Oscar McDonald

Oscar McDonald (born 18 March 1996) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A defender, 1.96 metres (6 ft 5 in) tall and weighing 100 kilograms (220 lb), McDonald is a key position backman, playing as either a full back or centre half-back. After missing out on selection in the 2014 AFL Under 18 Championships, he played TAC Cup football with the North Ballarat Rebels. His accolades in the TAC Cup include a club best and fairest, the league coaches award, and selection in the team of the year. His achievements saw him recruited by the Melbourne Football Club with the fifty-third selection in the 2014 AFL draft, where he plays alongside his older brother, Tom McDonald.[1] He made his debut late in the 2015 season, and he was rewarded with an AFL Rising Star nomination during the 2016 season. He was delisted by the club in November 2020.

Oscar McDonald
McDonald playing for Melbourne in April 2018
Personal information
Full name Oscar McDonald
Date of birth (1996-03-18) 18 March 1996
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) Defender
Club information
Current club Melbourne
Number 28
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2015-2020 Melbourne 81 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2020.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Junior career

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
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 (VFL) 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]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2020 season [23]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2015 Melbourne 282001416301300.00.07.08.015.06.50.0
2016 Melbourne 28150011712724463270.00.07.88.516.34.21.8
2017 Melbourne 282000192116308108320.00.09.65.815.45.41.6
2018 Melbourne 28250019010029095310.00.07.64.011.63.81.2
2019 Melbourne 281210763110731270.10.06.32.68.92.62.3
2020[lower-alpha 1] Melbourne 287004227691780.00.06.03.99.92.41.1
Career 81 1 0 631 417 1048 327 125 0.0 0.0 8.0 5.3 13.2 4.2 1.6

Notes

  1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References
  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. 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. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  13. King, Travis (13 March 2016). "Dees' belief building as win over Saints maintains perfect record". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. 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. "Oscar McDonald". AFL Tables. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
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