Marty McDonnell was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played for Footscray

Western Bulldogs

The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...

 in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (VFL).

Recruited from West Footscray, McDonnell was a defender, used often at full-back. He was only a regular in the team after the war, having missed the entire 1942 and 1943 seasons due to the conflict. From 1947 to 1949, McDonnell missed just three games and he received the equal most votes by a Footscray player in the 1947 Brownlow Medal count. He represented the VFL eight times during his career.

He retired after the 1950 season and applied for the job of Footscray coach but after missing out joined Yarrawonga

Yarrawonga Football Club

The Yarrawonga Football Club, nicknamed the Pigeons, is an Australian Rules Football club playing in the Ovens & Murray Football League.The club is based in the town of Yarrawonga, Victoria located on the Murray River....

 and coached them until 1954. McDonnell was signed by South Fremantle

South Fremantle Football Club

The South Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Bulldogs, is an Australian rules football club, based in Fremantle, Western Australia, playing in the West Australian Football League...

as coach in 1960 and remained in that role for four years, with the club making finals on two occasions.