Russell Jeffrey (born 6 February 1966) is a former

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 St Kilda and the Brisbane Bears in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL). Jeffrey, a former St Mary's junior, started his VFL career at

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

and with the exception of one night match spent all of his time in the reserves. A serious knee injury looked to have ended his league career and he left Victoria, only to be called up by St Kilda to play a game in 1987.AFL Tables: Russell Jeffrey
/ref> After playing 14 games for St Kilda in 1988, Jeffrey again left the state, played the 1989 Murray Football League premiership with Jerilderie. He was best on ground in both the 1987 and 1989 Murray Football League grand finals. He was re-signed by St Kilda in the 1990 preseason draft, with the 23rd draft pick. Used mostly as a defender, Jeffrey had his best season in 1990, not missing a single game and averaging just under 16 disposals. Although he had represented the Northern Territory in the

1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival The 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival was the 22nd edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football State of Origin competition. Australia was celebrating its Bicentenary in 1988, so the carnival was known as th ...

, he played State of Origin football for Victoria in 1990. At the end of the 1991 season, Jeffrey was traded to the Brisbane Bears and on debut became the 100th footballer to play for the club. In 1992 he returned to his former club Wanderers and won the Chaney Medal when he captained them to a win in the 1992/93

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

grand final. He coached Wanderers until 1997, during which time he was also coach of the territory's

Teal Cup The AFL Under-19 Championships (for sponsorship reasons, the NAB AFL Under-19 Championships) is an annual Australian national underage representative championship in Australian rules football tournament. It is seen as one of the main pathways ...

side and the league's representative team. Joining

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...

as playing coach in 1998, he steered the club to four consecutive grand finals. He coached their 2000/01 and 2001/02 premiership sides. Jeffrey is an

Indigenous Australian 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 represented the Indigenous All-Stars in 1994. He was the Labor candidate for the conservative seat of

Brennan Brennan may refer to: People * Brennan (surname) * Brennan (given name) * Bishop Brennan (disambiguation) Places * Brennan, Idlib, a village located in Sinjar Nahiyah in Maarrat al-Nu'man District, Idlib, Syria * Rabeeah Brennan, a village located ...

at the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

; however, he was defeated by the incumbent Country Liberal Party MP.Labor's latest recruit a footy star
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffrey, Russell 1966 births Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory St Kilda Football Club players Brisbane Bears players Palmerston Football Club players Wanderers Football Club players Victorian State of Origin players Living people