LIFE OF RILEY
McGREE’S AUSSIE RULES DREAM WAS DASHED BUT HE’S MAKING AMENDS
LOCATED some 25 miles north of Adelaide, there is just about enough going on in the town of Gawler to occupy its inhabitants — but opportunities can sometimes be limited.
Even in sports-mad South Australia, not every kid with stars in their eyes is granted their every wish.
Riley McGree’s was to follow his father’s footsteps into Aussie rules. A natural athlete with boundless energy and aggression, he would have been a good fit for the code, perhaps even a professional in the making. But fate had other plans for him.
‘I got into soccer as a four-year-old after my dad (Dave) played Aussie rules and rugby league,’ said the Celtic target.
‘The only reason I got into the game is because, at the time, the footy club’s registrations were closed and the only thing I could have played was soccer.
‘They wanted me to do something because I was annoying everyone. I played for Gawler Eagles for about eight years.’
It was this sliding doors moment which took McGree down a different path and now leads to a sporting citadel in the east end of Glasgow.
The journey has been anything but smooth, though. Had it not been for the guidance of one of his early junior coaches, it might well have taken him down a dead end.
‘I wasn’t too technical back then,’ McGree admitted. ‘I was just running around with mates and having a good time. Chris Hodgson, he was the one who really pushed me the most to do my best.
‘He tried to help me really control my frustrations. He gave me freedom to do what I wanted on the pitch but always made sure I was disciplined.’
That schooling brought him to wider attention in 2015 in the shape of Adelaide United.
A year in the youth team of the A-League outfit preceded a debut 12 months later as a 17-year-old against Western Sydney Wanderers.
Despite being thrown into a struggling side by former Barcelona and Livingston midfielder Guillermo Amor, McGree’s personality on the pitch immediately made him conspicuous.
‘The boss believes in me and trusts in me,’ he said at the time. ‘He asks me to show what I can do.
‘I have always been taught to go in hard and never to be scared. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up in Gawler.
‘You’ve got to be tough and a bit of aggression in my game won’t do me any harm.’
For all his star was by then on the rise, McGree wasn’t blinded to the high rate of failure in professional sport. He even retained notions of following his father into the Australian army.
‘I have before thought about joining the army as a back-up plan ,’ he admitted. ‘It would be interesting to learn and to do what others had done.’
By then, though, there was no need to countenance Plan B. The shining light as Adelaide struggled to ninth place a year after their maiden title, McGree was already part of the international squad, with one Ange Postecoglou singing his praises.
‘We haven’t had in the A-League too many teenagers even getting a run these days,’ said the now Celtic manager.
‘I thought he looked exciting from the moment he broke into the team. I really like the way he’s adjusted to playing in an unfamiliar position against some pretty good opponents. He’s played (AFC) Champions League and A-League.’
The praise from Socceroos legend Tim Cahill was just as fulsome. ‘I think he has amazing feet, he’s good on the ball, very confident and very forward thinking,’ said Cahill.
A move to Europe with Belgian side Club Brugge followed but a lack of involvement in the first half of the 2017-18 season saw McGree return Down Under for the second half of the campaign with Newcastle Jets.
And it was there, in New South Wales, that he almost broke the internet.
Playing against Melbourne City in a play-off semi-final, the midfielder scored with an outrageous improvised scorpion kick (copyright Rene Higuita at Wembley) from outside the box.
The debate on the greatest goal the A-League has ever witnessed has never been reopened.
Almost lost beneath the deluge of praise from the great and the good was the fact that McGree’s goal had put his side in the final.
He was nominated for the FIFA Puskas Award, the prize for the most beautiful goal in the world that year, only missing out to Mo Salah.
It was still not enough to merit a look-in at Brugge, though. McGree returned for a loan with Melbourne City before signing permanently for Adelaide.
Another impressive season saw him sold just a year into a three-year contract.
The catch was that buying club Charlotte weren’t yet ready for the MLS, with McGree sent on loan to Birmingham City.
The move to St Andrew’s was something of a slow burner. Only when Lee Bowyer replaced Aitor Karanka last March did the player really come into his own.
‘He is a player that likes to get into the box and score goals,’ said Bowyer. ‘But you have to earn it. I don’t give anyone anything for nothing. He’s another one in training that has stepped up a little bit and said: “Give me a chance”. That’s why he got it.
‘I’ve never seen him work as hard out of possession as what I do now. I felt he was more of a luxury player before, that can play in as a No 10. But he has shown more than that. He has shown he is a ten, a luxury player who will also work and compete.’
His imminent departure to Celtic is being widely mourned by Blues fans who thought a permanent switch was in the post. Likewise fellow would-be suitors Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough.
Now with seven caps to his name, he is a regular in Graham Arnold’s Australia squads if not yet a first pick. His next task will be to get in ahead of Ajdin Hrustic of Eintracht Frankfurt, Jackson Irvine, now of St Pauli, and Tom Rogic.
Reborn under Postecoglou this season, Rogic will also take some displacing at Celtic, although McGree’s style of high-energy pressing, explosive dribbling and willingness to shoot on sight perhaps makes Reo Hatate more of a direct rival.
Still only 23, there is scope for improvement under the watch of his former Australia boss. A tendency to concede possession a little too cheaply being one issue.
One thing’s for sure, though; With his paymasters now backing Postecoglou to the hilt by delivering players such as McGree, Aussie rules has a whole new meaning for the kid from Gawler.