Aged 17, and in just his second game of senior football, McGough was awarded the AFL Anzac Medal as the best on ground in the 2002 Anzac Day clash between Collingwood and Essendon.
[1] Despite being regarded as a good wet weather player, his lack of pace prevented him from being regularly selected to play for Collingwood's senior side.
[2] After playing 37 senior matches in three years, McGough was delisted at the end of the 2004 season.
He was delisted by St Kilda at the end of 2006, having played just three games for the year.
After his AFL career, McGough spent part of 2007 on an exchange program in the United States, studying journalism at the University of Arizona and later that year spent time in South America.