Matthew Lloyd believes Essendon themselves are partly to blame for Andrew McGrath’s lack of development since being taken with pick No. 1 in the 2016 National Draft.
McGrath burst onto the scene for the Bombers in his first year at the top level, winning the NAB Rising Star, but has since seen his output stagnate across the last handful of seasons.
While the versatile midfielder is a quality contributor for the red and black, Lloyd wouldn’t pick him inside the top 10 in a redraft of the 2016 crop, proving how his contemporaries have passed him.
Citing how hard McGrath works on his craft, Lloyd believes poor coaching and development structures at Tullamarine have failed the 24-year-old.
“I think it’s an indictment on the coaching, development and the environment,” Lloyd said on AFL Trade Radio.
“McGrath is one of the best individuals you’re ever going to meet, he’s a hard worker.
“He may not be a midfielder, but he should be a high-quality half-back flanker like we saw in his early days.”
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While McGrath hasn’t reached the heights once planned for him, Lloyd hopes the inclusion of coach Brad Scott plus a “bolstering” of the standards set at Essendon helps McGrath become the player he looked destined to be in his rookie year.
“For me, I’m hoping that (the inclusion of) Brad Scott and bolstering what the club does with development and the way that they train with the standards rise, that you see a guy a like McGrath become an All-Australian a couple of times and reach his potential,” Lloyd said.
“I think it can be luck where you’re drafted to at times, some can walk into an environment and go, ‘Wow, look how hard these guys train, I’m going to follow their trend’, while others can be drafted into a team that rarely wins games and you really battle.
“That’s what I think McGrath has been a part of.”
McGrath finished 12th in Essendon’s best and fairest this year after averaging 21.4 disposals and five marks from 18 games.