Ex-Fremantle Docker Cameron McCarthy disqualified from driving after blowing 0.414 in drink driving incident

A former Fremantle forward — who had a tumultuous AFL stint that included sensationally walking out on the club — has been caught drink-driving more than eight times the legal limit in the State’s South West. Cameron McCarthy, who was first drafted to the AFL in 2013, registered a blood alcohol reading of 0.414 after he was stopped by police near Harvey. The 28-year-old was fined $2500 in Harvey Magistrates Court on Monday, had his licence disqualified for 10 months and was ordered to pay police costs of $264.30. He did not appear for the hearing. The court was told McCarthy was driving northbound on South Western Highway in Wokalup, about 5km from Harvey, at 4.18pm on May 30 when stopped by police and taken to Harvey police station, where he blew the unusually high reading. McCarthy made headlines in 2020 when he sensationally quit Fremantle in the middle of the season after being told he would not be offered an AFL contract for the following year. The news was handed to him ahead of the side travelling east for a quarantine hub for the tail end of the 2020 season. At the time, Fremantle football manager Peter Bell said McCarthy and the club had “mutually agreed” he would be instantly released. “We believed it was only fair to advise Cam as soon as possible that it was unlikely that he would have his contract extended beyond the end of the 2020 season,” Bell said in August. “On that basis, Cam and his management discussed the situation with his family, and subsequently informed the club that he would like to seek an early release from his contract, which was mutually agreed to by all parties.” He had played 49 games and booted 63 goals across four years with the Dockers, but managed just one appearance in his final year. McCarthy was originally drafted from WAFL side South Fremantle to Greater Western Sydney in the 2013 AFL draft, where he played 21 games before being traded to the Dockers. He sat out of the entire 2016 season after travelling back to WA because of homesickness after a number of failed attempts to be traded to Fremantle earlier. At the time, GWS chief executive David Matthews said the club had supported his move back to Perth. “Cam has most recently been struggling to deal with the day-to-day demands of being an AFL footballer and as a result we have agreed that the best course of action is for him to step away from the game,” he said in January 2016. “We agreed to implement a range of measures to ensure Cam was able to spend more time in WA with his family. This included augmenting his training schedule as well as bolstering what was already a comprehensive welfare framework. Despite initially making strong progress after returning from the Christmas break it has been apparent that Cam cannot currently meet the demands of being an AFL footballer.” McCarthy returned to South Fremantle in the WAFL and last played for the Bulldogs in June last year.