I thought the work of Pearce, Ryan and Hamling in the opening quarter was what allowed Cam McCarthy to get a few kicks without being under enormous pressure. Which helped him get his confidence up and his game just grew from there.
Reminded me of Shaun Marsh coming in at 4 after the openers had settled in a built a partnership.
Actually, I thought of Michael Barlow in 2010. He was the magic ingredient that made the team gel together after a very flat looking 2009 and, if you're honest, recruiting him was complete luck.
McCarthy wasn't meant to play. He wasn't even good enough for them to bother giving him a run in the pre-season but a bunch of stuff happened, he got a chance, things went right for him and magic happened. He might be the magic ingredient that gets us out of the doldrums.