After a lot of hard work and persistence, Toby was drafted as a rookie by the Bombers in the 2002 December draft. The 22 year old is now focussed on achieving what his older brother and other Bomber players Dean Rioli, Mark Johnson and Damien Peverill have done and move onto the Essendon senior list. Toby and Cory also have two younger brothers - Ashley who is 20 years old and plays for the Brisbane Lions and Brad who is the only McGrath brother still living at home with parents Marlene and Cliff in Armadale, West Australia. Brad turns 18 on Friday and plays football for local club South Fremantle.
Toby and Cory lived together with teammate Damien Peverill last season, but this year have decided to live separately. They still hang out a lot together and see each nearly every day at training. The pair share a healthy rivalry and are often caught competing in different drills at training.
Q. Was it competitive in the McGrath house growing up?
Cory - there was always fights and we would always mess around with each other.
Toby - footy wise we were very competitive. We used to play footy in the house and we broke a wall one time. I don't think mum was too impressed when that happened.
Q. Who started playing football first?
Cory - I played my first game when I was six and then Toby started. Living in the country, football was the only sport to play in the winter. It was footy or nothing.
Toby - we all played in the one side because living in the country they don't have as many kids playing so they combine the age groups.
Q. Did you help each other out back in your junior football days?
Cory - we were always looking out for one another and helping each other.
Q. Do you talk much about football when you are together?
Cory - no we try to avoid it.
Toby - we spend enough time at the club so when we are away from the club we don't talk about football at all. We just relax and take it easy.
Q. Toby, has it helped you watching how hard Cory has worked to get on a senior list, find out what you have to do to make it also?
A. Definitely. When I moved to Melbourne I knew what I had to try and do to play footy at senior level. It was also good living with Damien (Peverill) last year, because he is also a very hard worker on the track.
Q. Do you compete with one another in fitness tests and on the track - do you take note of what each other is doing?
Toby - Not really. Cory is in a different training group to me, so we do different styles of training.
Cory - It has always been competitive though. I know when we were growing up we used to always run against each other and compete. I think that competitive nature stills comes through now. We are always pushing each other and we don't like to lose.
Q. Is there a lot of competition between you two and your younger brother Ashley who plays for the Brisbane Lions?
Toby - not really. We don't get to see him that much, but when we do we don't really talk about football that much. He doesn't want to talk about it and either do we.
Cory - we try and get stuff out of him about Brisbane but he gives us nothing.
Q. Now that Toby is on the rookie list he may have the opportunity to play in the seniors - would you two like to play together?
Cory - for sure. They only time that we have played league footy together was back at South Fremantle four years ago. I would definitely like to play AFL footy together.
Q. Toby, what have you learnt most from Cory?
Toby - To work hard. I am in the same position as he was two to three years ago. I know what is ahead of me and I am prepared to do what it takes to play football here.
Cory - to Toby's credit he already has the work ethic. It was a dedicated move coming over from Perth last year and playing in the VFL. It was half the step to go and become an AFL player.
