Michael O'Loughlin
O'Loughlin at an autographing session in September 2012
Personal information
Full name	Michael Kevin O'Loughlin
Nicknames	Micky O, Magic Mick, Paradise
Born	(1977-02-20)20 February 1977 (age 48) Adelaide, South Australia
Original team	Central District (SANFL)
Draft	40th overall,1994 Sydney
Height	189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	90 kg (198 lb)
Position	Forward
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1995–2009	Sydney	303 (521)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
1997–1999	South Australia	3 (?)
Coaching career3
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
2013	Indigenous All-Stars	(1–0–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2009. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2013.
Career highlights
Club 2xAll-Australian: 1997, 2000 Sydney Best & Fairest: 1998 AFL Premiership:2005 2x Sydneyleading goalkicker: 2000–01 2xDeadlys Award: 2005, 2009 Deadlys Male Sports Person of the Year: 2009 Madden Medal: 2009 AFL Rising Star nominee: 1995 Australian Football Hall of Fame Indigenous Team of the Century Representative Fos Williams Medal: 1998
Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com

Michael Kevin O'Loughlin (born 20 February 1977) is a former professionalAustralian rules footballer, who played his entireAustralian Football League career with theSydney Swans.

O'Loughlin was named a member of theIndigenous Team of the Century. He was the third player with Indigenous heritage to play 300 AFL games. He twice achievedAll-Australian selection, played for Australia twice in theInternational Rules Series, and was aFos Williams Medallist as best player for South Australia inState of Origin. O'Loughlin was the first Sydney Swans player to play more than 300 career games. In 303 games he kicked 521 career goals.

Michael Kevin O'Loughlin^{[citation needed]} was born on 20 February 1977.^[1] His parents never married, so he was given his mother's maiden name of O'Loughlin, which came from her Irish great-great-great-grandfather. He supported Carlton Blues growing up. O'Loughlin's ancestors wereCzech Jews,Aboriginal Australian (Kaurna andNgarrindjeri),Irish andEnglish.^[2] He is a descendant (the great great great grandson) ofKudnarto (c.1832–1855), the Kaurna woman who made history by being the first Aboriginal woman to marry a British settler in thecolony of South Australia in 1848.^[3][4][5]

He grew up inAdelaide,South Australia,^{[citation needed]} and first played junior football withCentral District in theSANFL.^[6]

Selected in the third round of the 1994National Draft, O'Loughlin played 12 senior games for the Swans in 1995 and earned anAFL Rising Star award nomination. The following year, he was a key player in the team that won the minor premiership and then lost toNorth Melbourne in the grand final. He was the games record holder for the Swans, passingJohn Rantall's VFL/AFL record in Round 14 of the 2007 season andBill Windley's 102-year-old overall club record in the Elimination Final of that year, until he was overtaken^{[citation needed]} by his cousinAdam Goodes.^[7] He became the first Sydney Swans/South Melbourne player to break the 300 games milestone in Round 19, 2009.^{[citation needed]}

O'Loughlin played the majority of his early football in a half-forward flanker role, where his combination of speed, strength and agility made him a difficult player for opposing teams to match up against. He was known by the nickname "Magic" throughout his career, in recognition of his capacity to play football so skillfully that it could sometimes seem he had "cast a spell" on his opponents.^{[citation needed]} He was also known by the nickname, "Micky O".^[8] In the latter part of his career, he was primarily used as Sydney's full-forward. In 2000 and 2001, he was the club's leading goalkicker. He was clubbest and fairest in 1998 and runner-up in 2000. He was selected in theAll Australian Team in 1997 and 2000. WhenState of Origin matches were still being played, he represented his state on several occasions, receiving theFos Williams Medal for best South Australian player in 1998.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, he was selected alongside Sydney Swans teammate and cousin Adam Goodes in theIndigenous Team of the Century. O'Loughlin was chosen for the full-forward position. He described this honour as the highlight of his career, alongside the 2005 premiership.^{[citation needed]}

