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Oscar McDonald

Oscar McDonald
McDonald playing for Melbourne in April 2018
Personal information
Full name Oscar McDonald
Date of birth (1996-03-18) 18 March 1996 (age 28)
Original team(s) North Ballarat Rebels (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 53, 2014 national draft
Debut Round 22, 2015, Melbourne vs. Fremantle, at Domain Stadium
Height 196 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 100 kg (220 lb)
Position(s) Key Defender
Club information
Current club Fremantle
Number 21
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2015–2020 Melbourne 81 (1)
2021–2022 Carlton 5 (2)
2024– Fremantle 1 (0)
Total 87 (3)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Oscar McDonald (born 18 March 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for Carlton and Melbourne. McDonald has played the majority of his career as defender. He is the brother of Tom McDonald, who was a premiership player for Melbourne in 2021.

Junior career

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After missing out on selection for Vic Country in the 2014 AFL Under 18 Championships,[1] McDonald played nineteen matches for the North Ballarat Rebels in the TAC Cup,[2] with the second half to his season raising his draft chances.[3] His strong season was acknowledged with awards and accolades including, winning the Adam Goodes trophy for the club best and fairest,[4] the TAC Cup coaches award,[5] and he was named as the centre half-back in the TAC Cup team of the year.[6]

AFL career

[edit]

Melbourne (2015–2020)

[edit]
McDonald at training in November 2015

Predicted to be drafted inside the top thirty in the 2014 national draft,[3] McDonald was drafted by Melbourne with their fifth selection and fifty-third overall.[7] He spent the start of 2015 playing for Melbourne's Victorian Football League affiliate team, the Casey Scorpions, in the VFL Development League,[8] he was then promoted to the senior VFL team in round three,[9] playing there for most of 2015. He made his AFL debut in the fifty-four point loss against Fremantle at Domain Stadium in round 22.[10] He played in his first win the next week and in the final match of the season, when Melbourne defeated Greater Western Sydney by twenty-six points at Etihad Stadium, which was also the club's first win at the stadium since 2007, ending a twenty-two match losing streak.[11]

After playing in the first and final match of the 2016 NAB Challenge against Port Adelaide and St Kilda respectively,[12][13] McDonald started the season playing in the AFL when he played in the opening round match against Greater Western Sydney in the two point win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[14] During the match, he suffered an ankle injury which forced him to miss the next week.[15] Playing for Casey, he received a concussion which saw him miss further football.[16] He returned to the senior side in the sixty-three point win against the Brisbane Lions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round nine.[17] With the club focusing on youth, he maintained a spot in the seniors for the remainder of the season, which saw him play as the second key back behind his brother, Tom.[18] Despite not missing another match, he did, however, injure his ankle a further two times during the season, in the round 16 match against Fremantle and the round 18 match against West Coast.[19][20] After finding consistency in the back-line, he was awarded the round 21 nomination for the AFL Rising Star in the forty-point win against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, where he recorded twenty-three disposals, nine marks, and five rebound-50s.[21] In August, he signed a two-year contract, tying him to the club until the end of the 2018 season.[22]

Carlton (2021–2022)

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After training with the Carlton Football Club ahead of the 2021 AFL season, McDonald was added to the Blues' rookie list as a preseason supplemental selection.[23] Under then-coach David Teague, Carlton played him as a key forward, rather than in defence where he had played with Melbourne. In a curious first game in Round 1, 2021, he became the first player substituted into a game under the AFL's then-new 'medical substitute' rule; he then kicked a goal with his first kick for the club, and a total of two for the game – more goals than in his entire career with Melbourne.[24] He played two more games in 2021 as an unused medical substitute. In 2022, under new coach Michael Voss, McDonald returned to the backline and was a first-choice selection in Carlton's Round 1 team;[25] however, he was substituted out of the Round 2 game with stress fractures in his back and missed the rest of the season.[26] He was delisted at the end of 2022 after five matches and less than two full matches of game time for the club.[27]

Fremantle (2023–)

[edit]

In November 2023, McDonald signed with the Fremantle Dockers as a delisted free agent.[28] He had played for the VFL team Williamstown during the 2023 season. He is the second player to play for Fremantle, Carlton and Melbourne after Troy Longmuir (brother of current Fremantle Coach, Justin Longmuir), who played 17 games for Melbourne from 1998–1999, 55 games for Fremantle between 2000 and 2004, and 11 games for Carlton from 2005–2006. McDonald debut for Fremantle in Round 1 of the 2024 AFL season. Unfortunately for McDonald, he injured his knee during the 3rd quarter. He required surgery and didn't play another AFL game for the rest of the season.[29]

