Tom McDonald (Australian footballer)

McDonald was recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with their fourth selection and fifty-third overall in the 2010 national draft.[4] After playing in the 2011 NAB Cup,[5] he spent the majority of the season playing in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions.[3] He made his AFL debut in the thirty point win against Gold Coast at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round twenty-three where he recorded eighteen disposals, six marks, six rebound-50s and four tackles, playing as a backman,[6] and he was named in the best players by AFL Media[7] and The Age.[8] He maintained his spot in the team the next week for the final match of the year in the eight point loss against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval, to finish with two matches for the year.[9]

After a strong pre-season in 2012 where McDonald's endurance was highlighted,[10] he played his first match for the year in the 108-point loss to West Coast at Patersons Stadium in round two where he was a late inclusion.[11] He spent the season playing as the full back where he played on some of the competitions best full-forwards including St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt, Geelong's Tom Hawkins and Collingwood's Travis Cloke.[12] After playing on Jonathon Patton in the seventy-eight point win against Greater Western Sydney at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round thirteen he was named the round nominee for the Rising Star where he recorded twenty-six disposals, four marks and three tackles.[13] He missed his first match of the year in round fifteen after he suffered from a bleeding lung as a result of a collision during the sixty-one point loss against Brisbane the previous week.[14] He returned for the round sixteen match against Fremantle at Etihad Stadium and played the remainder of the year to finish with twenty matches for the season.[15] His performances during the year earned him a third-place finish in Melbourne's best and fairest count, behind Nathan Jones and Jack Grimes,[16] and the Harold Ball Memorial Trophy as Melbourne's best young player.[17] Furthermore, he finished sixth in the Rising Star award.[18]

After the departure of defender, Jared Rivers, McDonald played a more prominent role in Melbourne's backline during the 2013 season.[19] He played his first match of the year in the 148-point loss against Essendon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round two[20] and played the next four matches before missing four weeks due to a shoulder injury.[21] He returned to the side for the eighty-three point loss against Collingwood in the annual Queen's Birthday clash in round eleven.[22] He did not miss a match for the remainder of the season to finish with seventeen matches for the year[9] and a tenth-place finish in Melbourne's best and fairest count.[23]

The 2014 season saw McDonald play in round one for the first time in his career when he played in the seventeen point loss against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.[24] He played his fiftieth AFL match in the thirty-three point loss against Collingwood in the Queen's Birthday match in round twelve.[25] After playing every match up to round fourteen, he was forced to miss the round fifteen match due to a calf injury,[26] but returned the next week for the sixty-three point loss against Fremantle at TIO Stadium.[27] In the final round match against North Melbourne, he kicked his first and second career goals within a minute of each other, both were set up in near identical ways, with McDonald marking inside fifty after teammate, Dean Kent kicked to him.[28] He played twenty-one matches for the season, resulting in a seventh-place finish in Melbourne's best and fairest.[29]

McDonald at training in July 2015

After introducing a more offensive style into the way his game,[30] McDonald opened the 2015 AFL season with a team-high twenty-six disposals in the twenty-six point win against Gold Coast[31] and was named in the best players.[32] The departure of James Frawley, saw McDonald emerge as the number one defender at Melbourne[33] and he was highly praised in the first half of the season where he was compared to the 2014 All-Australian centre half-back, Alex Rance, with Herald Sun journalist, Sam Landsberger debating whether McDonald's season was better than Rance's.[34] He was labelled as Melbourne's most improved player[35] and was named as a potential All-Australian.[36][37] After his direct opponent, Travis Cloke, kicked seven goals in the Queen's Birthday clash, McDonald found himself lose form and he was moved into the forward line to help regain his confidence.[38] He spent the second half of the year playing in both the forward and back line,[39] which drew the praise of both then-senior coach Paul Roos and backline coach, Jade Rawlings, for his versatility.[40][41] He played every match for the year,[42] which earned him a third-place finish in Melbourne's best and fairest.[43]

On the eve of the 2016 season, McDonald was named in Melbourne's leadership group.[44] Due to finish the season out-of-contract, speculation surrounded his season as to whether he would re-sign with the club.[45][46][47] He ultimately re-signed with the club in August on a two-year deal, tying him to Melbourne until the end of the 2018 season.[48] The round sixteen match against Fremantle at TIO Stadium in a thirty-two point win saw McDonald record a career-high thirty-one disposals, ten marks, and six rebound-50s, which earned him the centre half-back position in AFL Media's team of the week.[49] He played his 100th AFL match in the two-point win against Gold Coast at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round nineteen.[50] He played every match during the year and finished sixth in Melbourne's best and fairest count.[51]

Following Max Gawn's early season hamstring injury, McDonald was redeployed as a back-up ruckman to assist the undersized Cameron Pedersen. McDonald also played as a wingman, where he could apply his elite running capacity. Playing in this role, McDonald was awarded three Brownlow votes for amassing 26 disposals, twelve marks and a goal against the Essendon Bombers in round 5. With the loss of key forward Jesse Hogan due to health issues, McDonald was later moved forward during the second half of Melbourne's upset victory against the Adelaide Crows where he kicked two early goals in the third quarter as Melbourne defeated the Crows by 41 points. McDonald's move forward eventuated in a match winning performance against the West Coast Eagles round 14 where McDonald kicked five goals, including the matchwinner; a miraculous snap in the dying seconds as he was tackled by Jeremy McGovern. McDonald finished with 23 goals for the season after kicking eight in total during his previous six seasons at the club, with his contested marking and aerobic capacity demonstrating that he could play as a key forward despite playing as a defender for his career to date.

Following his breakout in the forward line during the previous season, it was believed that McDonald would continue in his newfound role while assisting in the ruck when required. However, a niggling toe injury during the following pre-season kept McDonald sidelined for the opening five rounds of the 2018 AFL season, before he finally returned with two goals and 16 disposals in a 36 point win against Essendon. In a six week streak between rounds 6 and 11 where Melbourne won all of their matches, McDonald made a successful and dynamic return to Melbourne's forward half, highlighted by a 24 touch, four goals best on ground performance against the Western Bulldogs in Round 11. During the 2018 Queen's Birthday match, McDonald kicked a career high six goals as Melbourne lost to Collingwood by 42 points. Mid-way through the season, McDonald signed with the Demons for a further four years. By the end of the season, Melbourne qualified for their first finals campaign in 12 years. McDonald played a key role in Melbourne's 33 point Semi-Final win against Hawthorn, kicking a match high four goals as Melbourne triumphed to the tune of 33 points. Following Melbourne's loss to West Coast in the preliminary final the following week, McDonald had amassed a total of 53 goals for the season, the most since any Melbourne player since Brad Green's 55 goal haul in 2010.