Cam McCarthy takes indefinite leave

[Mach5 4,767]

https://audioboom.com/boos/3221069-cam-mccarthy-on-the-run-home?t=0

Took me a little while, but I found it - his interview on SEN after receiving the Rising Star nomination. After throwing him to wolves a bit, Ox tries to rescue the naive kid a little bit.

DS: Cam, David Schwarz, who did you barrack for as a kid?
CM: I was a Fremantle Docker, die-hard.
DS: How die-hard were you?
CM: Well, I was born on their first ever game...
DS: Nice stat, yep.
CM: Yeah, and then I went to the Grand Final that year that they unfortunately lost. Their first one, so I flew over for that.
MA: That's not so obvious.
DS: Ok, what about - whose poster did you have up?
CM: Whose poster? Nah, I was always a big Matty Pav fan growing up, and then towards the end Nat Fyfe sorta took over. He's a bit of a gun.
DS: So what about when you come up against them, how do you feel playing against Fremantle? Do you still have a soft spot for them?
CM: Yeah, definitely, I still watch them on the weekends and stuff like that. I always flick on the TV and I'll barrack for them, whoever they're playing against except the giants, of course. If I ever come across playing against them, I reckon it'd be an unreal feeling, that's for sure. Running across the oval next to guys you supported as a kid, that'd be pretty surreal.
SL: You know if you have a quiet game or you kick 1 goal 5 there'll be an investigation into you against the Dockers...
CM: Yeah, I guess I shouldn't be giving too much away there.

**Mark Allen waffling about riding a skateboard & McCarthy saying he's a free spirit**

DS: Sunday August 2nd, it's 4:40pm, Dockers vs Giants over in the west... what are you gonna be doing?
CM: ...hopefully kick a bag against...
DS: Exactly right! That's the answer we wanted! Obviously you know their side, who would pick you up?
CM: Maybe Michael Johnson, maybe?
DS: How would you play him, because he's tall, he's got good leg speed, he's got a fair few tricks up his sleeve...
SL: He'd have to take his badge off.
*laughs*
CM: Over the years watching him, he loves dropping off, and taking the game on, and taking intercept marks, so probably try to make him accountable for most of the game, and try not to let him drop off as much, but he's a great player, definitely a challenge, that's for sure.

Not hard to imagine his lust for Freo turning into the current situation. 
"Just say he's got anxiety and depression issues, then no one can challenge or question him..."

I will treat this whole affair with a healthy dose of skepticism.

 

[mo64 5,874]

18 hours ago, jnrmac said:

Freo already offer their first round draft picks for the next two years. What more could they have done?

GWS were happy to trade away picks, so Freo's 1st rd pick this year was next to useless. The onus was on Freo to give GWS something of value to get the deal done. They wouldn't, so why should GWS just cave in?

[Mach5 4,767]

The picks Freo were offering were worth less to GWS than a handful or 2nd and 3rd rounders from another club, because it was a given they'd need to be included as part of the bidding for academy players.
The picks were next to worthless as it would just mean that GWS would end up with surplus 3rd & 4th round picks they would pass on. 

[stuie 7,374]

26 minutes ago, Curry & Beer said:

This is as weak and pathetic as Mitch Clark

Have they started calling him 'brave' yet?

Yeah people with depression are "weak and pathetic", what a top bloke you are.

 

[Uncle Fester 2,848]

20 hours ago, Choke said:

Maybe Scully vomited on him.

That, my friend, is gold.

[Good Times Grimes 2,396]

Here we go...

 

[Bombay Airconditioning 6,394]

6 hours ago, beelzebub said:

Doesn't sound like he's cut out for AFL.

He may want to reevaluate where he's going.

Edit. Before some Nong has a go. I'm not beratinv anyone for such, its just commentary. We can all have dreams and ideas only to find its not what we thought when/if we get there.

Nong as in Ning Nong?

[Bombay Airconditioning 6,394]

The best excuse (by excuse I mean excuse, I'm not commenting on mental health issues) for getting out of work would have to go to a bloke I work with. He told the boss he couldn't work the following day because he had to marinate meat. I managed to keep a straight face right up to the bit where he said he had all the bags laid out ready to go, it was at that point I lost my [censored].

[DeeSpencer 25,698]

4 hours ago, Mach5 said:

The picks Freo were offering were worth less to GWS than a handful or 2nd and 3rd rounders from another club, because it was a given they'd need to be included as part of the bidding for academy players.
The picks were next to worthless as it would just mean that GWS would end up with surplus 3rd & 4th round picks they would pass on. 

Not at all. They could have on traded last years picks for another one next year and just continued the cycle. 

That clearly isn't worth as much as a 40 goal a year key forward who's just turned 20, but they added 4 home grown academy kids in last years draft including a key forward and a ruck/forward and they've got academy prospects lined up for the new few years.

