There's something about Harry McKay

Seven days!

If Harry McKay were born seven days later he wouldn’t have been eligible to enter the 2015 AFL Draft - and likely would never have become a Carlton player.

When the Blues selected the then 17-year-old with the tenth pick, it surprised many around the league due to his relative inexperience at TAC Cup level.

Yet, the Blues were willing to take a huge gamble to secure their target, reasoning that if McKay had another 12 months of junior level footy, he’d likely be the number one pick the following year.

Not much has gone right if you’ve had any kind of emotional investment in the Blues over the past 20 years.

A handful of wooden spoons and precious few AFL Finals appearances will have that kind of effect on a fan base, while their one win, five loss start to 2019 has only ensured that Carlton fans maintain their regular therapy sessions.

However, despite another horrendous start, there’s quite a bit to be excited about at Princess Park.

For starters, they’ve been competitive in each of their matches so far this season, and, have been in winning positions in most. With better coaching it is indeed arguable they could very well be sitting in a much more comfortable ladder position.

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In Patrick Cripps, the Blues don’t just have a seriously good player, but perhaps one of the game’s very best. Rookie Sam Walsh has already proven himself as one of the country's most accomplished teenagers and every bit worthy of his number one selection at last November's AFL Draft.

Former sixth pick, Sam Petrevski-Seton is developing well and averaging a career-high 22 touches a game, while fellow first-round pick Paddy Dow has also impressed. Charlie Curnow - despite a run of injuries - has already proven that his ceiling in this sport is enormously high.

Yet, for all the ‘green shoots’ at Carlton, perhaps none is proving to be as satisfying or exciting as what Harry McKay has flashed in his first 21 games of AFL football.

Yes, the goals have been more than a welcome bonus for a team who doesn’t kick many, yet it's his work around the ground for a such a relative AFL ‘baby giant’ which has been most impressive.

At a massive 204 cm, McKay has the kind of stature that would usually see him cast as a ruckman. Thankfully, the Blues never interpreted his height as some kind of instant portal to the ruck which may well have set his development back some years.

Instead, Carlton recognised that in McKay they have a unique talent who’s progression in just 21 games has been one of the competition’s most refreshing developments of 2019 so far.

McKay leads the AFL in contested marks and is fifth in the league for marks inside 50.

There’s a predatory presence to the young man from Warragul’s game. A confidence in his lead patterns and a belief that when the ball is up for grabs, he’ll be the one holding the advantage.

McKay’s mobility and maturity stands out to anybody who’s watched the young Blue this season, and its been his ability to cement his position as a key forward which has enabled the Blues to play another of their great hopes, Jacob Weitering, back in defense which seems to be a position that suits his game much more.

Understandably, we’re only six games into McKay’s breakout campaign, yet his 4.1 contested marks per game already ranks (and by quite a margin) as the best return by any player since the stat began being charted in earnest, and in public, from 2010.

Despite the familiar - and easily detectable - odour of defeat which permeates the Blues, the incredible start to Harry McKay’s AFL career has been the kind of sweet deodorant Carlton have long searched for. 

Their draft-day gamble in 2015 has already returned some amazing dividends, with the potential of one hell of a jackpot in Harry McKay. 

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