AFL pre-season news: Adelaide Crows young gun Fischer McAsey calls time

Three years and 10 games after being drafted by the Crows, Fischer McAsey walked away from the game. Matt Turner digs deeper to answer the biggest question – why?

More than a year ago, Adelaide development boss Marco Bello called former Sandringham Dragons’ coach Josh Bourke about Fischer McAsey.

McAsey had played under Bourke in a Victorian primary schools state team then again at the Dragons in 2019, but after 10 games in a promising debut season at the Crows in 2020, the No. 6 draft pick’s progress had stalled.

“Marco knew he’d had a really good year when he was with us at the Dragons, (so asked) what were some things that helped and supported him,” Bourke told News Corp.

“They were trying to push and prod him to get the best out of him.

“It was about motivation, ‘how did you get him going?’

“Marco said the biggest thing is Fisch working out whether he wants to play footy or not.”

It turned out the answer was no.

As his teammates resumed pre-season training on Monday, McAsey quit the AFL, citing a lack of passion to make it at the elite level.

The 21-year-old swingman, who was granted personal leave from the Crows in November so he could be with his family in Melbourne, believed pursuing other interests was the best thing for his long-term future and wellbeing.

Bourke said McAsey was not a footy nut and never had been.

Fischer McAsey was drafted by the Crows with pick six in the 2019 draft. Picture: Michael Dodge

“He’s a different personality to a lot of the boys that go into the AFL where all they’re hellbent on doing is becoming an AFL player,” he said. “He’s a lovely bloke, a stand-up human and a great kid.

“There was no conflict, no issues, no one disliked him, he wasn’t a bad teammate or anything, but he wasn’t super close with a bunch of his teammates and you got a sense he viewed things a little bit differently.

“But how does the (AFL) system deal with players that function differently?”

Crows ruckman Reilly O’Brien could sense at times last season that McAsey’s passion for the game was waning.

He said McAsey’s decision to take personal leave before Christmas was a surprise but Monday’s call was not.

As a good friend, as well as a member of Adelaide’s leadership group, O’Brien questioned if the club had done all it could to support him.

He believed it had.

“Fisch has made it clear to us that the support he received was all he could’ve asked for and more,” O’Brien said.

“Our environment’s a really good spot but the AFL is not for everyone, it’s a pretty tough gig in terms of the training and expectation.

McAsey has quit the Crows ahead of the club’s return to training. Picture: Morgan Sette

“I got along with him really well … and think he could’ve really contributed to the team.

“I’ve known he’s struggled over the last year or two with finding that real passion to train at a high level and play.”

O’Brien described McAsey as a quiet, deep-thinking intellectual with more in his life than football who got along with everyone in the team.

They were members of the Crows’ book club — “with six or seven of us that can read a book” — and chatted regularly outside of West Lakes.

Off the field, McAsey has started a mindfulness business, Uplift Community, offering wellness education and tips, breathing courses and “community connection events”.

O’Brien did not believe McAsey was a fish out of water in an AFL environment and said football had room for deep thinkers who were not obsessed with the game.

“There’s a lot of those guys around and a fair few at the club,” he said.

O’Brien said McAsey was in good spirits after making the decision.

“It’s probably a bit of a weight off his shoulders,” he said.

Fischer McAsey celebrates a goal in the SANFL.

Fischer McAsey at work on the training track.

The football limelight did not seem to sit all that naturally with McAsey, who became the Crows’ highest draft pick in 2019, before Riley Thilthorpe (No. 2) took the mantle a year later.

“I wonder if that (draft) talk would’ve sat uncomfortably with him,” Bourke said.

“He was unassuming, quiet, do the work, not seeking adulation.

“Would he have coped better hidden away at a Richmond doing an apprenticeship where he wouldn’t have played games that first year, would’ve still lived at home?

“Hindsight is 20-20, but maybe that would’ve been a better fit for him.

“It’s a real tricky one.”

Playing mainly as a key defender, McAsey shone in his draft year, winning Vic Metro’s Most Valuable Player award and being named an under-18 All-Australian.

Adelaide thought he was the best key-position player in the pool and loved his contested marking, so traded down from pick 4 to 6 for a future first-rounder and swooped to address what it considered a positional need.

Bourke had some question marks about McAsey’s athletic traits at AFL level, thinking he was a great anticipator of the ball though not very quick.

But he would have been surprised in 2019 if someone told him his former charge would quit the AFL after just three seasons.

“He’s the type of kid that in their interviewing and psych testing might have come up as a future captain,” he said.

McAsey played 10 senior games in his debut season of 2020. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“He’s considered, he’s intelligent, he’s respectful … thoughtful and all those things you look for in leadership.”

McAsey is also very close with his family.

At the end of his debut season, he was understandably shaken after his dad, Chris, had a major health scare while McAsey was back home in Melbourne for the first time in months due to coronavirus travel limitations.

“He’s incredibly close to his dad and that would’ve absolutely rocked him with priorities,” Bourke said.

“In my eyes, (he might have thought) ‘does it really matter?’”

McAsey ended up signing a two-year contract extension with the Crows in April 2021.

Then he had a second successive pre-season setback — a stress fracture in his femur that sidelined him for six weeks.

Last year, he could not break into Adelaide’s AFL team and struggled for form in the SANFL, leading to a switch forward as the club tried to identify his best position.

His manager, Robbie D’Orazio from Connors Sports, told News Corp in June that the hope was for McAsey to have a 10-year career at Adelaide

“He’s working really hard on and off the field, and we’re seeing real improvement,” D’Orazio said.

The Crows and coach Matthew Nicks were also remaining patient.

“I can go back over the history of players who haven’t played for two years and have gone on to play 300 games,” Nicks said.

There had been talk McAsey had to potential to play for 10 years at the Crows.

Ultimately, McAsey finished on 10, having featured in none since that first season.

He may return to the top level one day but for now, he is stepping away.

“It has been an extremely difficult decision to come to and one that I haven’t taken lightly, but through discussions with close friends and family, the club and my management, I feel that it is the right decision for my long-term future and wellbeing,” McAsey said.

“Not everyone will understand the decision, but I’m comfortable with the path that I’m headed and am excited by the ability to pursue other interests.

“I will always be thankful to the Crows for giving me the opportunity to live out a boyhood dream.”

Crows football manager Adam Kelly said the club understood the reasons behind McAsey’s decision and remained committed to supporting him.

Bourke said McAsey’s was not a sad story.

“It’s just an interesting one about how kids transition in, how do they cope with it,” he said.

“He’s choosing to walk a different path.”