McCartin going head-on into new season

A RESOLUTE Paddy McCartin is confident his concussion nightmare is in the past as he sets his sights on a new season.

The St Kilda forward had a horror 2017, with head knocks and inconsistent form restricting him to five appearances — none after Round 12.

McCartin has been concussed six times since 2014, when he was taken with the first pick in the national draft.

But speaking at the Saints’ one-to-four-year camp on a farm in Ghin Ghin, near Yea, he was relishing a new campaign.

“I’m feeling really confident and so are the doctors and everyone I’ve spoken to that I’m going to be fine and I’m really looking forward to next year,” McCartin said.

“It’s not like I’m more prone to them. I just put my head in the wrong spot a couple of times and copped my whack.

“I’ve got the best people in Australia looking after me. They wouldn’t put me at risk.”

McCartin, 21, suffered his last head knock playing for Sandringham in the VFL on June 24, ending his season and prompting drastic predictions from outside the club.

But he embarked on a fitness regimen that prompted this week’s personal best timetrial result.

“It was tough. But you take in what you want,” he said.

“It was a long 12 weeks where I didn’t play, but with that I got pretty fit . . . built a good base and that’s given me a good platform.”

McCartin said his technique was being refined.

“I’ve spoken to ‘Richo’ (Alan Richardson) and ‘Sammy’ (Aaron) Hamill about a few things because the last one I put my head in a spot where my bum could have gone, as they say,” he said.

“But the way I attack the footy in the air and on the ground isn’t going to change.”

McCartin is out of contract at the end of 2018, but said an extension would be a formality.

“The club has invested a lot in me and I feel like they’ve looked after me really well with all the stuff with my head. The contract will get worked out,” he said.