Former No.1 draft pick turned Essendon vice captain Andrew McGrath had to grow up quickly after entering the AFL system as a wide-eyed 18-year-old.
Not only did he face the pressure of being the top selection in 2016, but he was taken by one of the league’s biggest clubs, who he had to help steer through challenging times.
Essendon vice captain Andrew McGrath will play his 150th game on Friday night.Credit: AFL Photos
The Canadian-born defender came into the club during one of its lowest ebbs, as several from the list returned from their 12-month drugs ban. He then developed his leadership to take on the vice-captaincy in 2023 and had to face head-on the constant scrutiny from success-starved Bomber fans and the media.
Now, McGrath and the rest of the playing group and staff are “acutely aware” of being in a similar position to where they were this time last year, when they took a nosedive down the ladder and missed finals.
In 2023 – Brad Scott’s first year as coach and Zach Merrett’s first as captain – Essendon were finals-bound, sitting fifth on the ladder after round 17. But then they ultimately tumbled to 11th, winning only two more games against the lowly West Coast and North Melbourne, and suffering a 126-point thrashing from GWS and a 70-point loss to Collingwood.
Now, they sit fourth on the ladder – after rising to second spot in round 10 and remaining in the top four since – but have suffered defeats in three of their past four matches, losing to Geelong (45 points), Carlton (26) and Gold Coast (11).
McGrath (pictured with former coach John Worsfold) was taken with the No.1 pick by the Bombers in 2016.Credit: Christopher Pearce
“I think it’d be remiss of us not to address it. We’re in a very similar position 12 months ago, and everyone knows sort of what happened in the back end of the year,” McGrath said.
“We sort of let things slip, and we fell quite dramatically down the ladder. But I think because of that experience, we’re in a much better position to deal with that pressure and that crunch that happens at the end of the season.”
A big test arrives this Friday night against the Magpies, who the Bombers drew with on Anzac Day. Both sides are coming off losses, Essendon to the Cats and Collingwood to Gold Coast.
“After a disappointing loss ... you just want to get back out there on the biggest stage, and Friday night in front of hopefully a big crowd will give us the opportunity to do that.”
That game will also be McGrath’s 150th, a milestone he reaches after putting pen to paper earlier this year on a new six-year contract, keeping him a Bomber until at least 2030.
“I feel middle-aged now,” joked McGrath, who added “but still young in terms of life”.
After developing into the leader he is now, he wants to help foster a good environment for the younger players in the Bomber ranks, as Dyson Heppell, Michael Hurley and Jobe Watson did for him when he was a teen.
“In my first few years, it was relatively stable. We went through a little bit of change from a coaching point of view, but probably didn’t really understand it too much until I sort of hit 22, 23 years old and you get the brutality of footy,” McGrath said.
The Bombers signed off the 2023 season with two losses by a combined total of 196 points.Credit: Getty Images
McGrath stepped into the deputy vice-captaincy in 2022, the same year Ben Rutten was sacked following a week of turmoil for the club, including board upheaval, and the subsequent failed pursuit of legendary coach Alastair Clarkson.
“I think a big responsibility of leaders and senior players of a footy club is to wear a bit of that burden ... Throughout 2022 we had a pretty tough time with a lot of change. And through that period, the last thing I wanted is our younger players to feel anxiety or stress around what was happening,” McGrath said.
“And as leaders of the footy club at that time, you face a lot of the media, you face a lot of the noise and want to shelter your younger players from that.”
A lot of those challenges were very public – a by-product of being an AFL player – which can make things difficult. But McGrath added: “It holds you quite accountable for your own life.
“You are forced to behave certain ways in certain situations, which make you grow up really quickly. I guess I learned that very young.”
One of his other biggest lessons, was in distinguishing who he is as a footballer and a person. He credits his family, parents, Mike and Sandy, and siblings, Noah and Haleigh, and partner Emma with helping his perspective on this.
“Early days, I think I probably got that balance wrong. I was quite – people wouldn’t call me selfish – but I felt quite selfish on reflection,” said McGrath.
“My world revolved around footy. My emotions Monday to Friday were dictated by how I go on the weekend, and a few years in, I understood that I really had to change ... Football’s a game, and I absolutely love it, it’s my career, but it shouldn’t dictate how I treat my family or how I am around my mates.
“They know and understand that footy is just a part of what I do, not who I am. And I guess as I’ve gotten older, I’ve been able to create boundaries around my workplace, but also find some great enjoyment outside of the footy club.”
Helping in this regard in his newborn puppy Henry, a groodle (a cross between a poodle and golden retriever), which he jokes with Emma about being their “first try at having a kid”.
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