Footy star Tom Barrass shares heartbreaking details about his great mate Cameron McCarthy in tribute after his tragic death aged just 29

AFL star Tom Barrass publicly paid tribute to Cameron McCarthy McCarthy, 29, was found unresponsive in a Perth apartment recently Barrass labelled his friend 'a beautiful man' in Instagram tribute

West Coast Eagles star Tom Barrass has opened up about his close mateship with Cameron McCarthy following the former Fremantle player's sudden death.

The footy world was rocked when McCarthy was found dead in a Perth apartment on May 9, with the former GWS Giants and Dockers forward battling mental health issues across his career.

He was just 29.

Barrass and McCarthy were friends since childhood, with the veteran Eagles defender taking to Instagram to remember the man who was also a talented junior state cricketer in Western Australia.

'Last week, this earth lost a beautiful man named Cameron McCarthy. A man who wasn't concerned with money or power, instead creativity and experience,' he wrote.

West Coast Eagles star Tom Barrass (pictured, middle) has paid tribute to his close mate Cameron McCarthy (right) following his recent death

The friendship of Tom Barrass and Cameron McCarthy stretches back to their childhood

Cameron McCarthy (pictured left) was also a talented junior cricketer in Western Australia before deciding to focus on footy

'A man who approached all things with energy and excitement, as if viewing them for the first time,' he posted.

'A man whose presence will be sorely missed, but whose outlook and opinion can be heard any time we wish to listen.

'Enjoy the journey and lean in. Trust your intuition and have conviction, as that's all you've really got in the end.'

'I'm gonna miss you Universal Brother. Say G'day to the big fella for me and put in a good word, please. Rest in Peace.'

McCarthy was drafted by the GWS Giants with pick No.14 in 2013 - and managed one senior game in his debut season.

Headlines followed when he left the Giants at the end of the 2015 season, choosing to sit out the last year of his contract before being traded to Fremantle.

He would go on to play another 49 games over four seasons with the Dockers, kicking 63 goals along the way.

McCarthy sent a scare through the Dockers squad in 2020 when he collapsed at training and was taken to hospital.

Footy fans were left in a deep state of shock when McCarthy (pictured) died at the age of 29 under non-suspicious circumstances in Perth last week

The Freo star and his former partner Grace Collopy are pictured prior to his tragic death

McCarthy's former Dockers teammates Nat Fyfe and Alex Pearce were overcome with emotion during a tribute for the footy star ahead of the clash with the Swans on May 10

The Fremantle-born star was later diagnosed with epilepsy and although he was medically cleared to play, his contract was not renewed by the AFL club.

McCarthy was also the fourth Fremantle player to die young in the last eight years.

Shane Yarran was found dead in his Seville Grove home in 2018 after he died by suicide when he was just 28.

Harley Balic died in January 2022, days after his 25th birthday, after documented battles with drug addiction, anxiety and other mental health issues.

And Colin Sylvia was killed in a car accident at the age of just 32 in 2018.

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