Footy legend questions whether AFL did enough to help Fremantle player Cam McCarthy after tragic death
- Five-time prime minister was a former coach of McCarthy
- Was shocked by the tragic death of the 29 year old
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Hawthorn great Dermott Brereton has questioned whether the AFL as a community has done enough to help former Fremantle star Cam McCarthy, who was found dead in Perth on Friday.
Emergency services discovered the former Fremantle and GWS Giants AFL player near Lake Coogee in Perth after he was called there about 6.15pm on Thursday.
Throughout his AFL career from 2014 to 2020, McCarthy struggled with mental health issues, which attracted public attention.
He left the Giants in late 2015, a year before his contract expired, and was later traded to Fremantle after initially being denied a trade request during the 2015 trade period.
In 2016, the Giants placed him on an indefinite leave of absence to deal with his mental health closer to his family.
McCarthy’s career faced further challenges when he collapsed in training in 2020 due to epilepsy, and despite being medically cleared to play, Fremantle did not renew his contract at the end of the season.
Five-time premiership-winning Hawthorn star Dermott Brereton has questioned whether enough has been done to help former Fremantle star Cam McCarthy
The former Hawks star and AFL commentator was moved by the tears of Nat Fyfe and other former McCarthy teammates
Brereton worked with McCarthy at GWS and wondered if he could have done more to reach the troubled star
The Dockers and Sydney Swans paid tribute to McCarthy before their match at Perth Stadium on Friday evening with former team-mates
Brereton was left shattered by the death of his former protégé who he mentored during his early years with the GWS Giants.
The five-time premiership winner helped develop young forwards at the Giants, took a particular liking to McCarthy and questioned whether he was being given enough support.
“It touched me (Friday night) to see Alex Pearce and Nat Fyfe just split,” Brereton said on SEN.
“It was extremely sad.”
“He was just a very nice young man who had lost his way… (he) had some problems of his own. To the McCarthy family, please accept mine and our sincere, deepest condolences.”
Brereton stayed in touch with McCarthy after he left the Giants and moved back to Western Australia to play with the Dockers.
“I haven’t spoken to him in probably two to three years and obviously a lot has happened in that time,” he said.
‘His (phone) number is still on (my) phone… I looked at it this morning (Saturday) and looked at it and thought, knowing what happened, ‘have we done enough… have I had enough with talked to him?’
“Not that I was deeply involved in his life, but he called me after he left the Giants and asked me things when he was in Fremantle.”
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