It's not that he's ungrateful for finally getting his opportunity in the AFL after being taken by the Roos at selection No. 38 in the 2005 AFL Rookie Draft, it's just that he knows he can get better.
And given his tendency to improve in each of his three years in the system, it's little wonder McMahon is striving to make 2008 even bigger than last year's breakout season.
"I was sort of happy with how I went last year but I'm going into this year hoping I can keep getting better and having more of an impact on how the side performs," he said.
"Last year I played most of my footy in the ones in a forward role but this year I'm hoping I can maybe play a bit more up on the wing or in the midfield, where I reckon I can get into the game a bit more.
"If I can give Dean (Laidley) an extra option there, I reckon I'll be of more value to the side."
McMahon's midfield aspirations were dealt a blow when he wasn't even included in the 28-man squad to take on the Western Bulldogs in the first round of the NAB Cup. No stranger to the knocks that football can sometimes deal, through sheer hard work McMahon soon found himself back in the senior side.
A “solid” performance against Brisbane at MC Labour Park preceded what he thinks was his best effort in senior company, an impressive display on the wing against Fremantle in Perth.
"That Fremantle game I played the majority of the game in the midfield and it was undoubtedly my best game for the pre-season.
"I was instructed to try to work my man over with my endurance and that I had to try to work as hard as I could to link up and give the side some run from defence and I reckon I did that in that game.
"I'd say I'm in the top few runners at the club – I usually finish in the top four or five in our runs – so I know I have to use that strength if I'm not just playing out of a forward pocket all the time as I did a lot throughout 2007."
With 16 games – including three finals – under his belt, McMahon acknowledges that he crammed a lot into his debut AFL season last year.
But he says it doesn't seem all that long ago that he was battling away as a rookie-listed player in front of empty stands in the VFL reserves for Port Melbourne.
"At times I had to pinch myself when I was playing in front of those big crowds at the MCG when only a year or two earlier I was playing without any other North players with the Port Melbourne twos in front of about three people.
"It's easy to say now, but I really do believe that my journey to get here has probably helped me appreciate it all a bit more and has given me confidence that I can come back from those kicks in the teeth you're always going to get in footy.
"When I didn't get a game in that NAB Cup game this year, I was shattered at the time but you just have to take a deep breath and put your head down and work even harder to increase your chances of getting back in the side.
"There are a couple of other players in the team who have had a similar background, either coming from the rookie list, or coming from another club, so hopefully those experiences will help us come through with a pretty strong side that can go on to bigger and better things."
