Michael Bryant O'Connell (born 17 January 1962) 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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played with the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL). O'Connell made his WAFL debut for Claremont in 1982 and suffered a broken leg during the season. A defender, he was a member of the West Coast Eagles inaugural VFL squad in 1987 and made 10 appearances that year. In the opening round of the 1988 season, against

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

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria, South Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major Australian Football League, AFL stadium, a seco ...

, O'Connell was pushed forward and kicked a match winning five goal haul. Although they never played a senior game together, O'Connell's brother

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

also played for the Eagles in 1988. Their father is former Claremont and Geelong footballer, John O'Connell. His nephew,

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

, currently plays at Essendon.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, Michael 1962 births West Coast Eagles players Claremont Football Club players Living people Australian rules footballers from Western Australia