AFL: Brothers Paddy and Tom McCartin thriving together after Sydney Swans take punt on No.1 draft pick

There were few distractions when the McCartin brothers strode into their Batesford backyard for one of their fierce daily battles as kids.

Paddy was the oldest, Charlie the middle sibling, then there was Tom, the sometime punching bag who gave as good as he got.

Mobile reception and internet coverage were extremely limited until as recently as a decade ago in the small township, located about 15 minutes out of Geelong.

But that suited the McCartin clan just fine.

Their four-acre farmhouse doubled as a sporting cornucopia, where Paddy and Tom honed the skills that made them future AFL stars and Sydney Swans teammates.

Charlie was a handy-enough footballer, too, before devoting himself to being his brothers’ No.1 fan.

The family backyard had football goalposts, a basketball ring, cricket nets and even a golf set-up. Take your pick, the McCartins had it.

“We had a very, very lucky childhood and we definitely don’t take for granted the opportunities we had and the experiences we had as kids,” Paddy told News Corp this week.

“If you ever wanted to do anything; we’d just grab each other and go muck around – we had a pretty fun upbringing.”

The story goes that their parents, Matt and Jo, would drag them inside to play Wii or Xbox just to get some downtime but they barely lasted 15 minutes before rushing back outside for more.

Perhaps, it was their attempt to save some dollars on all the broken windows.

Imagine trying to explain that scenario these days to parents of gaming-obsessed kids?

If the McCartins weren’t playing in the backyard or for St Joey’s, they were the “annoying kids” shadowing their football coach father, clipboard in hand, as he delivered a pre-game or quarter-break speech at Colac.

Matt and Jo are every bit as sports-centric as their children. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as they say.

Matt, a ruckman, played footy in Geelong and Tasmania, while Jo was a state-level netballer.

They own The Barwon Club Hotel, on Moorabool St, home to the “best and coldest pots in Victoria”, according to Paddy.

As Paddy sneaks a plug in for the pub, you get another insight into this family. He is as proud of his parents as he is Tom and Charlie.

Paddy has his arms wrapped around his siblings in pretty much every photo in the family home.

“We’re a close family,” Tom said.

They have had their challenges, from Paddy’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis, to the criticism he copped in his early years as the No.1 draft pick, his much-discussed concussion struggles and the temporary fear his AFL dream was over.

Matt and Jo also bid farewell to Tom as a 17-year-old – while he was still completing year 11 at St Joseph’s College – when he packed his bags for Sydney after being the youngest player drafted in 2017.

That also helps explain why Paddy was so keen to reignite his AFL career in the Harbour City.

Tom was just 14 when Paddy moved out of home to live in Melbourne and play for St Kilda, then three years later they were in separate states, which also made it tough at the height of Paddy’s concussion battle.

“I probably missed Tom growing up a bit,” Paddy said.

“It was really cool watching Paddy play at St Kilda,” Tom said.

“We’re four years different, so I look up to him and it was something I wanted to do as well – play in the AFL – and I kind of wanted to follow in his footsteps. It’s cool how it’s worked out.”

It’s cool to them and their family, and seemingly fascinating to everyone else.

Barely a week has gone by this season when at least one of them hasn’t accepted an interview request despite clearly being bemused by all the fuss, especially given they don’t chase it.

Their Swans teammates poked fun at the pair as they did this interview. But it’s also clear what this all means to them.

Paddy’s been through the football wringer and went from being the most coveted teenager in the land to unwanted at the end of 2020, or at least not trusted by most due to his repeat brain injuries.

After turning to St Joey’s to get himself physically ready in the months following, he moved to Sydney intent on returning to the AFL.

Paddy spent last year playing for the Swans’ VFL side in a new defensive role after being a key forward since his junior days.

“I was always pretty confident I’d get back and play – I just needed the opportunity to do it,” he said.

“The part that was most difficult was getting the opportunity and convincing clubs I was all right, especially with the litigation stuff that comes with concussion now.

“I’m really lucky the Swans put in the time and gave me the chance.”

Tom suffered a serious concussion of his own in the 2019 pre-season, with Paddy already spending time away from football for the same reason by then.

Fortunately, the 22-year-old made it back and it didn’t become a bigger problem, but Paddy recalls that period being “bloody scary”.

“It’s a contact sport and there’s always going to be guys getting injured and things that happen, so you sort of just roll with that as it comes,” Paddy said.

“But we’ve been really lucky with the amazing support we’ve got, from not only the docs here but outside docs and specialists that I’ve seen as well and also our family and my partner, Lucy.”

Life is far sweeter these days, with Paddy’s comeback proving ragingly successful, on a rookie contract rival list managers describe as the game’s biggest bargain, while Tom mans the opposition’s No.1 key forward weekly.

Tom, who lives with Nick Blakey and James Rowbottom and is more skilled at washing dishes than cooking, regularly joins Paddy and Lucy for salmon dinners, or whatever the talented Lucy comes up with.

Paddy is apparently pretty good with a frying pan, too, even if he doesn’t admit it.

The Swans are flying high in sixth spot with a bullet and greater things could be on the horizon.

The stakes are higher than those backyard days but the McCartins maintain the same spirit and outlook, although Paddy, at 26, has gained perspective on life and football through his travails.

“We’ve all sort of been in different places and done different stuff growing up, but we have a great relationship,” Paddy said.

“I think that’s what I’ve loved about being able to come up here and play with Tom. It’s sort of like back in the day, really.

“We don’t take life too seriously, us boys, and we go out there, enjoy ourselves and make the most of it. I think it’s held us in pretty good stead and we’ll keep doing that going forward, I reckon.”