Andrew McGrath is relishing his return to defence in 2023, drawing many plaudits after a stellar lockdown role on star Brisbane forward Charlie Cameron last weekend.
Speaking to Sportsday on Thursday ahead of Dreamtime at the ‘G this Saturday against Richmond, McGrath noted his more defensive role as an enjoyable challenge to readjust to.
“I’ve played all sorts of roles throughout my career to date and have enjoyed the continuity of being a part of that back six,” McGrath said.
“(I also) really enjoyed the challenge last week of going against probably the best small forward in the comp (Cameron).”
After being deployed across various midfield roles over the past few seasons, McGrath admitted the matchup with Cameron was one of his favourite duels to date in his career.
McGrath even found it comparable to his task on former Adelaide star Eddie Betts back in 2017, which saw the then-19-year-old receive a NAB Rising Star nomination in just his fourth career game on the way to taking out the award at season’s end.
“I pride myself a little bit on that one from back then, but in recent times for sure, (Cameron) has been a big one,” McGrath said.
“My role hasn’t been that lockdown type for a long time, but it was what the team needed on the weekend, and I was happy to fulfil that.”
Looking ahead, McGrath is also bullish on the growth of the Bombers heading into Dreamtime at the ‘G, with the adjustment to Senior Coach Brad Scott’s game plan showing positive signs despite recent losses.
“We’re still learning a slightly new system – Brad’s done a really good job at trying to narrow our focus on gameday to keep it really simple for us, but then also work on the micro stuff with his coaching team,” McGrath said.
“I feel like each week we’re getting slightly better at that, even though the results haven’t been going our way.”
McGrath believes Dons fans will have plenty to look forward to in the second half of the season, especially when all systems are firing.
“We would have loved to have stolen a few of the games that we haven’t finished,” McGrath said.
“Considering the key personnel that we’ve lost and where we’ve come from, I think we’ve shown our fans that they can have a bit of hope for the back end of the season.”