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Full name
John Edward O'Connell
Known as
John O'Connell
Born
8 March 1932
Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 23y 39d
Last game: 28y 172d
Height and weight
Height: 193 cm
Weight: 89 kg
Senior clubs
Claremont; Geelong
Jumper numbers
Geelong: 20
Recruited from
Claremont (1955); Geelong (1961)
Family links
Michael O'Connell (Son)David O'Connell (Son)
Club | League | Career span | Games | Goals | Avg | Win % | AKI | AHB | AMK | BV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Claremont | WANFL | 1950-1954, 1961-1963 | 156 | 126 | 0.81 | — | — | — | — | — |
Geelong | V/AFL | 1955-1960 | 81 | 65 | 0.80 | 40% | 11.00 | — | 2.00 | 9 |
Total | 1950-1963 | 237 | 191 | 0.81 | — | — | — | — | — |
Pre 1965 stats are for selected matches only
AFL: 6,525th player to appear, 2,976th most games played, 1,654th most goals kickedGeelong: 578th player to appear, 212th most games played, 128th most goals kicked
John O'Connell was a tall (193cm), powerful ruckman and key position player who was capable of the odd burst of brilliance. He marked well around the ground and was hard to beat at ruck contests. Mobile, energetic and intelligent, he perhaps should have achieved more in the game than he did. He made his league debut with Claremont in 1950 and after five seasons there moved to Geelong where he added 81 VFL games over the next six years. Returning to Claremont in 1961 he took his final tally of WANFL games to 156 before retiring in 1963. Sadly for O’Connell, that just happened to be the season before the perennially under-achieving Tigers were to break through for a long overdue flag.
Despite the presence during O’Connell’s time in Western Australia of great ruckmen such as Farmer, McIntosh, Foley and Clarke he was still chosen to represent the state on 10 occasions. He also played once for the VFL.
Author - John Devaney