Michael Kevin O'Loughlin (born 20 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played his entire Australian Football League career with the Sydney Swans. O'Loughlin was named a member of the

Indigenous Team of the Century The Indigenous Team of the Century (Australian rules football) was selected to recognise the role of Indigenous Australians in the sport. It was announced in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first senior-level game played by an indig ...

. He was the third player with Indigenous heritage to play 300 AFL games. He twice achieved

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led b ...

selection, played for Australia twice in the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (se ...

, and was a Fos Williams Medallist as best player for South Australia 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 ...

. O'Loughlin was the first Sydney Swans player to play more than 300 career games. In 303 games he kicked 521 career goals.

Early life

His parents never married, so he was given his mother's maiden name of O'Loughlin, which came from her Irish great-great-great-grandfather. O'Loughlin's ancestors were

Czech Jews The history of the Jews in the Czech lands, which include the modern Czech Republic as well as Bohemia, Czech Silesia and Moravia, goes back many centuries. There is evidence that Jews have lived in Moravia and Bohemia since as early as the 10 ...

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

(

Kaurna The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurn ...

and

Ngarrindjeri The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. He grew up in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, and first played junior football with Central District in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

AFL career

O'Loughlin marks in the pocket, Syd v PA 2009 (3558524391) (cropped)

Selected in the third round of the 1994 National Draft, O'Loughlin played 12 senior games for the Swans in 1995 and earned an

AFL Rising Star award The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan ...

nomination. The following year, he was a key player in the team that won the minor premiership and then lost to

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...

in the grand final. He was the games record holder for the Swans, passing

John Rantall John "Mopsy" Rantall (born 9 December 1943) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the South Melbourne Football Club, North Melbourne Football Club and Fitzroy Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). A lightly- ...

's VFL/AFL record in Round 14 of the 2007 season and Bill Windley's 102-year-old overall club record in the Elimination Final of that year, until he was overtaken by his cousin

Adam Goodes Adam Roy Goodes (born 8 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Goodes holds an elite place in VFL/AFL history as a dual Brownlow Medallist, d ...

. He became the first Sydney Swans/South Melbourne player to break the 300 games milestone in Round 19, 2009. O'Loughlin played the majority of his early football in a half-forward flanker role, where his combination of speed, strength and agility made him a difficult player for opposing teams to match up against. He was known by the nickname "Magic" throughout his career, in recognition of his capacity to play football so skillfully that it could sometimes seem he had "cast a spell" on his opponents. He was also known by the nickname, "Micky O". In the latter part of his career, he was primarily used as Sydney's full-forward. In 2000 and 2001, he was the club's leading goalkicker. He was club best and fairest in 1998 and runner-up in 2000. He was selected in the

All Australian Team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

in 1997 and 2000. When

matches were still being played, he represented his state on several occasions, receiving the Fos Williams Medal for best South Australian player in 1998. In 2005, he was selected alongside Sydney Swans teammate and cousin Adam Goodes in the

. O'Loughlin was chosen in the full-forward position. He described this honor as the highlight of his career, alongside the 2005 premiership. O'Loughlin, the only player remaining in the team from the 1996 loss, played strongly during the 2005 grand final, including a number of exceptional marks. However, and uncharacteristically, his kicking for goal during the game was inaccurate. In 2006, O'Loughlin continued to be a key part of the Swans' line-up, including playing a decisive role in the qualifying and preliminary finals that put the Swans into the grand final for the second consecutive year. In the close qualifying Final against the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football L ...

Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood. Subiaco Oval was the high ...

, O'Loughlin ran into an open goal, then carried on to the fence and roared into the faces of some rather stunned-looking Eagles' fans from a few inches away. The moment is captured in Jamie Cooper's painting ''the Game That Made Australia'', commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport. In the 2006 Grand Final, O'Loughlin played well, kicking 3.1 (19). He continued to play consistently well for Sydney through the balance of his career. On 23 June 2009, O'Loughlin announced that at the end of the 2009 season he would retire. He played his 300th game in round 19 at the

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

against the Richmond Tigers.

