138744567

 

[I am Jack]

Terrific article on him from the HS today, talking about how he's worked his ass off since the season finished to get his skinfolds down from about 80 to about 64, something that would have impressed our recruiting team no-end and possibly put any potential doubt that he could do it due to his diabetes to rest:

"When his season finished in September, McCartin turned to Geelong Falcons strength and conditioning chief Matt Critchley to steel himself physically and mentally for the demands of the AFL. So, in the Falcons’ Highton gym, Critchley put McCartin through an hour-and-a-half of hell, three times a week in the lead-up to the national draft.

And not once, over the two months of “super high intensity workouts”, did the prized goalkicker complain, or ask for a break.

“You could sell tickets to the workouts, they were that intense,” Critchley said. “We would box for 90 minutes-plus and in that time he might only be resting for four or five minutes, for the whole session.

“He (McCartin) is everything-you-have, every time kind of trainer.”

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/af...er-with-st-kilda/story-e6frf7jo-1227138744567

I noticed he looked more refined, looks ready to go.
I'd of taken McCartin at pick 1, he comes across as a leader.

 

[aussierulesrules]

I noticed he looked more refined, looks ready to go.
I'd of taken McCartin at pick 1, he comes across as a leader.

Yeah, we're apparently hugely impressed with his character and so-on and felt he was clearly the best equipped to handle going at pick 1 and all that entails and if he continues to get his skinfolds down at this rate over the rest of the preseason, he could be ready to play some footy next year. He and the similar but shorter Membrey could make a pretty strong and powerful combo up there down the track, hopefully with Spencer White offering that point of difference, with his speed, athleticism and x-factor.

 

[aussierulesrules]

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...s-footy-career-organised-20141124-11s77k.html

 

[PetWussy]

Yeah, we're apparently hugely impressed with his character and so-on and felt he was clearly the best equipped to handle going at pick 1 and all that entails and if he continues to get his skinfolds down at this rate over the rest of the preseason, he could be ready to play some footy next year. He and the similar but shorter Membrey could make a pretty strong and powerful combo up there down the track, hopefully with Spencer White offering that point of difference, with his speed, athleticism and x-factor.

Bruce would surely be better than spence