Wally O'Connell

Personal information

Full name

Walter Patrick O'Connell

Born

6 April 1923 (age 94)
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 in 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.

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. 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. 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.

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.

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