BY KEN CASELLAS

When 17-year-old Ed McGinty donned a Claremont jumper for the first time and ran on to Lathlain Park for the round one colts fixture against Perth on March 17, 2012 he had a burning ambition to play league football for the Tigers.

Now, 3087 days later he will realise that dream when he makes his league debut for Claremont against East Fremantle at East Fremantle Oval on Saturday.

Fittingly and most appropriately, McGinty, now 26, will represent the Tigers senior side in the annual Naidoc round when the West Australian Football League recognises the contribution of Aboriginal footballers to the game, a concept which was created by the Claremont and South Fremantle clubs in 2007.

Claremont has a rich history of fostering indigenous players and McGinty continues a tradition of Aboriginal players who have delighted football fans with their exceptional skills. A livewire small forward blessed with dazzling ability, McGinty is following in the footsteps of many talented indigenous small forwards at Claremont, players of the calibre of Doug Roberts, Jayden Woods, Eddie Brown, Jarrod Ninyette, Alroy Gilligan, Lewis Broome, Jimmy Egan, Shane McAdam, Christopher Oakley and Sam Petrevski-Seton.

It was the outbreak earlier this year of the world-wide coronavirus pandemic that almost wrecked McGinty’s dream. After working hard and training impressively during the pre-season, he returned home at One Arm Point in the State’s north-west when the WAFL season was put on hold.

But when the season finally got under way McGinty, a devoted family man, returned to Claremont for another crack at making the big time.

“I had been back at home for almost five months without playing any football,” he explained. “I kept fit by playing community basketball and having a kick with my five-year-old son Tkai. 

“To make it as a footballer is a challenge I want to accept, and now I’m looking forward to the end of the season and then going back home before returning for the pre-season training and playing next year.”

McGinty’s appearance on Saturday will signal the final stages of a remarkable journey. Born in Kununurra, brought up in Halls Creek and then settling in One Arm Point, he excited Claremont fans when he played in five colts matches in 2012, appearing in rounds one, two, three, eleven and twelve before becoming homesick and returning to his family in the Kimberley.

He was an excitement machine in those early days, fast, elusive and fearless. In his five colts matches he took 12 marks, had 50 kicks, made 18 handpasses and 12 tackles. But he was inaccurate in front of goal, finishing with a tally of 1.9.

“I didn’t have a routine when shooting for goal,” he said. “Now, I’m enjoying playing in a forward pocket and hopefully my goalkicking is getting better. I also like tackling (an aspect of his game that has been on show during his four matches with the Claremont reserves side this year).

“I like getting involved and I thought I played alright last week. All the boys at the club have been good to me, and the forward line boys in the rezzies have been giving me plenty of tips. Tom Lee and Tom Curren have been very good at helping me.”

McGinty sparkled in the reserves match against Perth last Saturday when he kicked two goals and lifted his teammates with a superb smother off the boot of a Perth player in the final quarter. After applying a strong tackle early in the third term, McGinty struck a purple patch with three successive accurate passes being marked by Lee, Alex Manuel and Cameron Anderson.

After his taste of colts football in 2012 McGinty did not play any football for four years until he appeared in a couple of games for Bidyandanga Emus in 2017.

That ignited his football ambitions and he excelled for the Looma Eagles in 2018 when that side beat Cable Beach by a point in the West Kimberley Association grand final. One of his teammates was Anthony Treacy, who shone in 17 league appearances for Claremont last year before being drafted by the West Coast Eagles.

“I played about six or seven games for the Looma Eagles last year and Anthony (Treacy) really wanted me to come down to Perth to play for Claremont,” McGinty said. Tigers fans are more than happy that he heeded this advice.