Ryan O'Keefe

Ryan O'Keefe was educated at St Kevin's College in Melbourne, where he was the football team captain. He played for the Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup. In 1999, Ezra Bray lived with O'Keefe's family whilst on an AFL scholarship to attend Essendon Keilor College.

O'Keefe was drafted in the 1999 AFL Draft with the 56th selection.{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/18/1058035200874.html |title=Swan plays on in shadow of grief |first=Caroline|last=Wilson|date=19 July 2003}}

In 2002, O'Keefe's younger brother Aaron died in a car accident. His family had lost another son at nine months of age to sudden infant death syndrome when Ryan was 5 years old. He also has a younger sister and brother. His father Brian played football for Fitzroy reserves and his grandfather Lionel Ryan played for Footscray in the 1950s.{{cite news|url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=nstore&docID=news991101_0066_1889|title=Dreams don't come in black or white |first=Caroline|last=Wilson|date=31 October 1999|work=The Sunday Age}}

O'Keefe struggled to maintain his place in the Sydney side in his first few years at the club, but his form improved when he concentrated more on running and less on weight training. He also shifted from defence to a midfield and attack role.

O'Keefe played all 26 games in Sydney's premiership year of 2005, having a particularly brilliant finals series, and played one of the best games of his career in the Preliminary Final against the Saints. In the same year, he represented Australia in the International Rules series.

File:Ryan o'keefe.jpg

In 2006, he made All-Australian selection,{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/afl/bolters-in-allaustralian-side/2006/09/11/1157826876866.html|title=Bolton, O'Keefe bolters in Swans' All-Australian quartet |date=12 September 2006}} and was once again selected to represent Australia in the International Rules series. He had a highly successful series, scoring more points than any other player. He was awarded the Jim Stynes medal for the best Australian player in the series.{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/gilbee-a-late-casualty/story-e6frf9if-1111112481391 |title=Gilbee a late casualty |work=Herald Sun |date=7 November 2006}}

O'Keefe played his 100th AFL game in Round 7 against {{AFL Ric}}. In what was also Paul Williams' 300th game, Sydney defeated Richmond by 118 points.

He came equal second in the running for the Bob Skilton Medal, which is annually awarded to the Best and Fairest player at the Sydney Swans, to one of the three Co-Captains, Brett Kirk.

O'Keefe backed up his All-Australian form of 2006 with a memorable performance through the 07 season, once again finishing second in the votes for the Bob Skilton medal behind Brett Kirk who also was one of shining lights for the Swans.

After a strong start to the season, increased pressure was placed on O'Keefe following the suspension of troubled forward target Barry Hall. O'Keefe also played for the Victorian team for the one-off match in May, but instead of wearing his normal #5, he wore #1.

Following the 2008 Grand Final, O'Keefe signalled his intentions to continue his career elsewhere, specifically in Victoria - his place of birth, after knocking back an initial three-year contract offer by the Swans. After a suitable swap was not able to be arranged during the AFL's "trade week," however, O'Keefe decided against entering a pre-season draft where three teams outside Victoria had picks before any other Victorian teams. He then signed a 4-year contract with the Sydney Swans.{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/rfnews/okeefe-now-content-in-swans-nest/2009/09/12/1252519680444.html|title= O'Keefe now content in Swans' nest |first=Caroline |last=Wilson | date=13 September 2009}}

O'Keefe attracted press criticism after making a slow start to the 2009 season, but after moving into a midfield role he performed strongly through the majority of the 2009 season, and was rewarded by being selected as the Bob Skilton medallist for the season.

After a very impressive first month of play in 2010, O'Keefe suffered a concussion against the Brisbane Lions at the SCG which somewhat stalled his season. He also sustained a groin injury later in the year which severely hampered his ability to cover the ground with his elite endurance. Accordingly, he was prevented from spending whole games in the midfield and towards the end of the year he spent more and more time in the forward line. O'Keefe did manage to play some impressive football however, particularly against Hawthorn at the SCG when he blanketed Luke Hodge while kicking four goals himself (he was awarded three Brownlow votes for his game). Since the end of the season, O'Keefe has had groin surgery and will be able to participate in pre-season training.

