Gerry "Podge" O'Neill (13 April 1919 – 1 August 2004) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with Footscray in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL). O'Neill first played senior football with Chiltern in the

Chiltern & District Football Association The Chiltern & District Football Association was first established in 1912 from the following Australian Rules Football clubs - Barnawartha, Chiltern, Chiltern Valley, Christmastown, Southern and Wodonga, in North Eastern Victoria, Australia and w ...

as a 17 year in 1936. He played in their 1936 and 1940 premiership teams and won the 1940

best and fairest award, the Azzi Medal. O'Neill then moved to Melbourne and played with North Footscray 1941, then with Kingsville in 1942. O'Neill managed to play 16 games for Footscray during 1943 and 1944, after debuting against Carlton in round two, 1943. O'Neill served in World War II, initially enlisting in the Australian Army in 1941 but transferring to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1943 where he served in the 2nd Airfield Construction Squadron. O'Neill played for Footscray during his period of war service. O'Neill returned to play with Chiltern in 1947 and then played in Chiltern's 1947, 48, 49, 50, 51 and 53

premierships. O'Neill was captain-coach of Chiltern from 1951 to 1953 and in 1954, when Chiltern joined the

Ovens & King Football League The Ovens & King Football Netball League is a minor country Australian rules football league based in North-Eastern Victoria in the vicinity of Wangaratta and more recently Benalla. History The ''Ovens & King Football League'' was formed on ...

. In August 1950, O’Neill kicked 24 goals against Springhurst in round 16, to bring his goal tally to 116 for the season. O'Neill finished the 1950 season with 139 goals, after kicking nine goals in the grand final win against Howlong. In the 1952 C&DFA grand final, O'Neill kicked nine goals against

Corowa Stars Football Club Corowa is a town in the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is on the bank of the Murray River, the border between New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria, opposite the Victorian town of Wahgunyah. It is the largest town in the ...

, but Chiltern lost by 15 points. In Chiltern's first year in the

in 1954, O'Neill was the leading goalkicker in the O&KFL, with 87 goals for the season, in which he retired at the end of the season, after a controversial grand final loss. O'Neill was captain-coach of Chiltern that lost to Greta by four points in the 1954 O&KFL grand final, after being four goals in front after 35 minutes, with the last quarter going for a staggering 43 minutes. His grandson is former AFL footballer from the ,

Nigel Lappin Nigel Lappin (born 21 June 1976) is a former professional Australian rules footballer. Lappin is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Geelong Football Club. Playing career Lappin was born in the locally based regional hospital at ...

Notes

External links

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1939 - Albury Reserves & Chiltern FC Team Photos1940 - Photo of Gerry O'Neill
Border Mail Newspaper
1940 - Chiltern & District FA Premiers: Chiltern FC team photo

1949 - Chiltern & District FA Premiers: Chiltern FC team photo

1950 - Chiltern & District FA Premiers: Chiltern FC team photo

1953 - Chiltern & District FA Premiers: Chiltern FC - Team Photo

1953 - Chiltern & District FA Premiers: Chiltern FC - Team Photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Gerry 1919 births 2004 deaths Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Western Bulldogs players