McPherson was the SA underage vice-captain who played for Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL – the team who he made his SANFL Crows debut against in 2018. After two difficult, injury-interrupted years at Adelaide, McPherson had a breakout year in 2020. The defender debuted in Round Six and played every game for the rest of the year. He earned himself the Mark Bickley Emerging Talent Award and the Brian Sando OAM Award for professionalism at the 2020 Club Champion.