Gary O'Donnell (born 12 May 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer who played 243 games for the Essendon Football Club between 1987 and 1998. He previously served as the assistant coach in the role Offensive Strategy Coach at the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

Family

O'Donnell is the son of Bev and Graeme O'Donnell. He is a member of a prominent Australian rules football family. O'Donnell's paternal grandmother, Eileen O'Donnell (née Rankin) was the daughter of

Teddy Rankin Edwin Walter "Teddy" Rankin (11 March 1872 – 31 July 1944) was an Australian rules footballer, originally with Riversdale, who began playing with Geelong in the VFA in 1891, and later played in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Fami ...

and the sister of

Bert Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album Here Comes a Son ...

Cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

and Doug Rankin. All four were prominent players with Geelong. His father were also a notable player. His sister,

Shelley O'Donnell Shelley O'Donnell is a former Australia netball international. Between 1990 and 1999, O'Donnell made 84 senior appearances for Australia. She was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 1991, 1995 and 1999 World Netball Cha ...

, is a former Australia netball international.

Playing career

O’Donnell was a junior teammate of

Paul Salmon Paul Salmon (born 20 January 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League for Essendon and Hawthorn. Recruited from North Ringwood, Salmon had a prolific career, with many accolades such as being ...

at North Ringwood where they won 4 premierships in succession from 1977 up to the under 16s in 1980. Prior to the introduction of the player draft, Ringwood was part of Essendon’s recruitment zone.

Essendon Football Club

O’Donnell’s start at VFL football didn't come easy: he played nearly 50 reserve grade matches before being selected to make his debut in the last game of the 1987 season. From there he held down a steady place in the side, first as a defender, then later developing into a tagging

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who was capable of getting the football as well as keeping an opposition player quiet. At his peak, O'Donnell was regarded as one of the most consistent players in the competition, with commentators often stating that he "never plays a bad game". O'Donnell played 243 games from 1987 to 1998, leading the Bombers as captain for two seasons in a decorated career in the red and black. Known as 'Mr Reliable', he was a vital part of Essendon's 1993 premiership side, a year which also saw him win the Crichton Medal as the Bombers' best and fairest. Underlining this consistency is his record in the club best-and-fairest: O'Donnell finished in the top three six years in a row, winning it in 1993, a premiership year for the Bombers. He also won the Michael Tuck Medal in 1994 as the best player in the pre-season grand final. Additionally, O'Donnell represented

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

nine times in

state of origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

football. O'Donnell was always regarded as one of the most astute thinkers in the game, and was rewarded with the captaincy for the 1996 and 1997 seasons.

Coaching career

Brisbane Lions

He reputation was further enhanced when after his retirement from his playing career, he took up an assistant coaching role with the

in 1999 under senior coach

Leigh Matthews Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the . Squat, short-legged and barrel-chested, Matthews earned the ic ...

. His tactical insight was a key part of the Lions' rise up the ladder, culminating in three premierships from 2001 to 2003.

Essendon Football Club

After Brisbane's grand final loss in 2004, Gary O'Donnell announced that he would be returning to

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington * Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport * Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United Ki ...

in 2005 as an assistant coach under senior coach Kevin Sheedy. On 22 July 2006, in Round 16, 2006, O'Donnell coached Essendon as caretaker interim senior coach for one game due to the absence of regular senior coach Kevin Sheedy, who injured his shoulder in a collision with defender

Dean Solomon Dean Solomon (born 9 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Solomon served as caretaker senior coach ...

at training. Essendon drew with long-time rivals Carlton to end its then-record 14-match losing streak dating back to round two. Some people had speculated that O'Donnell's return to Essendon indicated that he was the preferred replacement for Sheedy upon the latter's retirement, but O'Donnell denied this, and on 27 September 2007 it was announced that

Matthew Knights Matthew Knights (born 5 October 1970) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Geelong Football Club. Knights played in the midfield for the Richmond Football Club from ...

would be Sheedy's successor. O'Donnell remained as an assistant coach at Essendon Football Club until the end of the 2010 season.

Return to Brisbane Lions

In October 2010, O'Donnell returned to the

as an assistant coach under senior coach

Michael Voss Michael Voss (born 7 July 1975) is a former professional Australian rules football player with the Brisbane Bears/Lions and current senior coach of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Voss was a triple premiersh ...

. O'Donnell left the Brisbane Lions at the end of the 2016 season.

Statistics

Playing statistics

: , - , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 44 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 4 , , 3 , , 7 , , 1 , , 3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 4.0 , , 3.0 , , 7.0 , , 1.0 , , 3.0 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 44 , , 20 , , 5 , , 1 , , 196 , , 109 , , 305 , , 41 , , 35 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 9.8 , , 5.5 , , 15.3 , , 2.1 , , 1.8 , , 0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 44 , , 25 , , 3 , , 7 , , 277 , , 176 , , 453 , , 73 , , 32 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 11.1 , , 7.0 , , 18.1 , , 2.9 , , 1.3 , , 3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 10 , , 25 , , 11 , , 11 , , 346 , , 158 , , 504 , , 69 , , 32 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 13.8 , , 6.3 , , 20.2 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , 10 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 10 , , 22 , , 5 , , 5 , , 253 , , 174 , , 427 , , 50 , , 23 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 11.5 , , 7.9 , , 19.4 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , 2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1992 , style="text-align:center;", , 10 , , 20 , , 10 , , 13 , , 296 , , 157 , , 453 , , 75 , , 31 , , 0.5 , , 0.7 , , 14.8 , , 7.9 , , 22.7 , , 3.8 , , 1.6 , , 2 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" , style="text-align:center;background:#afe6ba;",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

† , style="text-align:center;", , 10 , , 24 , , 14 , , 9 , , 389 , , 221 , , 610 , , 85 , , 49 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 16.2 , , 9.2 , , 25.4 , , 3.5 , , 2.0 , , 6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 10 , , 20 , , 5 , , 5 , , 250 , , 202 , , 452 , , 63 , , 26 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 12.5 , , 10.1 , , 22.6 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , 5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 10 , , 24 , , 16 , , 10 , , 339 , , 182 , , 521 , , 69 , , 21 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 14.1 , , 7.6 , , 21.7 , , 2.9 , , 0.9 , , 1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1996 , style="text-align:center;", , 10 , , 25 , , 8 , , 6 , , 281 , , 195 , , 476 , , 81 , , 46 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 11.2 , , 7.8 , , 19.0 , , 3.2 , , 1.8 , , 4 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 10 , , 20 , , 8 , , 3 , , 211 , , 116 , , 327 , , 44 , , 27 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 10.6 , , 5.8 , , 16.4 , , 2.2 , , 1.4 , , 1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 10 , , 17 , , 3 , , 2 , , 205 , , 92 , , 297 , , 45 , , 34 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 12.1 , , 5.4 , , 17.5 , , 2.6 , , 2.0 , , 1 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 243 ! 88 ! 72 ! 3047 ! 1785 ! 4832 ! 696 ! 359 ! 0.4 ! 0.3 ! 12.5 ! 7.3 ! 19.9 ! 2.9 ! 1.5 ! 35

Coaching statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center; font-weight:normal" , 2006 , style="text-align:center;", , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1 , , 50.0% , , , , , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=2, Career totals ! 1 ! 0 ! 0 ! 1 ! 50.0% ! colspan=2,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Gary 1965 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Australian people of Irish descent Essendon Football Club players Essendon Football Club Premiership players Essendon Football Club coaches Victorian State of Origin players Crichton Medal winners Australia international rules football team players Rankin family of Geelong One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players People from Ringwood, Victoria