Rhys O'Keeffe (born 8 August 1990) is a former professional

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 with the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). O'Keeffe played his junior years in Adelaide, nominally as a defender. He joined the

North Adelaide Football Club North Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Roosters, is an Australian rules football club affiliated with the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The club plays its home games at Prospect Oval, ...

in 2006 to play under-17s, and by the end of 2008 had played a handful of senior games. He also represented South Australia at the Under-18s championships in 2008, and was selected in the Under 18s All-Australian team and named as South Australia's MVP for the tournament. O'Keeffe was selected in the 2008 AFL National Draft by the

with its fifth round selection (No. 65 overall). His initial two-year contract was ruined by injury. He managed eight games for , the

Northern Bullants The Preston Football Club, which trades and plays as the Northern Bullants, is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston, Victoria, Preston that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It plays its home games at t ...

, at the start of 2009 before succumbing to

osteitis pubis Osteitis pubis is a noninfectious inflammation of the pubis symphysis (also known as the pubic symphysis, symphysis pubis, or symphysis pubica), causing varying degrees of lower abdominal and pelvic pain. Osteitis pubis was first described in pa ...

, and managed only two VFL games in 2010, with hip and back injuries keeping him out for most of the year. At the end of two years, with almost no senior football to base its decision on, Carlton opted to move O'Keeffe to the rookie list; due to AFL list management procedures, this was achieved by first delisting O'Keeffe, then re-drafting him in the second round of the 2011 rookie draft (No. 35 overall). O'Keeffe had more continuity in 2011, his third season, playing the full season for the Bullants. He was elevated to Carlton's senior list in place of the injured Andrew Collins prior to Round 14, and made his first AFL appearance that same week, his only for the 2011 season. He missed the first half of the 2012 season with a foot injury, and played a further two AFL matches. He was retained on Carlton's rookie list for 2013. After three matches in five seasons, O'Keeffe was delisted at the end of the 2013 season. He played four more seasons of

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 ...

football, first with his junior club North Adelaide from 2014 to 2015, then with Glenelg in 2016 and 2017.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Okeeffe, Rhys Australian rules footballers from South Australia Carlton Football Club players Preston Football Club (VFA) players North Adelaide Football Club players Glenelg Football Club players Living people 1990 births