Circa 2000:
Amidst the pre-game pandemonium in the Wang Rovers’ dressing-rooms, a tiny youngster sits beneath the number 15 locker, furiously polishing a pair of footy boots.
Engrossed as he is in his job, he’s tickled pink to be sharing the inner-sanctum with players he has grown up to idolise – Robbie Walker, the Wilson brothers, Matty Allen, the Hill boys, Karl Norman, Shane Welch, Haydn Sharp ….and his cousin Jeremy, who’s in the throes of impacting O & M football.
“Every week I thought it was Christmas,” recalls Zac O’Brien…….Joey Wilson and ‘Waldo’ used to give me two bucks a week to clean their boots…..then when they’d run on to the ground I’d pull on an orange vest and spend the day running water for them, and counting Jeremy’s stats.”
“Mick Wilson was nearing the end of his career and would start on the bench on cold days……I would sit next to him and he’d chat with me before he got on the ground…..”
His childhood dream was to play League football…….And just as mature-age products Joe Richards and Shaun Mannagh were lauded for triumphing in their respective battles to reach the pinnacle this season, Zac did it eleven years ago, completely against the odds….
***
He boasts a noted sporting pedigree…..The O’Briens were at the forefront of Greta’s footy, cricket and tennis teams for decades. Three of his uncles became O & M stars, and one of them – Greg (‘Ab’) – has a Morris Medal to show for it…..
His father, Gerard, also came through the ranks; his mum Meagan, played in 11 A-Grade Greta Netball premierships and won two O & K League Medals.
Naturally, his cousins inherited the genes, so it was a matter of course when Zac began strutting his stuff in local junior footy.
Even then, he was a hard-at-it on-baller who glided through the grades with Imperials Under 14’ and Under 16s, where he won a flag and a B & F.
In his first full year with the Rovers Thirds he took out the O & M Thirds Leo Dean Medal, and the Hawks’ 2007 Thirds Best and Fairest.
There was a bullet beside the kid’s name, and he was thrust into the senior side the following year under the coaching of his old Grade 6 Teacher at St. Bernard’s Primary, Johnny McNamara.
The Hawks finished around the middle rungs of the ladder for a couple of seasons without looming as a serious threat…..Zac had moved to the city to begin his Chiropractic studies and, later, thought he’d relieve the pressure of travel by signing with VFL side Northern Bullants….
“But it just didn’t seem right, so I returned home to play with the Rovers, 3-4 rounds into 2009,” he recalls.
He was coaxed to Yarrawonga the following season……”My cousins, ‘Jezza’, Matty and Simon had all ended up over there, and they talked me into joining them…..It was an exciting time, because the Pigeons were building up to something really formidable…..”
“Craig Ednie, besides being a great player, was a terrific coach, friend and mentor…….He allowed me to play with freedom and gave me a lot of confidence whilst still demanding high standards…..”
“I loved how he went about coaching and how he played footy……Looking back, my father, Craig Ednie and Haydn Skipworth had the greatest influence on my football career ….”
Albury kicked the first four goals of the 2010 Grand Final and, by three-quarter time, still held a comfortable 25-point lead over Yarra……But the underdogs looked super-dangerous during a thrilling final term, before finally going down by 10 points….
Zac played a key role in Yarra’s narrow 3-point victory over Lavington in the Prelim Final the following year……..A week later, 10 minutes into the last quarter of the Grand Final, the Pigeons trailed Albury by 37 points….. They were staring humiliation in the face……
Just as they’d charged home in several previous encounters, they repeated the dose, booting four goals in as many minutes…….They continued to apply the pressure, striving to claim a win for the ages, but the Tigers grimly held on to a nine-point buffer, to clinch their third straight flag against their now perennial rivals…..
***
Despite the burden of travelling to and from Melbourne, Zac’s elevation to O & M stardom was apparent……He represented the League against Mornington Peninsula, under Craig Ednie’s coaching, and wore a Victorian Country guernsey in a clash with the VAFA at Shepparton.
Yarrawonga’s O’Brien looks further afield in the 2010 Grand Final
Zac O’Brien celebrates with Aberfeldie team-mates
By now, he was commencing his Post-Graduate Chiropractic studies, and reasoned that returning to play in the bush wasn’t an option……A good mate, Jacob Craven, with whom he’d played at Imperials, talked him into having a run with Essendon & District League club Aberfeldie.
He soon adjusted to the smaller ovals and cramped style of play, despite being ‘ticked off’ for his aggressiveness – both at the ball and the man…
Zac took out Aberfeldie’s B & F in 2012 and earned an invitation to train with Essendon’s VFL team through the Bombers’ coach, Haydn Skipworth – an ex-Aberfeldie player……
So his 2013 season was divided between Aberfeldie and Essendon……His strong performance in a losing VFL final obviously came under the notice of talent scouts….He’d averaged 22 possessions in his 11 games with the Bombers……
But even so, at 23, that AFL dream seemed to be slipping away……..
“I had two meetings with the Brisbane Lions and they were showing some interest…..They originally had picks in the high 60s and 70s in the National Draft, but a couple of their talented young players decided to return home to Victoria. They converted those into really low picks……. So I didn’t get taken….”
It was the first year that Zac had nominated for the Draft…..A late invite to the state screening saw him blitz the Beep Test, with an outstanding 14.2, a result which excited a number of clubs.
Then, when the Rookie Draft came up a month or so later, Essendon indicated they might use their Pick 27 to select him…..The Lions got in earlier, though, and chose him with their Number 23 selection.
