 McDonald was recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with their fourth selection and fifty-third overall in the 2010 national draft.After playing in the 2011 NAB Cup, he spent the majority of the season playing in the Victorian Football League (VFL) for Melbourne's affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions.He made his AFL debut in the thirty point win against at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round twenty-three where he recorded eighteen disposals, six marks, six rebound-50s and four tackles, playing as a backman, and he was named in the best players by "AFL Media" and "The Age".