Statistics

[edit]
Statistics are correct to the end of round 3, 2024[30]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2015 Melbourne 28 2 0 0 14 16 30 13 0 0.0 0.0 7.0 8.0 15.0 6.5 0.0
2016 Melbourne 28 15 0 0 117 127 244 63 27 0.0 0.0 7.8 8.5 16.3 4.2 1.8
2017 Melbourne 28 20 0 0 192 116 308 108 32 0.0 0.0 9.6 5.8 15.4 5.4 1.6
2018 Melbourne 28 25 0 0 190 100 290 95 31 0.0 0.0 7.6 4.0 11.6 3.8 1.2
2019 Melbourne 28 12 1 0 76 31 107 31 27 0.1 0.0 6.3 2.6 8.9 2.6 2.3
2020 Melbourne 28 7 0 0 42 27 69 17 8 0.0 0.0 6.0 3.9 9.9 2.4 1.1
2021 Carlton 39 3 2 1 8 1 9 3 2 0.7 0.3 2.7 0.3 3.0 1.0 0.7
2022 Carlton 39 2 0 0 18 6 24 10 0 0.0 0.0 9.0 3.0 12.0 5.0 0.0
2024 Fremantle 21 1 0 0 8 2 10 3 1 0.0 0.0 8.0 2.0 10.0 3.0 1.0
Career 87 3 1 665 426 1091 343 128 0.0 0.0 7.6 4.9 12.5 3.9 1.5

Notes

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Ryan, Peter (12 November 2014). "McDonald's unusual request to the coach who drafts his brother". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Player Profile–Oscar McDonald". TACCup.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b Twomey, Callum (13 November 2014). "Oscar McDonald firms as likely second-round pick as draft approaches". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  4. ^ Whelan, Melanie (22 September 2014). "TAC Cup: Oscar McDonald named Adam Goodes Trophy winner as North Ballarat Rebels' best". The Courier. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  5. ^ "McDonald snares Coaches Award". TACCup.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  6. ^ "2014 TAC Cup Team of the Year". TACCup.com.au. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  7. ^ Ralph, Jon (7 December 2014). "Tom McDonald hopes brother Oscar can join him in backline after arriving with Demons' pick 53". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  8. ^ Burgan, Matt (16 April 2015). "Several Dees in form for Casey". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  9. ^ Burgan, Matt (30 April 2015). "Round three Casey Scorpions teams". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  10. ^ Burgan, Matt (27 August 2015). "McDonald take two set to debut". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  11. ^ Edwards, Nat (6 September 2015). "Five talking points: Melbourne v GWS". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  12. ^ Thring, Harry (27 February 2016). "Second-half blitz helps Demons run over Power". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  13. ^ King, Travis (13 March 2016). "Dees' belief building as win over Saints maintains perfect record". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  14. ^ Schmook, Nathan (26 March 2016). "Hogan leads late charge as Dees cut down Giants". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  15. ^ Cherny, Daniel (26 March 2016). "AFL season 2016: Melbourne brothers Oscar and Tom McDonald troubled against GWS". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  16. ^ Burgan, Matt (9 June 2016). "Big O bursting for blockbuster". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  17. ^ "AFL Teams Round 9: All of the ins and outs this weekend, SuperCoach late changes, injuries". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  18. ^ Burgan, Matt (9 June 2016). "McDonald making strides down back". MelbourneFC.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  19. ^ Guthrie, Ben (12 July 2016). "Demons get good news on Vince, McDonald injuries". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  20. ^ Guthrie, Ben (28 July 2016). "Test for Dees defender, as veteran still ruled out". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  21. ^ Landsberger, Sam (15 August 2016). "Melbourne youngster Oscar McDonald earns Round 21 Rising Star nomination". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  22. ^ Clark, Jay (10 August 2016). "Tom McDonald re-signs with Melbourne, along with brother Oscar". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  23. ^ Beveridge, Riley (9 March 2021). "Versatile ex-Demon wins race for Blues' final list spot". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  24. ^ Riley Beveridge (18 March 2021). "New year, same story: Dusty dominates in Tiger triumph". Australian Football League. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  25. ^ Riley Beveridge (23 February 2022). "Forgotten swingman a R1 bolter as Blues eye Jones replacement". Australian Football League.
  26. ^ "Injury news: McDonald ruled out". Carlton Football Club. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  27. ^ Carlton Media (27 August 2022). "Carlton list changes". Carlton Football Club. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  28. ^ "DONE DEAL: Fremantle sign key defender Oscar McDonald". Fremantle Football Club. 1 November 2023.
  29. ^ "Dockers defender to undergo knee surgery, could miss rest of season". afl.com.au. 2 April 2024.
  30. ^ "Oscar McDonald". AFL Tables. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
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