Following a slow start to his career, Harry McKay hit his strides in 2019. His elite marking was on display for all to see, finishing second in the league for contested marks and leading the Blues for grabs inside 50 with 45. While his consistency was deplorable, a whopping 128 supported by three other 90+ outings gave us something to look forward to. McKay has been dealing with an ongoing groin injury since season's end so has been placed on a modified training routine. Watch how he tracks moving toward round 1. With Charlie Curnow sidelined, McKay could shape up as Carlton's main forward target. Inconsistency isn't going anywhere but expect the big man to improve his average. Worthy of a last-gasp roll of the dice if fit.
Hurrays for Harry
Following a slow start to his career, Harry McKay hit his strides in 2019. His elite marking was on display for all to see, finishing second in the league for contested marks and leading the Blues for grabs inside 50 with 45. While his consistency was deplorable, a whopping 128 supported by three other 90+ outings gave us something to look forward to. McKay has been dealing with an ongoing groin injury since season's end so has been placed on a modified training routine. Watch how he tracks moving toward round 1. With Charlie Curnow sidelined, McKay could shape up as Carlton's main forward target. Inconsistency isn't going anywhere but expect the big man to improve his average. Worthy of a last-gasp roll of the dice if fit.
Harry McKay is now up there with the best contested markers in league history, albeit from a small sample size. He is firming as the Jonathon Patton to Charlie Curnow's Jeremy Cameron, the spine around which a good forward line can be molded. It's a pity in the short term that Carlton lacks a single small forward worth their contract. As a fantasy prospect, McKay looms as more of a play in exotic scoring formats where two or three contested grabs at the right times can score more heavily than ten uncontested ones.
Goals aren't bad, McKay
Carlton may have had their worst season ever on the scoreboard in 2018, but in Harry McKay they can point to a big positive as his development in the seniors in year two was visible to all and sundry. He registered double figures in possessions in six out of his last seven games and booted eight goals in August, helping out in the ruck but mostly staying forward. The advent of Mitch McGovern at Princes Park will mean McKay plays a role more like that of the former's old teammate Josh Jenkins, a position which can be quite lucrative for fantasy purposes. That McKay was delivering startable scores even as the Blues were getting flogged is an excellent sign. He should be drafted late.
High hopes for McKay
Carlton will have been well pleased by the two senior games that Harry McKay played late in 2017 as a third tall forward, building on a couple of seasons of VFL development. He took almost as many contested marks as uncontested in the reserves, but breached 60 fantasy points only once in 12 matches. McKay's bulky body size means he is unsuited to a flank and should probably play in the spine. With Charlie Curnow at CHF he may end up replacing Levi Casboult as a ruck/forward coming out of the square. He looks to be a strong prospect for the Blues, just not a natural fantasy producer at this stage.