Career achievements

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

nominee 1995 * Bob Skilton Medal 1998 *

1997, 2000 *

1997, 2000 * Fos Williams Medal 1998 *Sydney Swans Leading goalkicker 2000, 2001 *Sydney Swans Premiership player 2005 *Outstanding achievement in AFL 2005 (

The Deadlys The Deadly Awards, commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. The event was held from 1995 to 2013. Description T ...

) *

*Outstanding achievement in AFL 2009 (The Deadlys)Vibe, Vibe Alive, The Deadlys, GJC, 3 on 3
. Vibe.com.au (19 May 2012). Retrieved 3 June 2012. *Male Sportsperson of the Year 2009 (The Deadlys)

Statistics

: ''*10 games required to be eligible.'' , - 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;", Sydney , 38 , , 11 , , 12 , , 4 , , 62 , , 52 , , 114 , , 24 , , 16 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 5.6 , , 4.7 , , 10.4 , , 2.2 , , 1.5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1996 , style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 25 , , 21 , , 14 , , 228 , , 153 , , 381 , , 109 , , 45 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 9.1 , , 6.1 , , 15.2 , , 4.4 , , 1.8 , - 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;", , 19 , , 23 , , 26 , , 14 , , 270 , , 117 , , 387 , , 85 , , 41 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 11.7 , , 5.1 , , 16.8 , , 3.7 , , 1.8 , - ! 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;", , 19 , , 24 , , 40 , , 25 , , 289 , , 130 , , 419 , , 129 , , 28 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , 12.0 , , 5.4 , , 17.5 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 18 , , 26 , , 18 , , 167 , , 69 , , 236 , , 81 , , 20 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 9.3 , , 3.8 , , 13.1 , , 4.5 , , 1.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 22 , , 53 , , 24 , , 282 , , 122 , , 404 , , 142 , , 23 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , 12.8 , , 5.5 , , 18.4 , , 6.5 , , 1.0 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2001 , style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 23 , , 35 , , 29 , , 279 , , 111 , , 390 , , 128 , , 36 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , 12.1 , , 4.8 , , 17.0 , , 5.6 , , 1.6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2002 , style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 19 , , 30 , , 11 , , 181 , , 106 , , 287 , , 92 , , 33 , , 1.6 , , 0.6 , , 9.5 , , 5.6 , , 15.1 , , 4.8 , , 1.7 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2003 , style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 16 , , 41 , , 20 , , 132 , , 55 , , 187 , , 90 , , 16 , , 2.6 , , 1.3 , , 8.3 , , 3.4 , , 11.7 , , 5.6 , , 1.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2004 , style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 18 , , 38 , , 18 , , 144 , , 40 , , 184 , , 99 , , 19 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , 8.0 , , 2.2 , , 10.2 , , 5.5 , , 1.1 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2005 , style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 23 , , 52 , , 26 , , 188 , , 68 , , 256 , , 104 , , 30 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 8.2 , , 3.0 , , 11.1 , , 4.5 , , 1.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2006 , style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 25 , , 47 , , 32 , , 219 , , 82 , , 301 , , 138 , , 37 , , 1.9 , , 1.3 , , 8.8 , , 3.3 , , 12.0 , , 5.5 , , 1.5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2007 , style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 23 , , 40 , , 14 , , 182 , , 84 , , 266 , , 112 , , 32 , , 1.7 , , 0.6 , , 7.9 , , 3.7 , , 11.6 , , 4.9 , , 1.4 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 16 , , 36 , , 21 , , 126 , , 66 , , 192 , , 90 , , 19 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , 7.9 , , 4.1 , , 12.0 , , 5.6 , , 1.2 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 2009 , style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 17 , , 24 , , 16 , , 131 , , 63 , , 194 , , 95 , , 30 , , 1.4 , , 0.9 , , 7.7 , , 3.7 , , 11.4 , , 5.6 , , 1.8 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 303 ! 521 ! 286 ! 2880 ! 1318 ! 4198 ! 1518 ! 425 ! 1.7 ! 0.9 ! 9.5 ! 4.3 ! 13.8 ! 5.0 ! 1.4

