How Cam McCarthy's death aged just 29 is the fourth unimaginable tragedy to hit his AFL club in just eight years

The death of Cam McCarthy aged just 29 is the latest in a string of heart-wrenching tragedies to hit the Fremantle Dockers AFL club in the last eight years.

McCarthy, who played in the AFL from 2014-2020, was found dead at Lake Coogee in Perth on Thursday evening.

'The death is being treated as non-suspicious,' WA Police said in a statement, adding a coronial report will be prepared.

The West Australian-born footballer was drafted by GWS with pick No.14 at the 2013 national draft.

He played 21 games for the Giants before leaving the Sydney club at the end of the 2015 season, citing mental health issues and homesickness.

The devastating news about McCarthy comes after his fellow Dockers Shane Yarran, Harley Balic and Colin Sylvia all died young in shocking incidents dating back to 2018.

In April that year Yarran was found dead in his Perth home aged just 28, with police also not treating his passing as suspicious. 

He'd joined Fremantle in 2015 and stamped himself as a talent by kicking 10 goals in six games before retiring due to legal issues as he faced two assault charges, followed by a string of court appearances after he'd stopped playing.

Father to a young daughter at the time of his death, Yarran was fondly remembered as a loving dad and great teammate.

Sylvia died in a car crash aged just 32 in October 2018. 

He passed away at the scene of the collision in Irymple, in the far north-west of Victoria, and the horrible news was first announced by his former teammate Brent Moloney, who mourned the loss of his 'best friend'.

Sylvia's girlfriend Mindy Jory, a legal receptionist in Mildura, shared a picture of him with her and her son, captioning the image with a heart emoji.

The couple had only begun dating shortly before the accident, but posts to both his and her social media accounts showed a deeply loving relationship full of weekends away and a happy, family focused life.

Sylvia spent 11 years playing for the Melbourne Demons and the Dockers, and was the former club's leading vote-getter at the 2010 Brownlow Medal count.

Harley Balic was just 25 when he was found dead in a Melbourne hotel in January 2022 - and once again, police found the incident was not suspicious.

The highly touted junior player joined the Dockers before being traded to the Demons ahead of the 2018 season but had retired from the sport before the end of that year, saying his 'heart's not in it'.

Balic had been open about the mental health issues he had suffered in the past, and said he had lost his passion for the game.

'It was an easy decision in the end, as I've thought about it for a little while now,' he said as he announced his retirement.

'It's something I'm not going to regret and I'm very appreciative to Melbourne for letting me come to the club for a second chance.

'I've always loved football, but my heart's not in it and everything ends up being a grind and I think it's just the right thing to do.'

In 2020 he spoke of his mental struggles since retiring from the sport prematurely.

'The way I left football, unfinished, left me lost in the world,' he said.

'That brought on depressing episodes and things like that. Getting to the highest level, which you'd dedicated your whole life to, and then all of a sudden being a nobody, I found that pretty challenging.'

After failing to engineer a trade to Fremantle for the 2016 season, McCarthy stood out of AFL football before being picked up by the Dockers.

The talented forward played 49 games for Fremantle in four seasons from 2017 before being delisted at the end of the 2020 season.

During his last season in the AFL system, McCarthy was diagnosed with epilepsy after collapsing at training.

Overall, the talented forward played 70 AFL games and kicked 99 goals.