Content J-Mac moves into retirement after 12-year career

FEELING content upon retirement is usually a good sign you've made the right decision and that's how Jamie McNamara feels but he deserves to be proud of everything he achieved at East Fremantle, West Coast and Williamstown earning enormous respect along the way.

McNamara was always an exciting talent coming through at East Fremantle and he would go on to continue the Sharks' rich tradition of producing AFL talents with 19 matches at the West Coast Eagles, including the storied extra time final against Collingwood at Subiaco Oval in 2007.

He broke through late in 2006 to make his league debut at East Fremantle in a derby against South Fremantle and 12 years later, retired from the club it all started at as the Sharks lost to West Perth back in Round 14 at East Fremantle Oval.

Along the way, McNamara would go on to play 145 matches for East Fremantle in the WAFL, spend the 2012 and 2013 seasons at VFL club Williamstown and then the 19 with West Coast on top of being the Sharks skipper and representing Western Australia.

He played finals football at all three clubs while not quite able to enjoy that premiership success, and he didn’t quite capture a fairest and best award despite being runner-up to the Lynn Medal three times at East Fremantle – 2010, 2011 and 2015.

But McNamara's career will be best remembered for the courage he played with. Whether it was running back with the flight of the ball and putting his body where angels fear to tread, or going in hard to win the contested ball, his courageous feats on the field were often inspirational.

Combine that with the smooth mover on the field that he was, his good foot skills and ability to rack up big numbers, and he deserves to now move into retirement proud of everything he crammed into the past 12 years.

While it's something he knows is up to others to judge him on, McNamara would never complain if that is the way he is remembered by many and it was some strong early career models that set the scene for him.

"I guess it's a nice compliment to have but it's not something you think too much about yourself," McNamara said.

"I guess I would kind of put it down to the people that I've played with right back through my early stages as a young player where you learn off guys who set the example like Beau Waters at the Eagles and Darren Glass. 

"You learn off the way they approach and attack the footy, and that was something that really helped shape me as a footballer. It's nice to be known for that kind of thing but I wouldn’t have been able to do it without those sort of guys to learn off."

He had decided that the Round 14 home clash would be the last of his career having battled knee complaints over the previous 18 months. He was actually playing well too having had 15 possessions off half-back up until midway through the third quarter.

But his hamstring then gave away and that only helped confirm to the 30-year-old that he had made the right decision. But he is proud that he's still been able to contribute even in 2018 despite the knee problems.

"It was frustrating when it happened and I remember sitting on the bench in the last quarter and I guess it gave me the chance to reflect on my whole football career, and the highs and the lows that I've had throughout the journey," McNamara said.

"As you get a bit older you learn to deal with the lows in a certain way and the worst thing you can do is sit there and mope, and I certainly wasn’t going to sit there with my head down in my last game. 

"I tried to stay positive as much as I could and give a bit of support to the boys on the bench there. It was frustrating in that sense but if anything it probably reinforced my decision that the body had had enough and that it was time to move on.

"It's been frustrating but in saying that I've still been able to string together some games in that period and there are blokes who've two or three ACL's throughout the career and have had complete years wiped out. There are guys who have had it a lot tougher than me. 

"I've had some on-going knee issues that I've been working through and I've tried a bunch of different things of which some have worked and some haven’t. But in the end, I've been able to train to a certain extent and play to a certain extent, just not probably to the standard I'd expect of myself. 

"That was frustrating but I think everyone has body issues, it's just part of playing a physical game. I certainly don’t look at it all in a negative way, I think when I got to the end of last year I wasn’t sure if I had played my last game for East Freo or not.

"It took me a few months to get over last season but I was able to get my body right and come back to play a chunk of this season. To even be able to play again and get back out there with the boys was a real bonus and I'm really happy I was able to do that."

Now that he has had some time for the retirement decision to settle in, McNamara is content it was the right decision but it was quite emotional walking off East Fremantle Oval in his No. 2 jumper for the last time.

"It's mixed emotions I get. There's a mixture of being sad, relieved and excited for the next chapter," McNamara said. 

"There are a million emotions still running through my head but I think the overriding one is that I think I've made the right decision and I can be happy with the fact that I did it for myself and the team. In that sense, it's good to know that was the case at the end so I can move on and so can the team. 

"That was quite emotional knowing it would be the last time I'd come off the ground as a player. It's been a huge part of my life and in a sense it came up pretty quick. I wanted it to be that way and I didn’t want to drag it out too much so when the decision was made throughout the week, it all felt like it happened pretty quickly and the game itself was the same. 

"It all went pretty quickly and unfortunately with the hamstring injury, it all ended a little prematurely as well. It wasn’t a great day for the club in terms of not getting the win at the end, but coming off the ground for the last time was something I will never forget and I wanted to make a point of thanking the fans and everyone who has supported me along the way."

Having spent significant time at East Fremantle, West Coast and Williamstown, playing finals at each club and being a popular and respected figure mean that McNamara has plenty to be proud of as he now moves into retirement and has the chance to reflect on what he achieved.

"I am proud of my career and you probably don’t reflect in the moment during your career, and there's always something in the back of your mind saying you could have done more," he said.

"But all things considered, I've been incredibly fortunate to get opportunities both at AFL level and through the VFL and the WAFL. To play as much as I have is something that I'm really proud of and I've got a lot of people around me to thank from each of the great football clubs I played at as well as my family and friends."

While his career was still going, McNamara tried to live in the moment and not look back too often. But what retirement allows for is that reflection and it's the finals football he played in the WAFL, AFL and VFL that he remembers most fondly.

"You can have great games throughout the year but it's about the team success and that's what stands out to me," McNamara said.

"Unfortunately we didn’t get the premiership as the ultimate along the way but I did play in a couple of prelims over Williamstown where I experienced good, hard contested finals footy. That's something that was a really good experience over there. 

"And the same for the finals I played for East Fremantle where I played in a couple and obviously at West Coast too. My second game was actually the drawn semi-final game against Collingwood. 

"I'll never forget that one and looking back it's those finals that really stick out for me and they are what everyone wants to be part of during their career."

While proud of his time in the AFL and VFL, it's East Fremantle where McNamara's heart lies and rightfully so as a 145-game player, captain and three-time fairest and best runner-up.

He is proud that it's at East Fremantle that he began and finished his career.

"That was always the aim to come back to play for East Freo towards the end of my career," he said.

Unfortunately we didn’t have the ultimate success or much success in the latter stages of my career, but it's something that was important to me to be able to come back and hopefully give a little bit back to the club in any way that I could. I was happy to get to be able to do that."

McNamara would be a natural to move into coaching at some stage with his football brain, but for now it will be a break he will focus on, then getting married to Jess early next year and then seeing what the future holds.

"I'm not immediately sure, I'll have a little bit of time out of footy and then I'm not sure what the future holds. I certainly wouldn’t rule out staying involved on some level but at the moment I don’t know what that might mean," McNamara said.

"It certainly will allow me to have a little bit more time on my hands and I have a wedding to plan for early next year so that will certainly keep me busy. 

"Hopefully I can do a little bit of travel next year here and there too without the football commitments which will be nice. And I'll have more time to focus on work and my career outside of football as well."