Gary O’Donnell certainly earned his stripes before finally receiving the call-up for his Essendon debut in round 22, 1987.

Arriving at Windy Hill in the mid-1980s, recruited from Ringwood in Essendon’s metropolitan zone, O’Donnell was made to toil through 19 games with the under-19s, then another 69 reserves games before running out for the first time at senior level against Collingwood at the MCG in 1987. The five-point loss was the first of many memorable games against the Magpies, including the 1990 Grand Final and, in 1995, the first of the modern Anzac Day clashes between the two clubs.

Speaking from Windy Hill for the eighth episode of historical podcast Fabric of the Essendon Football Club, O’Donnell said that growing up in a sporting family helped him develop a competitive attitude, with his backyard battles against sister Shelley - one of Australia’s finest ever netballers - as willing as anything he later endured at AFL level.

Football, in particular, was in the family genes. Their father, Graeme, played for Geelong (seven games, 1961-62) and North Melbourne (16, 1963-64), while on his mother’s side, the Rankins - Bert (132, 1912-23), Cliff (153, 1915 and 1919-28, and coach from 1925-27), Doug (nine, 1938-39) and Edwin (268, 1891-1910) - are legendary figures at Kardinia Park.    

O’Donnell certainly carved his own name into football history. Between 1987-98, he played 243 games in red and black, represented Victoria, won the 1993 Crichton Medal (in a premiership season, no less), was a Michael Tuck medallist in the 1994 pre-season grand final and later captained the Bombers (1996-97). Along the way, O’Donnell was part of many memorable and controversial moments, including that infamous 1990 brawl against the Magpies.

“Most of that [brawl], blokes were throwing haymakers and not connecting, but probably three or four really did connect,” O’Donnell recalled.

“The team that were going to settle the best were going to get the advantage, and the Pies I reckon got the next six or seven free kicks in the second quarter, and not because the umpires loved them; it was because they put their head over the ball and we were still in the clouds. The next 15 minutes of that game defined the game, and we weren’t able to get back to where we needed to be and they did it beautifully.

“It’s tough, really tough. The boss, 'Sheeds' (coach Kevin Sheedy), is throwing blokes everywhere [across the ground] to try and generate something. I remember Simon Madden at the Punt Road end, maybe halfway through the last quarter missing [a shot on goal] and virtually the crowd were laughing at us. It was quite embarrassing. We were sitting in the Melbourne rooms, right next door to Collingwood [and] after the game, for 45 minutes I reckon, they played the Collingwood theme song end on end, and in the old breezeways at the back of the stand it just echoed. That was a really painful day. I think I [only] got over it because we were lucky enough to get another chance, another crack [in 1993]. If we didn’t, I would have had a big chip on my shoulder; it would have been a huge lump of wood on my shoulder, just to not satisfy that aim.”

In 1993, the ‘Baby Bombers’ took all before them to secure a famous premiership. But only after a breathtaking second-half comeback against Adelaide in the preliminary final. Essendon trailed the Crows by 42 points at the main break, before captain Mark Thompson, the injured Mark Harvey and Sheedy all helped to change the players’ mindsets for the second half. Inspired, the Bombers kicked 11 goals to two in the second half to win by 11 points.

“The key thing that day, every score we got in that third quarter we generally kicked a goal, so the momentum slowly built. There was a goal that [Mark] Mercuri kicked, on the chain from a back pocket [where] all the young kids were involved - I don’t think an older bloke touched it - and that’s the biggest roar I’ve heard when I’ve been on the footy field. I’ve got tingles now [talking about it], it was just something else. Just so emotional.”

The following week, O’Donnell amassed 33 disposals to be one of the best players afield as Essendon outplayed Carlton - the team O’Donnell supported as a child - to win the club’s 15th premiership. Fittingly, the ball was in O’Donnell’s hands as the siren sounded. He slumped to the ground in total elation, a childhood dream realised.

“It was the culmination of probably 11 years at the club, but probably 20 years of work,” O’Donnell explained. “I wish the siren had have gone about half a second earlier, because I would have caught the ball, thrown it up my jumper and kept it forever. But it was just mistimed and I had to kick the footy. But a wonderful memory, it was the crowning glory of my life.”

In 1996, having replaced Thompson as captain, O’Donnell led Essendon to a heart-breaking one-point preliminary final loss against Sydney, cutting short his dream of captaining the Bombers to a premiership. That defeat was memorable for Tony Lockett’s after-the-siren point that sent the Swans into the Grand Final, but it was a game played earlier that season - against St Kilda over four days in June at Waverley - that rivalled the SCG debacle for its drama and controversy. So much so, the League was forced to change the rules so the events of those two nights never happened again.  

“About halfway through the third quarter, we were about three goals up [when] the lights go out,” O’Donnell explained.

“We thought, ‘Oh well, it will be temporary’ so we come in together. The crowd starts to get a bit restless and we move to the boundary line, then we’re told it might take a little while so we’re inside. Meanwhile, outside it was Lord of the Flies, just total anarchy. Lighting fires, pulling posts down. We were a little bit aware, but we were going, ‘Okay, are we gonna get back on, what’s going on?’ The longer it went, it was inevitable it was going to not go back on.”

Forced to postpone the game with a quarter-and-a-half still to play, the two clubs were stunned when the AFL demanded they return on the Tuesday night to complete the match. The remaining time was split into two 12-minute halves, plus time-on, with both clubs allowed to alter their original line-ups. Having missed the Saturday match, James Hird returned for the Tuesday, starring with 10 disposals. Leading by 20 points after part one, Essendon did enough in part two to finally secure the victory by 22 points: 13.11 (89) to 9.13 (67).

“We ended up [receiving] a stipend of $500 each, each player who came back on the Tuesday got $500 in a cheque. But that wasn’t the point. It was different conditions, different team - it was a ridiculous situation. What’s the rule now? Before half-time, if it's called off it’s a draw. If it’s after half-time, whoever’s leading [wins].”

Given the rule change his team played a big part in introducing, O’Donnell has a novel idea should Essendon ever play off in a Grand Final under lights. “If we ever have a night Grand Final and Essendon are winning in the third quarter, let’s knock the lights out and take the cup!”

Fabric of the Essendon Football Club is a weekly 20-episode series powered by Liberty, featuring in-depth chats between club historian Dan Eddy and 20 of the club’s most adored names across multiple decades. You can listen via Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.