A dynamic and pacy left-footed rover, he featured strongly in Glenelg's 1985 premiership victory against North Adelaide, kicking 2 goals.
Like his Glenelg premiership teammate Stephen Kernahan, McGuinness then accepted the invitation to play in the more lucrative Victorian Football League.
In five seasons at the Bulldogs, McGuinness missed only one game and consistently racked up many possessions, usually distributing it with precision by hand or by his trusty left foot.
After a particularly fine 1990 season, in which he was a key member of the Bulldogs' revival, McGuinness decided to return to South Australia in 1991 to play with the newly formed Adelaide Crows.
History shows that while Blight copped a lot of criticism for axing so many established players, Adelaide went on to win their first AFL Premiership in 1997 over St Kilda and repeated as premiers in 1998 by defeating North Melbourne.