Ryan O'Connor (born 27 June 1974) 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 ...

player. He is best known for playing for the Essendon Bombers and

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

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 ...

. He then continued his career 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 ...

with the Port Adelaide Magpies where he won the

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willia ...

. He finished his career with

VFL 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 ...

club Coburg in 2005 after winning the Best & Fairest in 2004. O'Connor, from Ulverstone, Tasmania began his career at the Essendon reserves after being traded by Geelong in the 1991 AFL Draft for ruckman John Barnes. Even as a young man, O'Connor was known for his massive size (191 cm, 110 kg), considered large even for an AFL player. Despite his bulk and struggle with weight problems, the big man was surprisingly agile and could take strong contested marks. O'Connor's best year was 1995. He became a centre half forward and strung together a number of impressive games, kicking bags of goals. 1995 put Ryan O'Connor on the map. He stepped up to become an important forward who took the rucking duties in the front half. In 1997 O'Connor was involved in a car accident which had an effect on his form. He was delisted by the Bombers. The Sydney Swans picked up O'Connor and used him at centre half forward and centre half back. After a few reasonable seasons, the power forward was delisted at the end of 2000. The Port Adelaide Magpies picked up O'Connor, where he starred, winning the

in 2001, alongside former St Kilda player Tony Brown.Archard, Ezard tie for Magarey glory
/ref> O'Connor then moved back to Melbourne in 2004, and joined Coburg, winning the Best & Fairest that year. Retiring midway through 2005, he would be thrust into the role of General Manager, a role he held until 2009. O'Connor is currently the Talent Manager with TAC Cup side

Sandringham Dragons The Sandringham Dragons are an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based at the Trevor Barker Oval in Sandringham, Victoria, representing the southern ...

where he has been since 2010.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Ryan Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Essendon Football Club players Sydney Swans players Port Adelaide Magpies players Coburg Football Club players Magarey Medal winners Allies State of Origin players Living people 1974 births