A former Seymour Primary School and Seymour High School student, McDonald grew up playing football at St Mary's and Seymour before joining the army at 17.
Taking up various postings across the country - including Puckapunyal - McDonald eventually settled in Bendigo before moving to Melbourne eight years ago.
It was there he picked up the game of bowls, playing with the Cheltenham Bowling Club with great success to rise to division one.
“I always had it in the back of my mind that I wouldn’t mind giving bowls a go,” McDonald said.
“Then the first person I met was Aaron Wilson, who is currently the Commonwealth singles champion.
“I'd bowl at Cheltenham and it hooked me in. I got some coaching and spent six hours a day sometimes on the green. That's how I got started.”
McDonald was later recruited to play Premier League games with Clayton Bowling Club, before he was selected in the RSL state side in 2019 and 2020.
But with the desire to return to his roots, McDonald is again Seymour-bound.
And there wasn't really any other choice for McDonald than joining Seymour VRI Bowling Club ahead of the new season.
“My father and grandfather played here at VRI,” he said.
“I was looking to come back here, so I got in contact with the club and they said ‘we'd love to have you'.”
McDonald said he would use a collaborative approach with players when coaching at the club.
“I'm not coming into the club to change its style. I want to come in with enthusiasm and help motivate players to succeed at all levels of the game,” he said.
“I like to get input from the person I'm with, find out where they think they might be lacking, and together we find the best option to improve a problem.
“A lot of bowls is played in the head, that's where a lot fall down.
“I want to pass on some of my experiences from playing at the level I was at. I'm a firm believer of passing it on.”
McDonald said he would also work to promote the game in Seymour, acknowledging it was not just an ‘older person's game’ any more.
“The current gold medallists are 35 and under,” McDonald said.
“Moving forward I want to break that stigma that it's for after retirement. More young people are picking the game up.
“In football, you could get an injury that might stop you from working.
“Here there is pennant level and individual – it's competitive and the sport is growing.”
All-in-all, McDonald said he was excited to return to his home town and get back among the community.
“The place is growing, it's got a great industry and there are two very strong bowling clubs who have a great rivalry,” McDonald said.
“And I've got a lot of good friends here, so I'm looking forward to catching up with them.”
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