Paddy McCartin has his sights set on a return to the AFL
Paddy McCartin says the ‘concussion cloud’ which has been hanging over this head is gone, with the former Saint now locked in on a return to the AFL. But will that be with his old club?
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Former No. 1 draft pick Paddy McCartin has revealed the “concussion cloud” hanging over his head is gone and he has his sights set on a return to the AFL.
The 23-year-old was delisted by St Kilda at the end of last season after suffering eight concussions in a five-year period.
However, the key forward is now symptom free and says the “fire is burning deep” for a return to the elite level.
“Realistically I’m good to go now in terms of playing,” McCartin told SEN.
“I’ve got to make up fitness and stuff like that but in terms of there being this big concussion cloud hanging over my head that I might not be able to play again, that’s gone.
“I’m basically the same as any other player who is outside a list and looking to get drafted.”
After stepping away from the game last year, McCartin enrolled in a rehab program at the Epworth Hospital in December.
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While the program was scheduled to take upwards of nine months, the forward completed it by the start of March.
“I think I shocked them a bit,” he said.
McCartin was scheduled to do a “return to contact” test earlier this month. However, due to the coronavirus, that has been pushed back to a later date.
He said indications from doctors were that they were “really confident” he would have passed.
“Basically that means I have no longer got any concussion stuff to worry about,” he explained.
“At the moment I am not on a list anywhere so I’d have to get back on a list somewhere. But in terms of concussion or anything like that, I’m basically the same as anyone else now.
“The doctors have told me I don’t have any greater risks (of suffering a concussion) than any other player on an AFL list.
“It is just that I’ve had a few before. Now I am fully rehabbed from that, I am good to go.”
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Although no longer on the club’s list, McCartin has been a familiar face at the Saints during 2020. Until the coronavirus shutdown, he was training multiple times per week at the club, using the gym facilities and completing programs written out for him by trainers and coaches.
While McCartin’s preference would be to continue playing at St Kilda, he is also open to joining another club.
“I think the Saints, they’ve been incredible. They’ve been an amazing support,” he said.
“I’d love to keep playing for the Saints but technically I’m not on the list. I’m open to anything. I think the Saints are too. I think everyone is open to whatever.”