STRENGTHS:

+ Physicality
+ Size
+ Versatility
+ Penetrating kick
+ Vision
+ Clean hands

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Endurance
- Composure

Striking a formidable figure wherever she plays, McLay is the ultimate tall utility. Her physicality is a key aspect of her profile, standing at 177cm which is a good size to play at either end, but exceptionally advantageous when on-ball. Though she has played in the ruck, McLay is more likely to be that big-bodied midfielder, or a third tall up either end, at the top level.

McLay's footballing traits are what help rise her above many others, with a penetrating right boot that aids in clearing the danger zone, or extracting from stoppages and bombing it forward to put pressure on the opposition defence. With time and space, she can do a lot of damage in transition, and though her composure could tidy up to become more impactful when clearing the ball under pressure, the metres she gains through her kicking automatically makes them effective.

While primarily a kick-first player, McLay's use by hand is an underrated trait that she possesses. If you are watching closely, she is able to loop well-weighted handballs as well as anyone in the draft, and is quick to identify players in space outside the contest. Her delivery by hand is ultra-effective, and sometimes can be just as impactful as a kick.

McLay's gamestyle is a heavily contested one, but she is equally able to impact on the spread. Her bigger frame at ground level enables her to protect the ball and those clean hands and nice vision extracts it from first possession to second. A player who can work to win repeat disposals within a chain, McLay finds the ball with ease as she showed in a blistering, albeit short data span this season where she had 51 disposals across two games, and averaged five clearances and inside 50s from those matches.

In order to take her game to another level, McLay can further build her endurance base which will allow her to impact for longer. She has the smarts to get into the right spots and like any good leader, brings her teammates into the game. While not the most explosive in terms of complete speed, for her size, McLay is still mobile and uses her strength to manoeuvre out of sticky situations.

Going forward, McLay's best position at the top level will vary depending on who you talk to. Big-bodied midfielders are in high demand, so once she further builds her endurance, she could be seen as that onballer who then can play a role on any line, similar to a Ruby Schleicher. While the shoulder injury and little niggles she has picked up over the last 18 months might have seen her draft range widen, there is every chance she lands somewhere between the mid-first round and mid-second round region.