- AFL star Tom Barrass publicly paid tribute to Cameron McCarthy
- McCarthy, 29, was found unconscious in a Perth apartment recently.
- Barrass labeled his friend “a beautiful man” in an Instagram tribute
West Coast Eagles star Tom Barrass has opened up about his close relationship with Cameron McCarthy following the former Fremantle player’s sudden death.
The football world was shaken when McCarthy was found dead in a Perth apartment on May 9, with the former GWS Giants and Dockers striker battling mental health issues throughout his career.
He was only 29 years old.
Barrass and McCarthy were friends since childhood, and the veteran Eagles defender took to Instagram to remember the man who was also a talented junior state cricketer in Western Australia.
‘Last week, this land lost a beautiful man named Cameron McCarthy. A man who was not concerned with money or power, but with creativity and experience,” he wrote.
West Coast Eagles star Tom Barrass (pictured, centre) has paid tribute to his close teammate Cameron McCarthy (right) following his recent death.
Tom Barrass and Cameron McCarthy’s friendship dates back to their childhood.
Cameron McCarthy (pictured left) was also a talented youth cricketer in Western Australia before deciding to focus on football.
‘A man who approached all things with energy and enthusiasm, as if he were seeing them for the first time.’ public.
‘A man whose presence we will miss deeply, but whose perspective and opinion can be heard any time we want to listen.
“Enjoy the journey and lean into it. Trust your intuition and have conviction, as that’s all you really have in the end.”
‘I’m going to miss you Universal Brother. Say good morning to the big guy for me and say something nice, please. Rest in peace.’
McCarthy was selected by the GWS Giants with the 14th pick in 2013 and recorded one senior game in his debut season.
The headlines followed when he left the Giants at the end of the 2015 season, choosing not to play the final year of his contract before being transferred to Fremantle.
He would go on to play another 49 games over four seasons with the Dockers, scoring 63 goals along the way.
McCarthy gave the Dockers squad a scare in 2020 when he collapsed in training and was taken to hospital.
Football fans were left in deep shock when McCarthy (pictured) died aged 29 in non-suspicious circumstances in Perth last week.
The Freo star and his ex-partner Grace Collopy are pictured before his tragic death.
McCarthy’s former Dockers teammates Nat Fyfe and Alex Pearce were overcome with emotion during a tribute to the football star ahead of the clash with the Swans on May 10.
The Fremantle-born star was later diagnosed with epilepsy and, although he was medically cleared to play, the AFL club did not renew his contract.
McCarthy was also the fourth Fremantle player to die young in the last eight years.
Shane Yarran was found dead at his Seville Grove home in 2018 after committing suicide when he was just 28 years old.
Harley Balic died in January 2022, days after turning 25, after documented battles with drug addiction, anxiety and other mental health issues.
And Colin Sylvia died in a car accident when he was just 32 years old in 2018.
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