EVERYONE has a moment of clarity in their lives when the bigger picture comes into focus. Clayton McCartney, 16, from Cranbourne, had his moment of clarity as an under-14s footballer playing for the Narre North Foxes in the Dandenong and District Junior Football League (now South East Juniors).
The Foxes won the premiership that season and McCartney won most of the awards in the league and knew he was able to compete and could take on his opposition regardless of who it was.
“It was my first year in premier division,” McCartney said. “I played division three all the way up to then.
“I won the goalkicking that year and I won the league medal.
“That’s when I realised I could be something in the future.
“That I was matching it with some of the best around the local area.”
McCartney wasn’t just matching them, he was beating them.
He had excelled in the competition, kicking 65 goals for the season to win the league goalkicking award.
On top of the goalkicking award, McCartney was named league best and fairest in the under-14 premier division, getting 28 votes.
He achieved this as a midfielder who loved to patrol the space on the half forward line where goal opportunities become reality.
“I played mostly junior footy in the centre, but I love to kick goals,” McCartney said. “So probably centre half forward and around the centre.”
The last two years have been a whirlwind of fantastic football opportunity for the young midfielder.
McCartney was coached by Andrew McLeod last year in the Flying Boomerangs side during a week-long football tour in Tonga.
He is now coached by a couple more great indigenous footballers, Michael O’Loughlin and Chris Johnson, at the AIS-AFL Academy and the opportunities McCartney is receiving as a young player have left him humble when he hears of what other indigenous players had to fight through to achieve.
“I’ve heard a few of their stories and how hard it was to get to the AFL level,” McCartney said.
“I’m pretty lucky with these indigenous camps.
“My coach Chris Johnson with the AIS, when he was young he didn’t have this sort of stuff.
“He had to catch a lot of trams and trains to get to training.”
Getting the call up about his AIS-AFL Academy scholarship was a brilliant moment for McCartney – another validation of his immense football talent at such a young age.
“It was a really exciting time when I got called up with the AIS scholarship,” McCartney said. “Throughout the nationals camp I sort of had it in the back of my head that I had to perform well, do everything I could to get respected around my team-mates and opponents.
“I had a good carnival and didn’t think I would be selected, but I got the call-up a couple of weeks later and was stoked to get the call up for the scholarship.”
McCartney draws natural comparisons to the indigenous players he looks up to and strives to replicate some of the magic they produce on the field.
“Some people have said I look a lot like Daniel Wells but I don’t know about that,” McCartney said.
“I go for North Melbourne and he’s my favourite player.
“From the Victorian camp of the forwards I look up to Cyril Rioli for all his pressure acts and things like that.
“I’ve watched a lot of his football to get an idea of what to do in different situations when you don’t have the ball.”
He first found his way to the oval ball when his brothers went to training back in Balranald, a small town near Swan Hill on the border of New South Wales and Victoria.
“I’ve been playing footy probably since I was about four or five when I used to go down to watch my oldest brother’s training sessions in New South Wales.”
“Used to have a little run around there when I was five or six and that was pretty much where it all started.
“I’ve always had a bit of a mouth on me. When I was five or six I always screamed for the ball at my brother’s training sessions, always had a mouth since then.”
Football and cricket converged when he moved to Victoria and settled into that classic rhythm for young sportspeople – footy in the winter, cricket in the summer.
“I lived around the corner from my cousin, Rob Turner, who was president of Doveton Cricket Club at the time and got me into cricket then,” McCartney said. “I was eight playing in under-13s.
“I played Auskick at North Dandy then six years of junior footy there.
“Then went to Foxes, Narre North Foxes, for a year and finally came here (Cranbourne) to do my last two junior years.”
McCartney has found himself double booked with cricket and football this month, the AIS-AFL Academy leaves for New Zealand on Friday to have a training camp and face the South Pacific Under-24 side.
Five days after the AIS-AFL camp finishes, McCartney flies to Alice Springs to participate in the state indigenous players cricket tournament – the Imparja Cup.
“We play the South Pacific Under 24 side – big mature boys and a little bit of experience as they’ve had the South Pacific Cup and the International Cup for a while now and they’re the best of the blokes who have played in that,” McCartney said.
“We come back from the AIS and I stay for five days here and then go to Alice Springs and we’re there for seven days and playing a match every day.
“There will be a couple of Twenty20 games and a few 40-over or 50-over games.”
Representing Victoria as an indigenous rising star sportsman is a responsibility McCartney takes very seriously and is proud of his heritage.
“It’s a privilege and a privilege to play other indigenous boys who are good at cricket,” McCartney said.
“I didn’t think there were many other indigenous boys about who played cricket before I was introduced to the Imparja Cup.
“I’m from the Yorta Yorta and Wurundjeri tribe.
“Wurundjeri is from my Dad’s side in New South Wales and Yorta Yorta is from my mum’s side.”
Cricket is a great love for McCartney, but he knows he will have to back off the summer sport to focus more on football as his draft day draws closer in October 2013.
“Not this year I’m not eligible,” McCartney said. “I miss out by about a month or two.
“My draft hopefully is next year in 2013. If all goes well, I’ll hopefully get drafted. It would be my dream come true.
“My priority is definitely footy – it’s been my dream since I was watching my brother play football.
“I definitely realise if I keep going with cricket it’s going to overlap and I’ll definitely choose footy over cricket.
“If footy doesn’t work out then I can try again with cricket.”
The bigger overarching life achievements for McCartney don’t necessarily hinge upon sport, but he would love to study in a sports-related field at university after finishing his Year 12 studies, which for the first time will include AFL as a subject – part of Hallam Sports Academy’s extended curriculum.
“That’s definitely one of my goals, finishing Year 12 and going to uni,” McCartney said.
“I’ll probably study sport and recreation or sport science, something in the sport industry.
“I’m going to Hallam Sports Academy this year – that will be a bit strange, going from not having AFL as a subject to having it as one, so I’ll feel a little bit more comfortable with my schooling.
“I’ve got a few mates from Stingrays who go there as well, so that helps.”
It’s a full plate for McCartney this year – playing football for the AIS-AFL Academy, Hallam Sports Academy, Vic Country and the TAC Cup team – the Dandenong Stingrays. More than anything, McCartney wants to continue performing at a high standard.
“This year my main goals are to stay fit, play as many games as possible for the Stingrays and do well in school and finish year 11 successfully and finish the AIS on a good note,” McCartney said.
For anyone else, that would be a difficult balancing act, but for McCartney, it’s just another step towards his dream.
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