Having recovered from his debilitating groin injury in 2010, O'Keefe returned to very strong and consistent form in 2011. He spent most of his time in the midfield, though did play some meaningful roles up forward late in the year, kicking 4 goals in the Elimination Final against St.Kilda at Etihad Stadium in a BOG performance and then kicking 3 the next week against Hawthorn in the Swans' Semi Final Loss at the MCG. O'Keefe finished 4th in the Bob Skilton Medal count for season 2011.

O'Keefe won the Norm Smith Medal after his side the Sydney Swans beat Hawthorn by 10 points in the 2012 AFL Grand Final, the first Swans player to do so since the medal's inception in 1979.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-29/reborn-o27keefe-wins-norm-smith-medal/4287726 |title=Reborn O'Keefe wins Norm Smith Medal|date=29 September 2012}} O'Keefe finished 3rd in the 2012 Bob Skilton Medal after a superb season. He combined magnificently with the likes of Skilton Medal winner Josh Kennedy, Jarrad McVeigh, Kieren Jack, Lewis Jetta, Dan Hannebery and Craig Bird to become one of the best midfields in the competition. In August 2014, O'Keefe quit the Swans due to limited opportunities and was hoping to be picked up by another club next year. However, he announced his retirement a month later on in September, stating his intention to finish his career as a one-club player for Sydney.

In October 2014, O'Keefe was appointed as a midfield development coach at {{AFL Ade}} to begin his coaching career. In November 2016, he was appointed as coach of the club's SANFL team.{{cite web|url=http://www.triplem.com.au/melbourne/sport/afl/news/2016/11/former-sydney-swans-star-ryan-okeefe-will-coach-adelaide-crows-sanfl-team|title=O'Keefe To Coach Crows SANFL Team|publisher=Triple M|date=16 November 2016|access-date=16 November 2016}}

After two years with Adelaide, O'Keefe replaced Torin Baker in December 2018 as coach of the Western Jets in the TAC Cup.{{cite news |title=Former Swan appointed coach of Western Jets in TAC Cup |url=http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-12-05/former-swan-appointed-western-jets-coach-in-tac-cup |access-date=6 December 2018 |work=afl.com.au |date=5 December 2018}}

• TAC Cup Team of the Year 1999
• International Rules Series 2005, 2006 (Jim Stynes Medal 2006)
• Sydney Swans Premiership player 2005
• All-Australian 2006
• Sydney Swans Premiership player 2012
• Norm Smith Medal 2012

:{{cite web|url=http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/R/Ryan_OKeefe.html|title=Ryan O'Keefe|work=AFL Tables|access-date=6 September 2016}}

{{AFL player statistics legend}}

{{AFL player statistics start}}

|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2000

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 39 || 5 || 1 || 0 || 14 || 10 || 24 || 9 || 4 || 0.2 || 0.0 || 2.8 || 2.0 || 4.8 || 1.8 || 0.8

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2001

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 13 || 6 || 4 || 78 || 20 || 98 || 20 || 14 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 6.0 || 1.5 || 7.5 || 1.5 || 1.1

|- style="background:#eaeaea;"

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2002

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 9 || 12 || 8 || 62 || 32 || 94 || 33 || 14 || 1.3 || 0.9 || 6.9 || 3.6 || 10.4 || 3.7 || 1.6

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2003

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 16 || 17 || 5 || 74 || 35 || 109 || 41 || 22 || 1.1 || 0.3 || 4.6 || 2.2 || 6.8 || 2.6 || 1.4

|- style="background:#eaeaea;"

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2004

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 24 || 33 || 17 || 244 || 103 || 347 || 124 || 56 || 1.4 || 0.7 || 10.2 || 4.3 || 14.5 || 5.2 || 2.3

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2005

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 26 || 31 || 33 || 280 || 105 || 385 || 128 || 65 || 1.2 || 1.3 || 10.8 || 4.0 || 14.8 || 4.9 || 2.5

|- style="background:#eaeaea;"

