BULLDOGS MOVE KEEPS PAYING OFF FOR MCCARREY

ANDREW McCarrey made one of the biggest calls of his life to join South Fremantle back ahead of the 2010 season and now it continues to pay dividends with him coaching the Youth Girls Rogers Cup at the Bulldogs and heavily involved in the Stephen Michael Foundation.

McCarrey was a born and bred East Fremantle person for a lot of his life, which is where he began his WAFL career playing 111 league matches up until the end of 2009.

However, he needed a change and made the big call to join the arch-rival South Fremantle and. It proved to be the best decision he's ever made, both in terms of finishing his playing career and for what's now happening after it.

McCarrey would go on to play the final 62 games of his WAFL career with South Fremantle before retiring due to a knee injury in 2013, but that was far from the end of his involvement with the Bulldogs.

He has now been working at the Stephen Michael Foundation for three years and is the current regional manager, and as of this season he has been appointed the coach of the Youth Girls Rogers Cup team.

He made a winning start to his coaching tenure too with a thrilling come from behind win over West Perth last Sunday at Fremantle Community Bank Oval.

That set the stage for a historic day for the Bulldogs with the league team going on to record their first ever WAFLW victory.

"I think it was just a massive day for South Fremantle Football Club in general," McCarrey said.

"I said to the girls that it would be fantastic to kick the day off with a win in the Rogers and that would really set the standard for the day, and we were able to do that. 

"Then the league girls could take that momentum and to their credit, the league notched up their first win and there were some big celebrations at the club afterwards."

The stage was set for a dramatic first game in charge of the South Fremantle Rogers Cup team for McCarrey last Sunday up against West Perth in a rematch from last year's Youth Girls Grand Final.

It was tough going for three quarters as well, but he was proud of his team for digging deep in the last quarter to kick their only three goals of the game and win by four points.

"It was a Grand Final rematch and West Perth have got a very good development program up there, and likewise do we at South Fremantle," McCarrey said. 

"We're really trying to attract a lot of youth to the club and there were a lot of fresh faces out there for both teams, so we didn’t really know what to expect from West Perth and our new girls. But there were some very pleasant signs and we're not really excited for the rest of the season to come.

"I tell you what, for the first game obviously we had West Perth in Round 1 and it was a little bit closer than I anticipated, or would have liked. The girls played a fantastic last quarter and to their credit came from two goals behind at three quarter-time and got over the line by a few points. As first games go, it was very, very exciting and I was just rapt with the girls' effort."

It's a big responsibility for McCarrey to take over as coach of the South Fremantle Youth Girls team in the Rogers Cup as well. They won the premiership in 2020, made a Grand Final in 2021 and he knows it's important he continues to help bring through the next generation of talent.

"There's a bit of weight on my shoulders given they have made the last two Grand Finals, but that's a real vindication of the youth development program that we've got happening for women's footy," he said. 

"I'm really happy to take that on board and I'm extremely passionate about developing young footballers."

The next task at hand for the Youth Girls is a Saturday clash with Peel Thunder in Mandurah and McCarrey knows it will be a significant challenge for his team again.

"Peel are a very good outfit and like West Perth, are very good with their youth development," McCarrey said. 

"They've got some great depth in their squads and obviously their league are back-to-back premiers and their Rogers team is strong. 

"We're under no illusions it's going to be a tough game but I'm sure if the girls can bring their last quarter that they played against West Perth then I think it's going to be a very close game."

McCarrey has thrown himself into helping to coach and grow the game in several avenues since retiring from the WAFL in 2013.

That has included being heavily involved in all abilities football throughout WA and he is in fact the coach of the State Integrated Team, hoping to be able to take a side to the national carnival later this year.

And in recent years, he's got involved in women's football at South Fremantle. He had an obvious reason to get involved to begin with and his passion to remain involved has only grown since.

"I suppose coaching was always in the back of my mind after I sort of finished my playing days. I got a lot out of footy and it was great to my personal growth and development," McCarrey said.

"There was always a part of me that wanted to give back to the game that I got so much out of. I'm really excited to be involved in coaching in a couple of different roles now.

"I've always been passionate since the inception of women's AFL of giving opportunities to young girls. Football is a fantastic game and it should be available to all so the inclusion side of things is something I've always been passionate about.

"I've always been involved in all-abilities football and now recently have become involved in women's football. I guess it all stems from my partner coming down to play a bit at South Fremantle and she's currently in the league team, so I guess it all came about from that."

Looking back to the end of 2009 and it was a big decision for McCarrey to decide to leave East Fremantle. He had played 111 games with the Sharks, was a two-time Lynn Medallist and had established himself as one of the best and most versatile WAFL players.

A lot of that career was as a standout lockdown defender, but McCarrey proved himself quite the exciting spearhead too including kicking 11 goals against Swan Districts for East Fremantle back in 2006.

But he was after a fresh change and desperate to play finals football, so joining the then reigning premiers of South Fremantle ahead of the 2010 season seemed a no-brainer.

While the finals success he craved didn’t quite follow and only one of his 173-career games was a final, he finished with quite the decorated career with the two fairest and best awards and two state appearances in 2008 and 2010.

He proved invaluable over his 62 games at the Bulldogs at both ends of the field as well. He re-established himself as one of the best key defenders in the competition, but could still go forward too and even kicked seven goals in the WA Day Foundation Derby against his old team in 2012.

However, the move has now extended well beyond that playing career with his coaching and also involvement at the Stephen Michael Foundation, where he's now regional manager.

"It was a tough move at the time but I'm not looking back and am so glad that I came to South Fremantle Football Club when I did," McCarrey said. 

"One thing has led to another and not only am I involved now in a coaching capacity, but I've also been now with the Stephen Michael Foundation coming up for three years. I'm really enjoying my role there giving back to the community and disadvantaged youth."

Another long-standing relationship that McCarrey has built since coming to South Fremantle is with Paul Mugambwa. They instantly connected as teammates and now work closely together every day in the Stephen Michael Foundation.

"Gumby and I hit it off pretty early and he was an amazing footballer on the field, but just a ripper bloke off it," McCarrey said.

"We've spent a fair bit of time together over the years including some footy trips travelling around the States together, and now Gumby's my boss. He's doing an amazing job with the foundation and it's onwards and upwards really. 

"We are growing at a pretty rapid rate and it's really exciting with what it holds in the future for the Stephen Michael Foundation."