Kyle O'Donnell (born 9 October 1990) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer. He played at and and played for the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

and

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

. He is the younger brother of

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

international

Luke O'Donnell Luke O'Donnell (born 22 October 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he previously ...

Playing career

Born in

Nowra, New South Wales Nowra () is a city in the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated po ...

, O'Donnell played his junior football for the Greystanes Devils, he attended Primary school at Mount Pritchard East in Sydney's south-western suburbs. In 2008, O'Donnell played for the NSW CCC side. He was then signed by the

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Sutherland Shire of Southern Sydney, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. Cronulla compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugb ...

. O'Donnell played for the Sharks' NYC team in 2009 and 2010, scoring 7 tries in 30 games. In the NYC, he played in the s and on the , occasionally appearing in the back-row. On 27 June 2010, O'Donnell signed a 2-year contract with the

starting in 2011. Knights coach Rick Stone said O'Donnell was player with real potential. In 2010, O'Donnell was selected in the

Junior Kangaroos The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name. Since 2019, they are an under-23 side, with players selected from the NRL. Th ...

squad to play the Junior Kiwis. In 2011, O'Donnell played for the Knights'

NSW Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

team, the Central Coast Centurions, playing mainly in the . He moved to in 2012 with success, making the New South Wales Residents representative team. In the same week as playing for Residents team, O'Donnell made his

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

debut for the Knights against the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

in Round 18 of the 2012 season after initially being named 18th man. Just 7 minutes into his debut, O'Donnell was knocked out from clashing heads with

Sam Burgess Samuel Burgess (born 14 December 1988) is an English professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Warrington Wolves in the Super League, and former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or forward in the 2000s a ...

and had to be assisted off the field with concussion. On 2 August 2012, O'Donnell signed a 2-year contract with the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

starting in 2013. In 2012, O'Donnell was selected on the bench for the NSW Residents team to play the QLD Residents at

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Queensland, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rect ...

as a curtain raiser to the Game 3, State of Origin decider. On 18 November 2013, O'Donnell signed a 1-year contract with the

starting in 2014 after not being able to break into the Panthers'

team. While at Canberra, O'Donnell played for the

Mount Pritchard Mounties The Mounties Rugby League Football Club (sponsored by Mounties Group) is an Australian rugby league football club based in Mount Pritchard, New South Wales formed in 1927. They currently play in the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield. Recent ...

in the

and managed 5 NRL games in the top grade before retiring at the end of the 2015 season.

References

External links

Canberra Raiders profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Kyle 1990 births Living people Australian people of Irish descent Australian rugby league players Canberra Raiders players Central Coast Centurions players Junior Kangaroos players Mount Pritchard Mounties players Newcastle Knights players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Nowra, New South Wales Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows 21st-century Australian sportsmen