| Matthew Connell | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Matthew Connell | ||
| Date of birth | 3 August 1972 | ||
| Original team(s) | Subiaco | ||
| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Weight | 76 kg (168 lb) | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1993 | West Coast Eagles | 3 (0) | |
| 1995–2000 | Adelaide | 96 (28) | |
| Total | 99 (28) | ||
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2000. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Matthew Connell (born 3 August 1972) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League for the Adelaide Crows and West Coast Eagles. Educated at Newman College, he has now returned there as a teacher.
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, or simply called Aussie rules, football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of eighteen players on an oval-shaped field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by kicking the oval-shaped ball between goal posts or between behind posts.
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body, and is responsible for controlling the laws of the game. The league was founded as the Victorian Football League (VFL) as a breakaway from the previous Victorian Football Association (VFA), with its inaugural season commencing in 1897. Originally comprising only teams based in the Australian state of Victoria, the competition's name was changed to the Australian Football League for the 1990 season, after expanding to other states throughout the 1980s.
The West Coast Eagles, also known simply as West Coast or the Eagles, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Based in Perth, Western Australia, it represents its home state and the Perth metropolitan region. It trains at Lathlain Park and plays its home games at Perth Stadium, also known as Optus Stadium, in Burswood, having previously played at Subiaco Oval and the WACA Ground. The club is one of two AFL clubs based in Western Australia, the other being its main rival, the Fremantle Football Club.
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Connell did not have a big impact playing for West Coast but when he moved to Adelaide he had a brilliant season winning the Crows Best and Fairest and a position in the Western Australian State of Origin side. In 1996 Connell had a thigh injury early in the season and when he came back he was not at the level he was in 1995. He played in both of Adelaide's Premierships in 1997 and 1998 but never hit the form he had in 1995 again.
He coached the GB Bulldogs Australian rules football team in the 2005 International Cup, held in Melbourne, guiding the team to a 6th place finish.
