McCarthy, who is in the NT playing with the Nightcliff club, was best on ground for a third occasion this season in a 147-point win against Palmerston in the final pre-Christmas round.
Competition in the Premier League will resume for McCarthy and his team on Friday, January 6, with six home and away rounds remaining for the third ranked team.
McCarthy is playing in the Nightcliff reserves team alongside Tongala teammate Sam Cirpriani and Kyabram’s Anthony De Pasquale.
Rules concerning a limited points allocation for the NTFL Premier League has meant neither McCarthy, Cirpriani nor De Pasquale have played in the top flight of the NTFL.
They travelled with Jack Hammond (Tongala) and Aidan Robinson (Kyabram), who have played mostly in the Premier League competition with the Nightcliff team. They carry less points due to having played in the competition in previous seasons.
Hammond started the season strongly, but strained his shoulder and has missed the past four matches. He has been home for Christmas, but will return to the NT for the first round of the season.
Nightcliff sits sixth in the Premier League competition, with four wins and six losses.
McCarthy and the reserves team has the chance to improve on its ranking in the run to the finals, facing the bottom two teams in the last six weeks.
Its final home and away match is against top-of-the-ladder Banks, which is expected to have Essendon greats David Zaharakis and Michael Hurley in its ranks for that match.
Banks also has a strong representation of players from Murray League club Moama, including star midfielder Jack Russell.
McCarthy kicked four goals in the final round before the Christmas break and De Pasquale kicked three.
Cirpriani didn’t kick a goal, but has 14 for the season, three behind De Pasquale (17) and just ahead of McCarthy (12).
Robinson has played eight games with the Premier league team and two in the reserves.
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