I admit I haven’t seen much of McCarthy (or GWS in general). They say stats are for people who haven’t seen the games, but his stats aren’t great.
1.8 goals, 3.6 marks, 9 touches. Compare that to a truly elite key forward at the same age at the same position on a worse team in Jesse Hogan: 2.2 goals, 6.7 marks, 13 touches.
There are a couple of things that worry me. First, he’s not big (193cm). Second, he’s not taking heaps of marks. Third, he’s only ever had to play on the second best defender, in a forward line where everyone should rightly be worried about Cameron.
If the Giants have refused two (late) first round picks, can someone who has seen a bit of him play let me know why he’s that good a player (as opposed to why we need him so much).