Inspiring return from Paddy whacks
PADDY McCartin’s harrowing radio interview on Triple M in mid-2019 – in the months after his eighth and last concussion – was compelling but awfully difficult to hear.
The No.1 pick in the 2014 draft was struggling to watch TV or go to the supermarket.
“I’m a shell of a person that I was,” the Saints player said at the time. “I can’t do the basic things.”
Suddenly the commentary about when McCartin, who kicked 34 goals in 35 games for the Saints between 2015-18, would realise his potential was silenced.
Few who listened that day expected him to play again but his round 1 return with the Swans, alongside his younger brother Tom, is a fairytale in the making.
McCartin didn’t play any football in 2019 and also sat out the 2020 season. Doctors now say he hasn’t sustained long-term damage.
“That gave me a lot of comfort,” McCartin said.
Plenty of recruiters touched base in 2020 but in the end he signed with Sydney’s VFL team and transformed into a defender.
The results were so spectacular that he joined the Swans on the road when the pandemic struck Sydney hard last year.
There was genuine belief that McCartin might find a home at the mid-season draft until he struck Aaron Black twice in an ugly off-theball incident and was banned for five matches.
McCartin understood why he didn’t receive a mid-season opportunity and thrived upon being in the hub and getting “a taste of that dayto-day footy life”.
They made him wait until January to officially sign him to their AFL list, via the pre-season supplemental selection period, but he likely knew for some time it was heading that way.
While the journey has been difficult, McCartin would have it no other way. “It’s taught me a lot about myself,” he said.
His comeback game, his first in 1351 days, against the Giants tonight may double as the match where superstar teammate Lance Franklin boots goal No.1000.
“He’s a champ, Bud, and his career speaks for itself,” he said.