Wally O'Connell

Wally O'Connell

Personal information
Full name	Walter Patrick O'Connell
Born	6 April 1923 Paddington, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Position	five-eighth
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1942–48	Eastern Suburbs	89	24	7	0	86
1949	Brothers (Wollongong)
1951–52	Manly-Warringah	34	11	0	0	33
	Total	123	35	7	0	119
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1943–52	City NSW
1948–52	New South Wales	5	1	0	0	3
1948–51	Australia	10	2	0	0	6
Coaching information
Club
Years	Team	Gms	W	D	L	W%
1951–52	Manly-Warringah	40	24	0	16	60
1966–67	Manly-Warringah	42	23	2	17	55
	Total	82	47	2	33	57

Wally O'Connell OAM (born 6 April 1923, Paddington, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He was a five-eighth for the Australian national team. He played in ten Tests between 1948 and 1951 as captain on one occasion. Wally's younger brother Barry also played first grade football for Easts and Manly.

Playing career

Eastern Suburbs

An Eastern Suburbs junior, O'Connell's NSWRFL first grade career commenced in 1942 with the Eastern Suburbs club with whom he spent seven seasons and played 80 games. His first representative match was for City New South Wales in 1943.^[1] On 18 June 1945 a Sydney rugby league team featuring O'Connell travelled to Newcastle to play against their representative team and were defeated 27-26.^[2] He was the Roosters' pivot in their 1945 premiership final victory over Balmain.

With senior representative matches canceled 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.

Manly-Warringah

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. He spent the 1949 season as captain-coach with Christian Brothers Wollongong. 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 dissatisfied 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 jeopardizing 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. He was unable to play in that match due to a fractured bone in his wrist, so was forced to watch from the sideline as his team lost to Souths by a record grand final margin.^[3]

His final international appearance was in the 3rd Test of the 1951 domestic series against France.

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.

On Australia Day 2004 O'Connell was awarded the Order of Australia Medal "service to rugby league football, particularly as a player and coach".^[4]

As of 2016, O'Connell remains Australia's oldest living Test captain at the age of 92.

References

1. "Australia's Oldest Living Test Captain". menofleague.com. Men of League. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
2. "NEWCASTLE LUCKY - One point win". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 June 1945. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
3. "O'Connell to miss Grand Final, but Churchill can play". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1951-09-18. p. 10. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
4. "Order of Australia". The Age. 24 January 2004. Retrieved 23 July 2011.

• Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney
• Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn B
• Whiticker, Alan / Hudson, Glen (1995) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gary Allen Pty Ltd. Sydney

External links

• Wally O'Connell at Silvertails.net