Lincoln McCarthy Biography

Darcy Gardiner and Lincoln McCarthy will miss the rest of the 2024 season after scans confirmed the pair had both torn anterior cruciate ligaments during the Lions' win over the Suns.

After seven years of injury interruptions at Geelong, Lincoln McCarthy has not missed a beat since arriving in Brisbane last November, playing all 17 games and becoming a key contributor to the second-placed Lions.

"Every article about me has been about the 'injury-plagued Cat'. That's all I've been linked to the last seven years. In a small way you get a little bit sick of that," McCarthy admitted.

"Now that I'm not injured and playing, I'm just really grateful I'm able to train and play each week."

Not even McCarthy can believe how the team has been performing so far.

"You have your expectations, but you don't know how it's going to play out, better or worse. But at the moment we're sitting top four, and I certainly didn't expect that," he said.

"It's time to make the most of this opportunity and keep pushing forward."

After battling injury for much of his seven seasons at Geelong, Lincoln McCarthy has had an uninterrupted pre-season.

"There's no major tricks to be able to play every week, you've got to put in a pre-season and that's what we were able to do," he said.

"It's exciting for me that I've got a bit of work behind me and hopefully that means there's more footy to come."

Brisbane recruit Lincoln McCarthy is yet to miss a pre-season training session at his new AFL home as he tries to resurrect his career.

"We've had to work hard for him to get confidence in his body, so it's been a gradual progression through the pre-season," Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said.

"It's pleasing to say he's not missed a session, albeit he hasn't done everything all the other players have done, but he's worked every session and he's doing three football sessions a week."

Lincoln McCarthy officially becomes a Brisbane Lion.

The Cats moved McCarthy, a third and fourth-round selection in return for Brisbane's third and fourth-round picks.

"Lincoln brings a range of skills we can use both through the midfield and as a pressure forward. His ability to mark the ball for his size also provides the versatility we are looking for," Brisbane football manager David Noble said.

Lincoln McCarthy informs the Cats of his desire to be traded to Brisbane.

Lincoln McCarthy reveals he's weighing up his future as he considers rival interest.

"After a few years of not being able to do what you want to do in a specific environment, you can get a little bit burnt out," McCarthy said.

"It's only natural to review what's going on in your own sense. There's no one to blame, it's just purely (that) you can get a little bit burnt out at a specific environment if it hasn't worked for you for so long."

Lincoln McCarthy admits Brisbane may be a viable trade destination where he would have the opportunity to play with his good friend Lachie Neale.

"Lach and I are good mates. (I) haven't played with him for years, but we're both making our own decisions on what we think is best for us," McCarthy said.

"If that ends up (together), then that's great, but otherwise we just make our own decision and run with it."

Lincoln McCarthy's wretched run with injury continues, with the Geelong small forward set to miss two to three weeks with a right hamstring strain.

McCarthy has played just 29 games in six-and-a-half years, missing large chunks of seasons with groin, hip, back and quad injuries.

"In the context of his injury history it is not that significant, but it is really adding insult to injury. He's worked so hard to get back and was showing glimpses of what he could do, but he played one game, missed the next and then injured in his second game back," Cats coach Chris Scott said.

Lincoln McCarthy edges closer to a return after recovering from groin and hip surgeries that have sidelined him since round 3 of 2017.

"I'm back in main training now, so doing everything (at) full (capacity), which has been really nice," McCarthy told K Rock radio.

"I'm feeling really good, so probably now we just need to get a bit of time training with the boys and really pushing the limits before I'm able to play."

Lincoln McCarthy undergoes surgery for a troublesome groin injury and will be sidelined for up to eight weeks.

"The issue with Linc's groin did not improve, and the medical experts believe this procedure is the best way to treat the injury," Geelong football manager Steve Hocking said.

"There was a chance that the injury would improve through rest and rehabilitation, but we have not seen any progress and after further evaluation it was determined that surgery was required."

Andrew Swallow is concussed in the first quarter after being tackled by Geelong forward Lincoln McCarthy at Etihad Stadium.

Swallow's head hit the ground and he did not move as trainers headed towards him.

Swallow was able to walk off the ground but was dazed and did not take any further part in the game.

Lincoln McCarthy strains his hip flexor at training and will miss a week.

"It's a low-grade strain. We don't think it will take him long," Cats' physiotherapist Mark Young said.

"But he's a short-term rehab at this point."

Lincoln McCarthy is scheduled to have surgery on his left foot after a recurrence of an old injury and will be sidelined for five months.

Cats' football manager Steve Hocking told K-Rock Football the 21-year-old needed the operation to generate blood flow back into the foot.

"It's the cartilage that lines the joint where your leg bones come down and your foot actually joins in," Hocking said.

"He's got some corrosion in the area. It's like a flap that's hanging within that cartilage.

"What they have to do is get in there and irritate that cartilage, and that generates blood flow and regenerates it.

"The lack of blood flow into that region is a real concern for anyone who suffers from a fracture within that bone."

Lincoln McCarthy could face surgery to repair a navicular injury.

A decision on the best course of action will be made in the next fortnight after he completes consultations with specialists.

"(It's) disappointing for him but we'll just work through it and get the best advice possible and make some decisions from there as to what is the best course of action," Geelong football manager Steve Hocking said.

"More importantly for us it is really about his long-term wellbeing. That is the important part at this stage."

Lincoln McCarthy returns to pre-season training wearing a moonboot, sparking fears he had suffered a recurrence of a break of the navicular bone in the same foot which saw him miss the entire 2013 season.

"Lincoln developed some soreness pre-Christmas in his left foot," Geelong's head of sports medicine Peter Stanton said.

"Subsequent tests confirmed a stress reaction in his navicular bone.

"Thankfully, we were able to catch this sooner rather than later and as a result Lincoln is progressing well in his recovery.

"Despite being in the same foot as Lincoln's previous injury, that injury was joint related and not associated with the hot spot."

Geelong has given injury-prone small forward Lincoln McCarthy two more seasons to prove himself at the highest level.

Foot and back problems have limited the 20-year-old South Australian, who was selected with pick 66 in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft, to just three AFL games.

"It obviously makes you feel more secure at the club," McCarthy said.

"I think it just helps you mentally relax and work on what you really need to work on, and move forward without that stress of (wondering if) you're going to be here next year or not."

Lincoln McCarthy says he is itching to return to senior football after not managing a game in 2013 due to a foot stress fracture.

"I think I'm at a stage where I'm fit enough to be able to run out training drills," McCarthy said.

"So I think I'm at least at a stage where I might get seen as available for the NAB Challenge.

"Whether I get picked or not, I'll just wait and see. But it's good to feel like I'm available for a game."

Lincoln McCarthy makes his AFL debut for Geelong at Kardinia Park with 6 disposals (3 kicks and 3 handballs) and 3 marks in a 65-point win over GWS.