McGRATH, Cory

Cory McGrath was playing with South Fremantle in the WAFL when he was selected by Essendon with pick 14 in the 2000 Rookie Draft. He made his debut for the Club in Round 9, 2001, against Hawthorn, finishing with 13 games for the season.

He played a number of roles, generally across the midfield and the half-back line. He had the pace to be a valuable link-man with fine skills.

McGrath played six games in 2002 but spent much of his time on the bench, and an ankle injury mid-season resulted in a frustrating year for him.

After only nine games in 2003, McGrath decided it was best to find another club and was subsequently traded to Carlton in a deal that saw Justin Murphy and Matthew Allan join Essendon.

He left Carlton at the end of the 2006 season and joined South Adelaide in the SANFL. He only stayed for one year before returning to Victoria to play with VFA club, Port Melbourne. In 2011, he was a senior member of the team that went through the season undefeated and won the club's 16th premiership. He retired on that high note.

Cory's brother, Toby, played with him in Essendon's VFL team in 2002 and 2003, but did not play a senior game. He had been on West Coast's rookie list in 2001. Another brother, Ashley, played 83 games for Brisbane (2001-2006). His cousin, Marty McGrath, played 4 games with Richmond (2003), and another cousin, Dion Woods, played 59 games with Fremantle (2001-2005). Brent Le Cras (Kangaroos) and Mark LeCras (West Coast) were also cousins.