“At that time there were two other players still involved who’d succeeded as ‘Mature-Age Rookies’ – Geelong’s James Podziadly and Fremantle’s Michael Barlow – but it was regarded as pretty uncommon,” Zac recalls.
In somewhat of a whirlwind, he was Drafted on the Thursday and flew to Brisbane two days later…..
“I still had two assignments to hand in when I went up there and had to fly back to Melbourne for my Graduation……So I didn’t get around to commencing my career as a Chiro for a couple of years because of my footy commitments.”
***
After turning in several outstanding games with the Lions’ NEAFL side in 2014, Zac was named as a Sub for his debut against Carlton at the Gabba and chalked up 15 disposals and a goal to help the battling Brisbane record a timely win.
Celebrations after Zac O’Brien kicks the winning goal on debut
Team-mates acknowledge the first-gamer
The final match of the season, against Geelong, was probably his best in League footy, as he amassed 12 kicks and 18 handballs in a 62-point defeat at Kardinia Park.
Zac had done handily in five games; enough to indicate that he’d possibly become a regular in the Lions line-up; particularly considering that he’d also finished runner-up in the NEAFL team’s Best and Fairest.
He played a further eight AFL games in 2015, but Brisbane tumbled further down the ladder, finishing second-bottom, with just four wins.
“We struggled, and the Club focused more on the future….and playing the younger guys…” Zac says.
He considered his own form to have been reasonable……He took out the Lions’ NEAFL Best and Fairest in 2015 despite missing 8 games through playing AFL, and being listed as an emergency 5 times, for the AFL team.
He had no hard feelings about being delisted:
“I look back on it now with terrific memories…..I have life-long friends that I have made through AFL football, and it has opened up a lot of pathways for me in life.….I’m still very close with Joel Patfull, Andrew Raines, Darcy Gardiner, Jack Redden and James Polkinghorne, and we catch up regularly….”
“My time with the Lions taught me a lot about hard work, discipline, determination, and being true to myself…..I look back and I’m proud that I was able to get drafted whilst completing a Master’s Degree, working part-time, playing footy on the week-ends, and going to a few uni parties during the week.”
“I ended up playing 13 games of AFL, which was a childhood dream…..I got to kick the winning goal against Carlton in my first game, with all my family and friends there….I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity the Lions gave me….I like to think that I was a very hard trainer and tried to follow team rules as best I could……”
***
By chance, around the time of his de-listing, Zac made the acquaintance of a fellow Chiropractor, Andrew Kerr, through a mutual friend………
“He was operating two busy practices in Adelaide……Meeting Andrew and accepting the job he offered was the best decision I ever made….”
“I signed with West Adelaide in the SANFL …….Adelaide, football-wise, is somewhat of an institution…..They love their SANFL and their passion is unmatched. We’d regularly draw crowds of 10,000-plus.”
“I played fair footy as an on-baller, and finished runner-up in the B & F……We only had one win for the season, though….It was a pretty gruelling year.”
By now, Zac and Andrew Kerr had become business partners and began to expand their horizons…..This prompted another move, resulting in him signing with NEAFL club, Sydney University.
“I had a few very good friends who were playing there, and I was keen to get back to playing footy for the fun of it……The coach, Tom Morrison, was an amazing leader and was very flexible around my work commitments, which made it possible. They were the two most enjoyable years I’ve had in footy……We had an excellent on and off-field mix and, looking back on it now, it was a great time in my life….”
As the Kerr/O’Brien Chiropractic business continued to grow, Zac was travelling for up to 40 weeks a year…….Footy had to be put on the back-burner…..
“Work took over for the first 5-6 years I was involved in the business…..From Sydney, I went to Cairns for 10 months, to Broken Hill for five months, then to Tassie for a year (where we set up 6 practices throughout the island), on to Gympie (Sunshine Coast) and down to Grafton .”
“Andrew and I now have 60 businesses, as far-flung as Cairns, Burnie, Bundaberg, Port Augusta, Darwin, Wodonga, Karratha, Whyalla, Seymour, Broken Hill, Ballina, Maroubra, Gold Coast and Grafton ……”
“We still get along great and have never had an argument. He was also a good footballer, and that has helped our business grow, due to his work ethic….”
***
Zac fell in love with Byron Bay, when he was helping set up another arm of the business…….and that’s where he now resides.
He bought a house on Tallow’s Beach, within distance of the Lighthouse, providing him with the opportunity to surf, fish and play golf……He also owns a holiday house at Yamba (120km south of Byron Bay).
But there was still an itch to scratch with football….
“It wasn’t that I hadn’t wanted to play……Just that I couldn’t commit to training, and the week-ends…….But I’d really been missing the competitiveness and the training side of it.”
At the tender age of 33, Zac was lured out of retirement this year to play on a part-time basis for the Gold Coast Suns VFL team.
Gold Coast contacted him about filling in…..”I know the Suns’ Football Manager Wayne Campbell really well. He just lets me know when they need a top-up player…..I go down and train on the Friday and play on the week-end.”
“I’ve really enjoyed being around the boys again, training hard, and competing against good opposition….A bit of a sore knee has kept me out for a while, but I’m back on Saturday, for the VFL game against Essendon at Windy Hill……”
The long and winding journey continues for the ex-Rovers’ water-boy……
This story appeared first on KB Hill’s website On Reflection and is used here with permission.
All photos sourced from KB Hill’s resources unless otherwise acknowledged.
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Enjoyable read thank you KB Hill