SYDNEY defender Tom McCartin will finally enjoy the full support of his family and friends when he returns to his hometown, as the Swans prepare for a 'home' game against West Coast at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday.
Running out to play on GMHBA Stadium for the first time would fulfil a childhood dream for many kids that grow up around Geelong, but McCartin expects to savour his second match more than the first without pointed advice from the fervent Cats’ faithful – and some of his best mates.
The former Geelong Falcons forward has played at GMHBA Stadium once since the Swans picked him up in the 2017 NAB AFL Draft, in the 2019 season when the Cats ended the visitor’s streak of three wins at the venue.
While McCartin sensed the loyalties of some vocal friends were torn at that game, this week he’ll enjoy the full support of even the "mad Cats fans" he says he grew up with.
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"I've had heaps of old mates asking me to arrange tickets for the game. It'll be nice to have them on my side this time," McCartin said with a smile.
"We can't do much at the moment with sorting out their tickets, but it sounds like a fair few of them are going to get along.
"It'll be a bit weird playing down there against a team that's not Geelong, but it'll be really nice that my grandparents get to come and watch."
In his time as an aspiring young forward McCartin watched Tom Hawkins closely, but didn’t expect to one day use what he learned against the local hero.
But since settling into the Swans’ backline the 21-year-old is now taking on the premier power forwards, and mostly kept Hawkins in check when playing on him late last season.
McCartin had a tougher battle with Charlie Dixon last week, but hopes to bounce back when he takes on the Eagles’ marking targets Josh Kennedy, Jack Darling and Oscar Allen this week.
"There is a big challenge every week. They're gun forwards for a reason and sometimes they're going to get hold of you," McCartin said.
"I'm lucky to have [Dane] Rampe in the backline too, he's an experienced defender and he's played on most of the key forwards.
"I haven't played on Kennedy or Darling before so I’ll ask 'Ramps' for a few tips, then I'll take some notes after the game so next time I come up against them I can look at what I did well or what went wrong."
While McCartin is appreciating some unexpected time spent with family and friends in Melbourne and Geelong, he is also looking forward to returning to Sydney and catching up with his older brother.
Paddy McCartin joined the Swans' VFL team for the 2021 season in the hope that he can reignite his footy career, which earlier looked over when he suffered eight concussions while playing with St Kilda.
The No.1 pick in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft played in the Swans’ opening three VFL matches, but was then suspended for five matches for striking Geelong’s former-AFL forward Aaron Black.
"He was able to play some decent footy at the start of the year until he missed those weeks with suspension," Tom said.
"He was supposed to make his comeback last week, until we had to come down to Melbourne.
"The club sent him a training program for the next few weeks, so he's busy doing that in Sydney, trying to keep fit and doing a bit of skills work, so he's ready to play when we get back or if he's able to come down to Melbourne to play a few games.
"He's going OK. He's a really optimistic and positive guy."