Toby McGrath

Toby McGrath
Personal information
Full name	Toby Jason McGrath
Date of birth	(1980-10-11) 11 October 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth	Northam, Western Australia
Original team(s)	Kent Districts
Draft	No. 12, 2000 Rookie Draft, West Coast No. 57, 2002 Rookie Draft, Essendon
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	87 kg (192 lb)
Position(s)	Midfield, half-back flanker
Club information
Current club	South Fremantle
Number	39
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1998–2001; 2004–12	South Fremantle	234 (107)
2000–01	West Coast	0 (0)
2002	Essendon (VFL)	12 (0)
2003	Bendigo Bombers	15 (?)
Total		261 (107+)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
2000; 2004–05; 2008–10	WAFL	6 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Round 22, 2011.
Career highlights
WAFL representative team 2000, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010 South Fremantle best and fairest 2004, 2008 Sandover Medal 2005 South Fremantle premiership side 2005, 2009 Simpson Medal 2005 (Grand Final) WAFL representative team captain 2008, 2009

Toby Jason McGrath (born 11 October 1980) is an Australian rules footballer who played for South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). He was rookie-listed with both the West Coast Eagles and Essendon in the Australian Football League (AFL), but did not play a game for either club.

Early career

McGrath was born in Northam, Western Australia. He has three brothers: Bradley, Cory and Ashley McGrath. Cory and Ashley both played in the AFL, for Carlton and the Brisbane Lions respectively. McGrath played junior football in Katanning before being recruited to South Fremantle in the WAFL, where he made his debut 1998.

AFL career

McGrath had a brief taste of the professional Australian Football League, when he was recruited from South Fremantle to the West Coast Eagles’ rookie list. He was delisted after spending a year on their list without playing a game. He was then given another chance by the Essendon Football Club in 2002 & 2003, where he played with his brother Cory, although again did not manage to make his senior debut.

Later WAFL career

He won the South Fremantle Football Club's Best & Fairest Award in 2004 and in 2005 he won both the Sandover, the WAFL’s prestigious best player award and Simpson Medal for the Best player in the Grand Final and was a member of South Fremantle’s premiership winning side. He represented WA on six occasions in 2000, 2004 and 2005, and was captain of the 2008 WA side that defeated Queensland in Townsville, 2009 and 2010.

In 2008 he was appointed captain of South Fremantle and played his 150th game for the Bulldogs while also winning his second Best & Fairest award. ^[1] In 2009, he played in his fifth WAFL Grand Final ^[2] and captained South Fremantle to the WAFL premiership, his second after being a member of the 2005 team. ^[3] He played his 200th game for South Fremantle in the final round of the 2010 season. In 2011 Toby McGrath was named in South Fremantle’s Indigenous Team of The Century and he in 2012 was included in the WAFL’s Best 25 players of the Last 25 Years. He was inducted into the South Fremantle Hall of Fame in 2022 and is recognised as one of the WAFLs most decorated players. ^[4]

McGrath is employed as a firefighter with the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia. ^[5] He has three brothers, Cory and Ashley who have both played in the AFL and Bradley. West Coast Eagles premiership player Mark Lecras, Marty McGrath and Dion Woods, who played for Richmond and Fremantle respectively, are all cousins. ^[6]

References

1. Riding The Bumps - McGrath hits 150;2008-04-16
2. Clarke, Tim (20 September 2009) Losing a thing of the past for McGrath Archived 22 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
3. Clarke, Tim (20 September 2009) Bulldogs tame the Lions in style Archived 11 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
4. Bulldog McGrath’s 200th won’t be his last hurrah
5. McGrath captains his way to 150 Archived 13 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine (16 April 2008)
6. Cory McGrath profile at Essendon Archived 12 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• WAFL playing statistics