He previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, South Sydney Rabbitohs, St. George Illawarra Dragons, Newcastle Knights and the Melbourne Storm.

MacDougall made his first grade debut for Cronulla-Sutherland in round 4 of the 2002 NRL season against the Brisbane Broncos scoring a try in a 18–16 loss.

In 2003, MacDougall signed with the Brisbane Broncos but spent the early part of the season playing for the Toowoomba Clydesdales in the Queensland Cup.

[3][4] During the 2005 NRL season, MacDougall was suspended for ten matches after performing a dangerous tackle on Sydney Roosters player Anthony Minichiello.

He only featured in two games for Canterbury and did not play in the 2012 NRL Grand Final defeat by his former club Melbourne.