I get that they have to put the foot down at some stage and say no more to players leaving when contracted, but it's looking like they chose the wrong situation. They've been happy to trade out contracted players when it's suited them (ie Tyson), happy to trade in contracted players (Griffen) and have signed so many of their best players - Cameron, Patton, Shiel, Coniglio, Kelly - to long term deals. 

I know he had injuries that contributed to his issues but if someone offered 2 first round picks for Mitch Clark at the end of 2012 you'd take it and run. It's naive of the Giants to think they can help McCarthy get better when it sounds like he really thinks he should be back in Perth and judging from the outside it sounds like they aren't considering his circumstances individually and are lumping in the issues of players going home with his issues.

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

4 hours ago, stuie said:

Yeah people with depression are "weak and pathetic", what a top bloke you are.

 

more poster abuse/trolling

this is the third time this week i have complained

the other two my complaint was simply deleted

will it be a hat trick

[Satyriconhome 10,877]

5 minutes ago, Curry & Beer said:

more poster abuse/trolling

this is the third time this week i have complained

the other two my complaint was simply deleted

will it be a hat trick

You said people with depression are weak and pathetic, you are lucky that any poster who has had to deal with a person close to them suffering with depression can only type abuse to you....but complain away

[titan_uranus 25,018]

I have little sympathy for him - he signed that extension.

AFL players can't have their cake and eat it too. Homesickness is real but if you put your pen on the paper and commit to a club, you have to deal with the consequences.

GWS has to deal with it now, but I like the stance they took. Too many players fail to understand what a contract really means when they sign it. It seems many see it as a one-way promise (i.e. club is bound to keep you and pay you, a safety net until you find something better). GWS simply enforced its right under the contract.  

Edit: this has nothing to do with any mental illnesses McCarthy may be suffering from. I'm talking purely from the legal point of things (i.e. complaining about not being traded last year when he asked).

Edited January 30, 2016 by titan_uranus

[KingDingAling 3,758]

21 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

Not at all. They could have on traded last years picks for another one next year and just continued the cycle. 

That clearly isn't worth as much as a 40 goal a year key forward who's just turned 20, but they added 4 home grown academy kids in last years draft including a key forward and a ruck/forward and they've got academy prospects lined up for the new few years.

I get that they have to put the foot down at some stage and say no more to players leaving when contracted, but it's looking like they chose the wrong situation. They've been happy to trade out contracted players when it's suited them (ie Tyson), happy to trade in contracted players (Griffen) and have signed so many of their best players - Cameron, Patton, Shiel, Coniglio, Kelly - to long term deals. 

I know he had injuries that contributed to his issues but if someone offered 2 first round picks for Mitch Clark at the end of 2012 you'd take it and run. It's naive of the Giants to think they can help McCarthy get better when it sounds like he really thinks he should be back in Perth and judging from the outside it sounds like they aren't considering his circumstances individually and are lumping in the issues of players going home with his issues.

It isn't naive of the Giants. They have a whole list to manage. They need to set a precedent, and they have a lot of talent on their list (currently contracted). One of those players is McCarthy, so I doubt they will let him go. After last years trade period, McCarthy would be aware he'll have to see out his contract, so now he looks to be taking steps to get around that (one of those steps is to sit out the year IMO). If the Giants can keep him legally (as he is contracted, so they should be able to), then they should make him see his contract out. McCarthy either sits it out, or plays for GWS (till he is uncontracted). There is nothing to suggest GWS will let McCarthy out of his contract (Dave Mathews has been strong on this), so it looks as though he is there to stay.

[junk 342]

Cam will be cured of his inflication once he is playing for freo next year. Future nickname Mitch Clark mark2 .

[Cards13 9,117]

On 29 January 2016 at 2:32 PM, McQueen said:

I'm all for GWS playing hard ball and not trading him but surely with all of the psych testing and other behavioural analysis that clubs do nowadays they should've seen it coming.

Look, for all we know his reasons for wanting back to WA could be very plausible. All we're hearing is homesickness but it could be well warranted.

Kids mature at different rates. AFL clubs need to somehow predict the future.

Mate I think we have seen AFL clubs are not as sharp as we think they are when it comes to players. 

[Middymalt 244]

1 hour ago, Cards13 said:

Mate I think we have seen AFL clubs are not as sharp as we think they are when it comes to players. 

Agree should've traded the [censored] especially when the manager said we will be in the same position next year!

[Lil_red_fire_engine 11,176]

The amount of comments on this thread about him being a sook just shows how much further appreciation and understanding of anxiety and depression has to go.

The kid can seriously play and I hope he gets its together and plays somewhere when he is capable. 

[Curry & Beer 5,444]

21 hours ago, Satyriconhome said:

You said people with depression are weak and pathetic, you are lucky that any poster who has had to deal with a person close to them suffering with depression can only type abuse to you....but complain away

No I didn't, you liar, stuie said that - and I know far more about the topic than you do so don't stick your nose in with vague threats of violence. Who do you think you are? Maybe we will bump into each other down at training one of these days eh and then you can make good on your threats

Unbelievable how soft minded most of you are, even AFTER what we saw happen with Mitch Clark. Being depressed is one thing, it doesn't excuse bad behaviour.

