Toby McGrath is determined to play AFL football and will do whatever it takes to make it. He took a chance at the start of last season moving from Perth to Melbourne to play in the Essendon VFL side. He juggled full-time work and training last season, before quitting his job in October and dedicating himself full-time to football. It was a dream come true when his hard work paid off and he was rookied by the Bombers. However, McGrath will be the first to tell you that he still has a long way to go before achieving his goal of being on a senior list and is conscious of the hard work ahead of him.
Not only is Mark Johnson a role model for McGrath, so is brother Cory and close friends Damien Peverill and Dean Rioli. All share similar stories of fighting to get on a senior list through the rookie system. It gives McGrath a lot of faith knowing how seriously Essendon takes the rookie system and how many players have been drafted from the rookie list onto the senior list. ""I think at Essendon they realise how hard the rookies work and are prepared to give them a go if they are training hard and playing well. I know I am not just here to make up the numbers – there are opportunities,"" McGrath said. ""You look at other players that may have been drafted from 17 - 18 years old and they might take for granted how easy it is to get on a senior list, where as rookies seem to have to work harder to prove themselves to get onto a senior list,"" Grath continued to say.
McGrath is coping well with the demands of preseason training and definitely attributes his current fitness levels to training full-time. ""Pre-season training has been going really well. The last couple of years when I have been doing preseason I have been working, so you can't make all of the sessions and you don't get as fit. This year I have just been training, so I have done every single session, so I feel a lot better and a lot fitter. You get through all of the sessions easier and you feel part of it,"" McGrath said.
McGrath spent most of last season playing across half-back in the VFL side. He is renowned for his hardness and aggression towards the ball and any opposition player in possession of the ball. He is happy to continue to play at half-back and have a physical presence out on the ground. ""I enjoy playing at half-back and focus on being hard and aggressive. I model my game on Mark Johnson and also the way Jason Johnson plays. They are both role models for me,"" the 22-year-old said.
This is the first time Essendon has had six rookies on it's list and having only one player (Steve Alessio) on the veteran's list, means a rookie can be elevated onto the senior list at the start of the season. McGrath is focussed on that player being him and at times is aware of the healthy competition between the rookies to claim the senior spot up for grabs. ""I think in the back of each other's mind you are thinking I have to beat this bloke to get ahead of him. Personally, I try and get the edge on other blokes just by the way I go about your training. You work hard and do what you have to do. You are always a team player, but you have to be competitive,"" McGrath said.
