GWS coach meets with homesick McCarthy

The sparkle is back in Cam McCarthy’s eye, but GWS coach Leon Cameron says he’s still clueless as to whether the star AFL forward will ever wear a Giants jersey again.

McCarthy was granted indefinite leave from the club at the start of the season so he could return to Perth to deal with personal issues.

The 20-year-old is currently training with WAFL club South Fremantle and hopes are high McCarthy will be back in AFL ranks next season.

But where exactly that is remains to be seen, with the Giants facing an uphill battle to keep their emerging star.

McCarthy requested a trade to Fremantle late last year and it appears the Dockers are still the frontrunners to snare his services.

Cameron met up with McCarthy and his dad in Perth in the lead-up to the Giants’ 18-point win over Fremantle on Saturday night.

A number of GWS players also caught up with McCarthy.

Cameron would love McCarthy to return to GWS next season.

But even if he doesn’t, Cameron wants McCarthy to at least be playing somewhere in the AFL.

“He looks nice and healthy, bubbly,” Cameron said.

“I’ve probably said it 10 times – he’s just too good of a person, too good of a player to be out of AFL footy.

“And where that leads to at the end of the year, no one knows. I can’t tell you. And nor I should now because the most important thing is that he’s starting to get a little bit of urge about footy again.”

The Giants are on track to snare a maiden finals berth after moving to a 5-2 record following their 14.11 (95) to 11.11 (77) win over the Dockers.

It was GWS’s first win in Perth in seven attempts, breaking another important hoodoo for the fledgling club.

But the win came at a cost, with co-captain Phil Davis set to miss Saturday’s home clash with Gold Coast after suffering a minor hamstring injury.

The hype around GWS continues to grow, especially following their recent 75-point win over Hawthorn.

Cameron feels his team are grounded enough to be able to cope with the growing expectations.

“No doubt, externally, people are going to talk about us,” Cameron said.

“They are going to talk about Geelong and talk about the sides that are winning at the moment.

“We just have to deal with what we can internally, rock up and compete.”

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