Feeling depressed? Just go ahead and chuck in the towel then, don't worry about people you have made commitments to

Great advice for a great society championed by the likes of yourself and mr.women's rights on his soapbox stuie. The SJW who is just such a  better human than the rest of us. Such great human but somehow gets into a spat with a different poster every day on this forum, he's got a big old heart though doesn't he (vomit)

PS lucky me that my post wasn't deleted this time, although no action for stuie eh, I guess some people are allowed to exhibit textbook trolling and break the site rules on a daily basis with impugnity

[stuie 7,374]

22 hours ago, Satyriconhome said:

You said people with depression are weak and pathetic

 

5 minutes ago, Curry & Beer said:

No I didn't, you liar, stuie said that

 

On 30/1/2016 at 11:32 AM, Curry & Beer said:

This is as weak and pathetic as Mitch Clark

Have they started calling him 'brave' yet?

 

[dee-luded 2,959]

On 29/1/2016 at 9:40 AM, Mach5 said:

Homesickness. A truly debilitating condition...

Honestly, listening to him, the kid wouldn't be all that bothered by missing a year of footy, in my eyes.

Yes no doubt... but when its used as an excuse buy some  as a tool of trade only, its lost integrity & also undermines the real issue for those with integrity.

 

money & greed is undermining all of our best values from our once great & honorable society, as ones word is worth $$$ only.  And not to have any faith in.

[DeeSpencer 25,698]

Simple solution. McCarthy's contract with GWS stands but instead of getting paid by them he is loaned out to a WAFL club for half the year with an option for the full year. 

He's paid WAFL money only and at the end of the year GWS can trade him. 

If players are willing to forego 5 grand a week on AFL contracts for WAFL match payments then good luck to them. I doubt there will be players feigning mental illness as so many people keep alluding to.

[Wiseblood 24,637]

51 minutes ago, Curry & Beer said:

No I didn't, you liar, stuie said that - and I know far more about the topic than you do so don't stick your nose in with vague threats of violence. Who do you think you are? Maybe we will bump into each other down at training one of these days eh and then you can make good on your threats

Unbelievable how soft minded most of you are, even AFTER what we saw happen with Mitch Clark. Being depressed is one thing, it doesn't excuse bad behaviour.

Feeling depressed? Just go ahead and chuck in the towel then, don't worry about people you have made commitments to

Great advice for a great society championed by the likes of yourself and mr.women's rights on his soapbox stuie. The SJW who is just such a  better human than the rest of us. Such great human but somehow gets into a spat with a different poster every day on this forum, he's got a big old heart though doesn't he (vomit)

PS lucky me that my post wasn't deleted this time, although no action for stuie eh, I guess some people are allowed to exhibit textbook trolling and break the site rules on a daily basis with impugnity

I think the bottom line in this, no matter how we feel, is that we don't know the full story.  All we know is that he has been given a leave of absence and has headed back home to be with his family.  Of course we can speculate and I understand that some will defend him and others will have no sympathy towards him.  I have never experienced homesickness, nor have I experienced depression, so I can't really comment.  If he played for us I could be angry that he has left the club in the lurch, but it's harsh to do more than that unless we know the full story.

Titan made a terrific post above that highlights this - little sympathy for him due to the fact he signed an extension and committed to the club when he could have waited and then made his way home to Freo, but there is nothing about calling him 'weak and pathetic' as you did.

Hopefully the kid can get himself right and return to the club... after Round 1. 

[Sir Why You Little 37,035]

On 29 January 2016 at 1:17 PM, willmoy said:

Would not be one bit surprised if Bombers have had their fingers in this mishmash already. Told him to go home, lay low, we will take care of everything.

Looking for someone to help Danaher, ready to go and plenty of draft space and money from the AFL 

Interesting thought...

[junk 342]

If a footballer declares himself homesick or has mental health issues that person should be banned from AFL footy for a minimum 2 yrs. They are also unable to get any payments from their club. You could imagine if any player from any club could claim mental health issues in order to get transferred to a more successful club. Imagine Hogan,Brayshaw,Oliver and Petracca claiming mental health issue in order to play for a Hawthorn or a Sydney Swans.You have to draw a line in the sand. 

[Moonshadow 17,676]

11 minutes ago, ENYAW said:

If a footballer declares himself homesick or has mental health issues that person should be banned from AFL footy for a minimum 2 yrs. They are also unable to get any payments from their club. You could imagine if any player from any club could claim mental health issues in order to get transferred to a more successful club. Imagine Hogan,Brayshaw,Oliver and Petracca claiming mental health issue in order to play for a Hawthorn or a Sydney Swans.You have to draw a line in the sand. 

Based on that view ENYAW, I'd say you'd probably be the only person standing on your side of the sand line.

Edited January 31, 2016 by Moonshadow