Daryl O'Brien

Daryl Ernest O'Brien (born 10 September 1941) is a former Australian rules footballer who played 135 games for the North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s.

Daryl O'Brien
Personal information
Date of birth (1941-09-10) 10 September 1941
Original team(s) West Coburg
Height 179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 81.5 kg (180 lb)
Position(s) Utility
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1960–1969 North Melbourne 135 (8)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1968 "The Galahs"
Coaching career
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
1972–1973 Brunswick (VFA) 40 (25–14–1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1969.
Career highlights

North Melbourne

  • Best and fairest runner up 1964
  • Night premiership 1965, 1966
  • Deputy vice-captain 1969
  • Awarded life membership 1969
  • Named in NMFC's list of Top 150 Players of All Time for the club's 150th Anniversary (2019)

Brunswick

  • Grand Final coach 1973
  • Team of the Century
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

A tenacious utility player who often started on the half-back flank, he was also considered one of the toughest and most effective "taggers" of the period[1] and one of the hardest men to beat one-on-one in the league.[2] O'Brien's tagging role embodied a who's who of top players of that era, including Ron Barassi, Bobby Skilton, Peter Hudson, Alex Jesaulenko, Peter Crimmins, Darrel Baldock, Roger Dean, John Sharrock, Des Tuddenham, Ted Whitten and John Northey.

Recruited from West Coburg, O'Brien captained North Melbourne's under-19 side for two years before playing a handful of senior games as a half-forward flanker in the 1960 season. He was dropped to the reserves for the whole of 1961. In the lead-up to the 1962 season, O'Brien was invited to train by both Essendon and Footscray. O'Brien formally requested a clearance to Footscray, seeing that as an opportunity to again play at the senior level. This prompted a re-think by North Melbourne and he was retained, reinventing himself as a half-back flanker and utility player. He excelled in these roles, justifying North's decision to turn down the transfer. O'Brien became a stalwart in the Kangaroo side for the next eight seasons, and in 1964 was runner-up to Noel Teasdale in the Syd Barker Medal, North Melbourne's best and fairest award.

In 1968, O'Brien was selected to represent Australia as part of the Australian Football World Tour, the second of the international rules football series against Ireland.

In 1970, O'Brien joined Victorian Football Association (VFA) team Brunswick, and was appointed the dual role of captain-coach at the end of the 1971 season.[3] He led the side to a Second Division Grand Final appearance in 1973, after which he announced his playing days were over.

O'Brien went on to serve in the North Melbourne match committee as a team selector under premiership coach Ron Barassi.

While playing senior football, O'Brien studied to become a licensed realtor and auctioneer, eventually becoming a director and later partner of a real estate business in Melbourne, Victoria. He is now retired and lives in Gowanbrae, Victoria.

Notes
  1. "Taggers worth plenty – to a man", Mike Sheahan on Monday, The Herald, 14 June 1982
  2. "N-O". Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
  3. "O'Brien coach of Brunswick", The Age, 25 November 1971
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References
  • Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (1998). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: Every AFL/VFL Player Since 1897. Melbourne: Information Australia. ISBN 1-86350-243-2.
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