Wally O'Connell
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Walter Patrick O'Connell | |
| Date of birth | 6 April 1923 | |
| Senior clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 1942-48 1949 1951-1952 |
Eastern Suburbs Christian Bros. Wollongong Manly Sea Eagles |
89 (86) 34 (33) |
| Representative teams | ||
| 1948–1952 1948-1951 |
New South Wales Australia |
8 (9) 10 (6) |
| Professional clubs coached | ||
| 1951-52 1966–1967 |
Manly Sea Eagles Manly Sea Eagles |
|
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* Professional club appearances and points |
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Wally O'Connell (born 1923, Paddington, Sydney) was an Australian rugby league player. He was a five-eighth for the Australian national team. He played in 10 Tests between 1948 and 1951 as captain on 1 occasion.
Contents |
[edit] Club career
His club career commenced in 1942 with the Eastern Suburbs club with whom he spent seven seasons and played 80 games. He was the Roosters' pivot in their 1945 premiership final victory over Balmain. He spent the 1949 season as captain-coach with Christian Brothers Wollongong.
Having been admitted to the Sydney top-grade competition in 1947 the young Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in 1949 had suffered three lean seasons and set about to secure the services of O'Connell, then regarded as one of the stars of the Australian game. The Manly committee secured O'Connell with a 350 pound offer but his registration for the 1950 season was thwarted when Eastern Suburbs blocked the transfer on residential grounds. The Easts committee were disatisified with residential evidence O'Connell was able to table for himself and sought proof that O'Connell's wife had also already made the move to Manly. O'Connell was unable to provide this on-the-spot at the meeting, the transfer was blocked and on principle he chose to sit out the 1950 season thereby also jeopardising his representative career.
O'Connell played two seasons with Manly as captain-coach' leading them to 2nd place on the 1951 competition ladder and to the club's first Grand final appearance.
[edit] Representative career
With senior representative matches cancelled during WWII O'Connell didn't make his Test debut until 1948 against New Zealand in Sydney.
He was selected for the 1948-49 Kangaroo Tour and played in five Tests and 16 minor tour games. His sole appearance as captain of the Kangaroos was in the First Test at Leeds of the 1948 Ashes series.
His final international appearance was in the 3rd Test of the 1951 doemstic series against France.
[edit] Post playing
In retirement O'Connell commenced a media career calling rugby league games for Sydney radio on 2UW. In 1966 he took up the coaching role at Manly and was responsible for promoting the young Illawarra junior and future Immortal Bob Fulton straight into first-grade at age 17.
As of 2008 Wally O'Connell remains Australia's oldest living Test captain.
[edit] Sources
- Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney
- Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn B
[edit] External links
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