Emerging forward Harry McKay signs two-year contract extension with Carlton
He was one of the shining lights for Carlton in what was a disappointing season and emerging forward Harry McKay has signed a contract extension to remain at the club in what is an early Christmas present for Blues fans.
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Carlton has secured the prized signature of emerging key forward Harry McKay with the former top-10 draft pick agreeing to a contract extension.
The 21-year-old wasn’t due to come out of contract until the end of 2019 but the talented 200cm big man has signed on for a further two years and will remain at the Blues until at least the end of 2021.
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McKay, who played 13 games and kicked 21 goals this year, was one of Carlton’s shining lights in an otherwise disappointing season and is viewed as a long-term key forward to partner Charlie Curnow and recruit Mitch McGovern.
Despite finishing as wooden spooners this year after winning just two games, McKay believes the Blues are headed in the right direction.
“We’re a tight knit playing group and I want to be working hard alongside these boys to bring success to our club once again,” he said.
“Seeing so many of the boys re-sign this year is a clear sign that we want to stick together and do everything we possibly can for our members and supporters, to make this next era an exciting one for us all.
“I know I still have a lot of hard work ahead of me to get to where I want to be as a player and that will be my focus in 2019 — to continue to learn as much as I can from the coaches and my teammates so that I can take that next step in my career.”
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Securing McKay’s signature is another crucial step in Carlton’s rebuild after re-signing superstar co-captain Patrick Cripps and gun youngsters including Curnow, Paddy Dow, Lochie O’Brien and Zac Fisher this year.
Carlton coach Brendon Bolton said securing the signatures of those players, as well as veterans Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson, means the next stage of the club’s resurgence is underway.
“We have brought in some emerging young talent to our football club in recent years and now the next step is to grow together as a group,” Bolton said.
“We look forward to Harry, Charlie, Sam Petrevski-Seton, Zac Fisher and Jacob Weitering, who have been in our system for a few years now, really driving that next phase of our development.
“To have so many of our key players commit to be part of this next phase of growth for our football club shows how committed we are to achieve success together.
“Harry up forward alongside Charlie, Mitch (McGovern) and Alex Fasolo as well as several youngsters coming through is exciting for our members and supporters.
“We are now well-placed heading into the new year to continue the hard work in pre-season and make the year ahead one that our entire club can be proud of.”
Originally published as Emerging forward Harry McKay signs two-year contract extension with Carlton
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