“My heart is red and black”: Why McGrath never considered leaving with free agency decision

Essendon defender Andrew McGrath was thrilled to ink a new six-year deal with the club until the end of 2030.

The club announced the news of the contract on Thursday as he turned his back on restricted free agency to remain at the club that he’s played 141 games for.

McGrath is in fine form in 2024 in Brad Scott’s second season as he averages career highs in disposals (25.4), inside 50s (3.1) and rebound 50s (5.9).

The former No.1 pick believes in the direction in which Essendon ais heading and he wanted to get his deal done as early as he could to show his commitment to his teammates for the rest of the 2024 season.

“It's super exciting. I think it's an overwhelming feeling of gratitude to the club and all the people around me that have supported me throughout this journey so far,” McGrath said on SEN Mornings.

“But most importantly, the players that made this decision really, really easy for me.

“My mind was made up pretty early. I was really comfortable with the direction of the football club. I love the playing group.

“I love the coaches and believe wholeheartedly in the direction that we're heading in.

“My mind was just to get this deal done as quickly as I could and show my full commitment towards my teammates for the rest of the season.”

While McGrath no doubt would have been highly sought after if he wanted to test his free agency rights, the Don says he never really looked around as he wasn’t interested in leaving.

“I never really looked, to be honest, my heart is red and black through and through,” McGrath said.

“I guess that is the job of our managers and they do that behind the scenes.

“But I wasn't really interested in anything and wasn't really aware of anything on that front.”

McGrath says he’ll be forever indebted to Essendon after they drafted him back in 2017 and he believes the club is ready to launch under Scott after they’ve started the 2024 season with a 4-1-2 record.

“I think, firstly, you have a special place in your heart for the team that gave you an opportunity as an 18-year-old,” McGrath said.

“I'll be forever indebted to them for putting faith and trust in me at such a young age and believing that I could help this football club become great. So, that was a big factor in it.

“I think the other factor is the environment that we've been able to create over the last little while.

“It's been a long time coming and I think we're forever becoming the team that we want to be, I'm a firm believer that we're on the right direction.

“I love the playing group. I love everything that the club stands for at the moment.

“I think we're ready to launch, we're really excited about the future and ready to improve every single day.”

McGrath and the Dons will hope to win their fifth game of the season when they face West Coast at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.