Simon Minton-Connell (born 26 April 1969) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the

Victorian Football League 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 ...

(VFL) and Australian Football League (AFL).

VFL/AFL career

Nephew of the great

full-forward Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals. The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player, often a full-forward, who has kicked the most goals in an Australian Football League seaso ...

Peter Hudson Peter John Hudson AM (born 19 February 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the New Norfolk Football Club and Glenorchy Football Club in the ...

and cousin of Paul Hudson, Minton-Connell was selected at pick 38 in the

1986 VFL Draft The 1986 VFL draft was the third formal draft to provide recruitment opportunities to clubs participating in Australian rules football's elite Victorian Football League. Held on 26 November 1986 after the end of the 1986 VFL season, it consisted o ...

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 Me ...

. Minton-Connell eventually played for four different VFL/AFL clubs; Carlton, Sydney,

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

and

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

in his twelve-year career, amassing 112 games and 305 goals in the process. Despite this lack of career stability Minton-Connell was an effective forward judged by today's standards, despite being overshadowed by the more glamorous and prolific spearheads of the era. He played for during a three-year period from 1992 until 1994 when the club won three consecutive wooden spoons, leading the club's goalkicking each year. He led the

AFL reserves The AFL reserve grade competition, commonly known simply as the AFL reserves, was an Australian rules football competition that operated as a second-tier competition to the Australian Football League from 1919 until 1999. Prior to 1990, it was ...

in goalkicking for his final season in 1998, with 59 goals.

Local league career

Retiring to local league football, Minton-Connell reached the 100-goal milestone for the Aberfeldie Football Club of the

Essendon District Football League The Essendon District Football League (EDFL) is a professional Australian rules football league competition based in Essendon, Victoria, consisting of teams based in the north-west suburbs of Melbourne. Founded in 1930, the men's competition ...

in 2002, ending the season with 121 majors after tearing a thigh muscle in the opening minutes of that year's Grand Final versus Oak Park.Anonymous
'Top guns in shoot-out'
''The Age'', 28 June 2003

References

1969 births Living people Carlton Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club players Sydney Swans players Western Bulldogs players Allies State of Origin players Tasmanian State of Origin players North Hobart Football Club players Aberfeldie Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees {{AFL-bio-1960s-stub