The West Coast Eagles have swooped on exciting speedster Tom McCarthy with the No.1 pick in the Mid-Season Rookie Draft on Wednesday.

In a remarkable football story, McCarthy came from nowhere to become a standout prospect in this year’s mid-season pool.

Never part of junior talent pathways, the late bloomer only joined Richmond’s VFL team last season after playing division two football for Highett in the Southern Football Netball League.

The 24-year-old will be on a plane to Perth tomorrow and is set to complete a whirlwind week when he lines up for the WAFL Eagles on Saturday for his club debut against Swan Districts.

“I feel so privileged that I’ll get to live my dream and play for West Coast, a very proud, historical club,” McCarthy told westcoasteagles.com.au.

“I’m super pumped to get started I just really want to get over there already and kick the footy around with the boys.

“I’ve watched a little bit of West Coast this season and I’m really enjoying the young kids are getting a crack at it and it looks like they’re building something.

“They’re playing an exciting brand of footy which I can see myself playing as well, which is good.”

McCarthy described himself as a ‘electric, speedy player’ with strong footy IQ who enjoys taking the game on.

In seven matches this year, the 187cm utility has averaged 22 disposals for Richmond’s VFL side.

“I play with a lot of speed off half-back but can also go through midfield and use my speed as well,” McCarthy said.

“I can really open the game with my foot skills and breaking lines off half-back.”

McCarthy only finished working with his marketing company on Wednesday afternoon, six months after starting the role.

He was previously employed at Woolworths while he was completing university.

If it wasn’t for his connection with Highett strength and conditioning coach Jarrad Kay, who worked with Richmond’s AFLW and then VFL teams, McCarthy might never have taken the leap to put himself on the AFL radar.

“I’ve definitely come from kind of nowhere,” McCarthy said. “He’s a big man to thank for my journey.”

McCarthy follows in the footsteps of West Coast’s recent Victorian-based mid-season recruits Jack Hutchinson, Ryan Maric and Jai Culley.

Hutchinson and Maric have been mainstays of the Eagles’ line-up this season - with the former recently signing until the end of 2029 - and become important pieces of the club’s list build.

“We are excited to be adding Tom to our squad after his strong development in the Richmond VFL program,” said Matt Clarke, Head of List Management and Recruiting.

“Tom entered the VFL system in 2024 and found himself very comfortable at the level. A strong pre-season then set him up to flourish in the first half of the season playing through the half-back role and midfield.

“Tom is a strong runner, good ball user and has the smarts to play multiple positions in the system that our senior coach Andrew McQualter is continuing to develop.

“We feel he still has a lot of improvement to come, and we were keen to add another talent that can assist our ball movement.

“He is a motivated, driven young man that will also fill a profile on our list that we were looking for.

“He will hit the ground running with the squad in the next few days.”