Craig O'Brien
St Kilda, Sydney and Essendon
AFL career
114 games191 goals
- Debut
- R21 1989 v SYD25 Aug 1989
- Most recent
- R4 2000 v COL1 Apr 2000
Stats
2000 | SYD | 4 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 30 |
1999 | SYD | 2 | 8.0 | 1.5 | 9.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 43 |
1998 | SYD | 6 | 5.5 | 3.2 | 8.7 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 40 |
1997 | SYD | 11 | 6.7 | 3.0 | 9.7 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 46 |
1996 | SYD | 18 | 6.9 | 2.6 | 9.5 | 3.8 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 51 |
1995 | STK | 18 | 7.7 | 4.2 | 11.8 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 55 |
1994 | STK | 22 | 8.6 | 3.2 | 11.9 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 61 |
1993 | STK | 12 | 13.0 | 4.8 | 17.8 | 3.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 82 |
1991 | ESS | 11 | 12.7 | 5.7 | 18.5 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 70 |
1990 | ESS | 8 | 10.3 | 3.4 | 13.6 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 56 |
1989 | ESS | 2 | 9.0 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 48 |
Bio
The son of former St Kilda and Essendon utility Daryl O'Brien, Craig began his career at Windy Hill, showing flashes of potential as a forward without fully establishing himself in Kevin Sheedy's powerful lineup of the early 1990s. After three seasons and limited senior opportunities, he crossed to St Kilda in 1992, hoping to find greater consistency at Moorabbin. While he possessed strong hands and natural goal sense, he struggled to cement a permanent role with the Saints, eventually being traded to the Sydney Swans ahead of the 1996 season as part of the club's aggressive recruitment drive.
It was in the Harbour City that O'Brien played his best football, operating as a marking half-forward and a valuable foil to record-breaking full-forward Tony Lockett. His crowning moment came in the famous 1996 Preliminary Final against his original club, Essendon; while Lockett kicked the iconic winning point after the siren, it was O'Brien's five-goal haul that kept the Swans in the contest during a tense, low-scoring affair. He played in the subsequent Grand Final loss to North Melbourne and remained a regular contributor for the Swans until his retirement in 2000, finishing his career as a reliable goalkicker who found his niche in Sydney's forward structure.
Profile
- Born
- 03 Mar 1970 (age 56y 232d)
- Height
- 174 cm
- Weight
- 89 kg
Teams
Family
- Father:Ron O'Brien
Bio
1 revisionThe son of former St Kilda and Essendon utility Daryl O'Brien, Craig began his career at Windy Hill, showing flashes of potential as a forward without fully establishing himself in Kevin Sheedy's powerful lineup of the early 1990s. After three seasons and limited senior opportunities, he crossed to St Kilda in 1992, hoping to find greater consistency at Moorabbin. While he possessed strong hands and natural goal sense, he struggled to cement a permanent role with the Saints, eventually being traded to the Sydney Swans ahead of the 1996 season as part of the club's aggressive recruitment drive.
It was in the Harbour City that O'Brien played his best football, operating as a marking half-forward and a valuable foil to record-breaking full-forward Tony Lockett. His crowning moment came in the famous 1996 Preliminary Final against his original club, Essendon; while Lockett kicked the iconic winning point after the siren, it was O'Brien's five-goal haul that kept the Swans in the contest during a tense, low-scoring affair. He played in the subsequent Grand Final loss to North Melbourne and remained a regular contributor for the Swans until his retirement in 2000, finishing his career as a reliable goalkicker who found his niche in Sydney's forward structure.