Michael O'Connor

Superb centre established a host of point-scoring records at international level. Originally from Canberra, Michael O’Connor toured with the Australian RU Schoolboys in 1977 (with Wally Lewis and the Ella brothers) and went on to play 13 Tests with the Wallabies. Playing for the Teachers-Norths RU club in Brisbane, O’Connor signed with St George in 1983 abut did not make his State of Origin debut until two years later. The week before his selection, O’Connor had his nose broken in a high tackle by Steve Mortimer in a club match (which contributed to his nickname ‘Snoz’) but then scored all 18 points (2t, 5g) in NSW’s win under Mortimer’s captaincy. O’Connor toured NZ with the Australian team in 1985 but did not make his Test debut until the following year. It is ironic that one of the game’s greatest centres played mostly winger during his Test career but O’Connor was such a brilliant individualist that the move proved a great success. Chosen for the Test series against NZ in 1986 he announced his decision to join Manly shortly before leaving with the Kangaroos. In the space of several weeks he scored record points totals against Papua New Guinea (22pts), Great Britain (22pts) and France (20pts). O’Connor dazzled English crowds with his pace, swerve and chip-kick; running in spectacular tries with effortless grace. He played in all Tests on the unbeaten tour and top-scored with 170pts (13t, 59g). In 1987 O’Connor scored 14pts (1t, 4g) in Manly’s 18-8 grand final win over Canberra, and in the Test match against Papua New Guinea in 1988 set an individual points record of 30pts (4t, 7g) in a Test (since bettered by Andrew Johns). In a busy Bicentennial year, he played in all three Tests against Great Britain and in the World Cup final in NZ. His last Test appearance was on the tour of NZ in 1989 (he ruled himself out of a second Kangaroo tour in 1990 because of a recurring hamstring injury). His last hurrah at State level was his magnificent sideline conversion to win the second match in Sydney in 1991. In the third match of the series he was involved in a ‘conflict of interest’ controversy after Mal Meninga broke O’Connor’s nose in a tackle. The NSWRL refused to cite the Australian Test captain (an Ashes series was coming up) and O’Connor had to settle with a personal apology from Meninga. At the end of the 1992 season, still producing his best as captain of the Sea Eagles, O’Connor announced his retirement. Forthright and articulate in his views on the game and the way that the ARL was running it, he acted as a recruitment officer for the proposed Super League competition in the early stages of 1995. In 1998 O’Connor was the Chief Executive of the Adelaide Rams when the club folded and after a brief period in administration with the Brisbane Broncos, he joined the ARU as a recruitment officer.

Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the icon.

International
Test Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1986-90	18	17	65				-	198	16	2	0	88.89%
Overall	1986-1990	18	17	65				0	198	16	2	0	88.89%
World Cup Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1986, 1988-90	9	9	36				-	108	8	1	0	88.89%
Overall	1986-1990	9	9	36				0	108	8	1	0	88.89%
Representative
Australia - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
New South Wales	1985-91	19	11	42				1	129	9	10	0	47.37%
NSW City Firsts	1985-86	2	1	10				-	24	2	0	0	100.00%
NSW City	1987-88, 1990-91	4	3	9				-	30	4	0	0	100.00%
Overall	1985-1991	25	15	61				1	183	15	10	0	60.00%
Club Career
Australian League Matches - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
St George	NSWRFL 1983	21	14	-				2	58	11	9	1	52.38%
St George	NSWRL 1984	13	7	-				-	28	9	4	0	69.23%
St George	NSWRL 1985	21	6	81				3	189	17	2	2	80.95%
St George	NSWRL 1986	21	6	50	/	79	63.29%	4	128	10	10	1	47.62%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1987	21	11	39	/	51	76.47%	-	122	15	5	1	71.43%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1988	19	17	65	/	101	64.36%	-	198	14	5	0	73.68%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1989	15	3	32	/	47	68.09%	-	76	6	8	1	40.00%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1990	21	7	29	/	52	55.77%	1	87	15	6	0	71.43%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1991	19	8	2	/	3	66.67%	-	36	12	6	1	63.16%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1992	20	8	13	/	16	81.25%	1	59	10	9	1	50.00%
Overall	1983-1992	191	87	311				11	981	119	64	8	62.30%
Australian League Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
St George	1983-86	76	33	131				9	403	47	25	4	61.84%
Manly Warringah	1987-92	115	54	180	/	270	66.67%	2	578	72	39	4	62.61%
Overall	1983-1992	191	87	311				11	981	119	64	8	62.30%
Australian Finals Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
St George	1983-85	5	-	5				2	12	3	2	0	60.00%
Manly Warringah	1987-88, 1990-91	6	1	9				-	22	3	3	0	50.00%
Overall	1983-1991	11	1	14				2	34	6	5	0	54.55%
All Australian Club Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
St George	1983-86	76	33	134				9	409	47	25	4	61.84%
Manly Warringah	1987-92	116	54	181				2	580	72	40	4	62.07%
Overall	1983-1992	192	87	315				11	989	119	65	8	61.98%
English League Career - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
St Helens	Championship 1988/89	?	6	6				-	36
Overall	1988-1989	?	7	7				0	42	?	?	?	?
English League Career - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
St Helens	1988-89	?	7	7				-	42	?	?	?	?
Overall	1988-1989	?	7	7				0	42	?	?	?	?

Last modified: Sun, 28 Jun 2020 13:27:17 +0000 (Sydney time)