O'Loughlin, the only player remaining in the team from the 1996 loss, played strongly during the 2005 grand final, including a number of exceptional marks. However, and uncharacteristically, his kicking for goal during the game was inaccurate.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, O'Loughlin continued to be a key part of the Swans' line-up, including playing a decisive role in the qualifying and preliminary finals that put the Swans into the grand final for the second consecutive year. In the close qualifying Final against theWest Coast Eagles atSubiaco Oval, O'Loughlin ran into an open goal, then carried on to the fence and roared into the faces of some rather stunned-looking Eagles' fans from a few inches away. The moment is captured in Jamie Cooper's paintingthe Game That Made Australia, commissioned by the AFL in 2008 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the sport.^[9]

In the2006 Grand Final, O'Loughlin played well, kicking 3.1 (19). He continued to play consistently well for Sydney through the balance of his career.^{[citation needed]}

On 23 June 2009, O'Loughlin announced that at the end of the 2009 season, he would retire. He played his 300th game in round 19 at theMCG against theRichmond Tigers.^{[citation needed]}

• AFL Rising Star nominee 1995^{[citation needed]}
• All-Australian 1997, 2000^[10]
• International Rules Series 1997, 2000^{[citation needed]}
• Fos Williams Medal 1998^[10]
• Bob Skilton Medal 1998^{[citation needed]}
• Best and Fairest for Sydney (AFL) 1998^[10]
• Runner up, Best and Fairest Sydney (AFL) 2000^[10]
• Sydney Swans Leading goalkicker 2000, 2001^[10]
• Sydney Swans Premiership player 2005^{[citation needed]}
• Sydney Swans Hall of Fame^[10]
• Outstanding achievement in AFL 2005 (The Deadlys)^{[citation needed]}
• Indigenous Team of the Century member^[10]
• Outstanding achievement in AFL 2009 (The Deadlys)^[11]
• Male Sportsperson of the Year 2009 (The Deadlys)^[11]
• AFLPA Madden Medallist^[10]
• Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee, 2015^[10]
• SA Football Hall of Fame inductee, 2017^[10]

^[12]

*10 games required to be eligible.

O'Loughlin was awarded the 2009 AFL Players' Association Madden^{[clarification needed]} for his on and off-field contributions to the game.^{[citation needed]}

In 2010 O'Loughlin coached theFlying Boomerangs Indigenous side during theirCape Town tour, leading the side to victory against theSouth Africa National Australian Rules Football Team. He was later named coach of the World 18 for theAFL National Under 16 Championships.^[13]

In 2011 he was named as coach of theIndigenous All-Stars team for their biennial game, this time against theRichmond Tigers. O'Loughlin also represented South Australia against Victoria in theState of Origin Slowdown charity match at theAdelaide Oval on 3 October 2011. Both teams were composed of retired players with the match supporting both theLittle Heroes Foundation and theReach Foundation youth charities started by formerMelbourne Demons star player, the lateJim Stynes.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2009 he launched theGoodes O'Loughlin Foundation, or GO Foundation, along with his cousin and co-chairman Adam Goodes^[14] and their friend James Gallichan, inDareton, NSW, where it was involved in various community programmes for the local Aboriginal population. In 2014, it started focusing on education forIndigenous Australians and established a board of directors. Founding partners include the Sydney Swans,Allens Linklaters,QBE Insurance andKPMG Australia.^[15] After starting with a fewscholarships toindependent schools, by 2021 GO had expanded into 26 mostly public schools, as well as five universities.^[16]

In 2000, it was alleged that O'Loughlin had been present during therape of a woman in a park inAdelaide by two other AFL players,Adam Heuskes andPeter Burgoyne. O'Loughlin was said to have been "present before or during the incident, but not directly involved in it.^[17] O'Loughlin was neither charged nor questioned by police but Burgoyne and Heuskes were both charged with rape. The case, however, did not go to court as the Director of Public Prosecutions,Paul Rofe, said there was "no reasonable prospect of conviction on any criminal charge" due to a lack of witnesses.^[18] Despite this, the three players made a $200,000 cash payment to the alleged victim.^[17] The incident came to public light when it was examined on theABC investigative programFour Corners in 2004.^[18]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMichael O'Loughlin.

• Michael O'Loughlin's playing statistics from AFL Tables

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• Sydney Swans players
• Sydney Swans premiership players
• Bob Skilton Medal winners
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• Kaurna people
• Ngarrindjeri people
• Australian people of English descent
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• Australian people of Czech-Jewish descent
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• Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees
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