Post-AFL career

O'Loughlin was awarded the 2009 AFL Players' Association Madden for his on and off-field contributions to the game. In 2010 O'Loughlin coached the

Flying Boomerangs The Flying Boomerangs are the underage Indigenous Australian Australian rules football team for men (the underage women's team is known as the ''Woomeras''). The team has played tests against junior teams from Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Ne ...

Indigenous side during their

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

tour, leading the side to victory against the South Africa National Australian Rules Football Team. He was later named coach of the World 18 for the

AFL National Under 16 Championships Australian rules football is the most watched and attended sport and the second most participated code of football in Australia. Since originating in Victoria in 1858 and spreading elsewhere from 1866, it has been played continuously in every ...

. In 2011 he was named as coach of the Indigenous All Star team for their biennial game, this time against the Richmond Tigers. O'Loughlin also represented South Australia against Victoria in the State of Origin Slowdown charity match at the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby le ...

on 3 October 2011. Both teams were composed of retired players with the match supporting both the Little Heroes Foundation and the Reach Foundation youth charities started by former

Melbourne Demons The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria, and plays its home ...

star player, the late

Jim Stynes James Stynes OAM (23 April 196620 March 2012) was an Irish-born footballer who converted from Gaelic football to Australian rules football. Playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), he went on to become ...

The GO Foundation

In September 2009 he launched the Goodes O'Loughlin Foundation, or GO Foundation, along with his cousin and co-chairman Adam Goodes and their friend James Gallichan, in Dareton, NSW, where it was involved in various community programmes for the local Aboriginal population. In 2014, it started focusing on education for

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

, and established a board of directors. Founding partners include the Sydney Swans, Allens Linklaters,

QBE Insurance QBE Insurance Group Limited is a general insurance and reinsurance company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and headquartered in Sydney. The company employs more than 11,700 people in over 27 countries. Across its operations, QBE offe ...

and KPMG Australia. After starting with a few

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

s to independent schools, by 2021 GO had expanded into 26 mostly public schools, as well as five universities.

Off-field controversy

In 2000, it was alleged that O'Loughlin had been present during the

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

of a woman in a park in

by two other AFL players,

Adam Heuskes Adam Heuskes (born 20 March 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League most remembered for his on field flamboyance and controversial off-field behaviour, which twice resulted in rape allegations. His decora ...

and

Peter Burgoyne Peter Gabriel Burgoyne (born 29 January 1978) is a former Australian rules footballer with Port Adelaide in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played primarily in midfield and on the half back flank. Early life Burgoyne is of Indigen ...

. O'Loughlin was said to have been "present before or during the incident, but not directly involved in it. O'Loughlin was neither charged nor questioned by police but Burgoyne and Heuskes were both charged with rape. The case, however, did not go to court as the Director of Public Prosecutions, Paul Rofe, said there was "no reasonable prospect of conviction on any criminal charge" due to a lack of witnesses. Despite this, the three players made a $200,000 cash payment to the alleged victim.O'Loughlin linked to payment – National
''The Age''. (19 March 2004). Retrieved 3 June 2012. The incident came to public light when it was examined on the ABC investigative program '' Four Corners'' in 2004.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oloughlin, Michael 1977 births Living people All-Australians (AFL) Sydney Swans players Sydney Swans Premiership players Bob Skilton Medal winners South Australian State of Origin players Central District Football Club players Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Australian rules footballers from Adelaide Australia international rules football team coaches Australian people of English descent Australian people of Irish descent Australian people of Czech-Jewish descent Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australia international rules football team players South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players