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2006

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 25 || 32 || 22 || 356 || 119 || 475 || 178 || 64 || 1.3 || 0.9 || 14.2 || 4.8 || 19.0 || 7.1 || 2.6

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2007

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 23 || 23 || 18 || 282 || 122 || 404 || 122 || 83 || 1.0 || 0.8 || 12.3 || 5.3 || 17.6 || 5.3 || 3.6

|- style="background:#eaeaea;"

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2008

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 23 || 23 || 26 || 303 || 149 || 452 || 113 || 68 || 1.0 || 1.1 || 13.2 || 6.5 || 19.7 || 4.9 || 3.0

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2009

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 22 || 13 || 7 || 287 || 238 || 525 || 95 || 117 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 13.0 || 10.8 || 23.9 || 4.3 || 5.3

|- style="background:#eaeaea;"

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2010

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 23 || 17 || 15 || 269 || 210 || 479 || 98 || 98 || 0.7 || 0.7 || 11.7 || 9.1 || 20.8 || 4.3 || 4.3

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2011

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 24 || 20 || 20 || 317 || 226 || 543 || 75 || 139 || 0.8 || 0.8 || 13.2 || 9.4 || 22.6 || 3.1 || 5.8

|- style="background:#eaeaea;"

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2012

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 24 || 20 || 7 || 329 || 271 || 600 || 72 || 156 || 0.8 || 0.3 || 13.7 || 11.3 || 25.0 || 3.0 || 6.5

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2013

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 25 || 12 || 11 || 308 || 267 || 575 || 96 || 164 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 12.3 || 10.7 || 23.0 || 3.8 || 6.6

|- style="background:#eaeaea;"

! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2014

|{{AFL Syd}}

| 5 || 4 || 1 || 0 || 24 || 20 || 44 || 11 || 11 || 0.3 || 0.0 || 6.0 || 5.0 || 11.0 || 2.8 || 2.8

|- class="sortbottom"

! colspan=3| Career

! 286

! 261

! 193

! 3227

! 1927

! 5154

! 1215

! 1075

! 0.9

! 0.7

! 11.3

! 6.7

! 18.0

! 4.2

! 3.8

|}

In January 2008 O'Keefe married Tara Duggan{{cite news|url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=nstore&docID=SMH080602131DE3FEG09 |title=The big wrap|date=2 June 2008 |work=Sydney Morning Herald}} and together they have a son Levi born September 2009{{cite web|url=http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7106/newsid/88419/default.aspx |title=Swans on the rise - O'Keefe |first=Jenny |last=McAsey |date=28 December 2009}} and a second child, Savannah, born in April 2012.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/okeefe-wants-a-sleeper-hold-off-the-field-20120503-1y167.html |title=O'Keefe wants a sleeper hold off the field |date=3 May 2012 }}

He was nominated for the Cleo Bachelor of the Year in 2005 and once dated Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/afl/okeefe-puts-grief-to-side/2005/08/19/1124435146231.html|title=O'Keefe puts grief to side|first=Richard |last=Hinds|date=20 August 2005}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{sydplayer|link=ryan-okeefe|alt=Ryan O'Keefe}}
• {{AFL Tables|ref=R/Ryan_OKeefe.html}}

{{2005 Sydney Swans premiership players}}

{{2012 Sydney Swans premiership players}}

{{Bob Skilton Medal}}

{{Norm Smith Medal}}

{{2008 Victorian Team players}}

{{Jim Stynes Medal}}

{{2005 Australian international rules team}}

{{2006 Australian international rules team}}

{{2006 All-Australian team}}

{{1999 AFL national draft}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okeefe, Ryan}}

Category:Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state)

Category:Sydney Swans players

Category:Sydney Swans premiership players

Category:1981 births

Category:Living people

Category:All-Australians (AFL)

Category:Bob Skilton Medal winners

Category:People educated at St Kevin's College, Melbourne

Category:Calder Cannons players

Category:Strathmore Football Club players

Category:Norm Smith Medal winners

Category:Australia international rules football team players

Category:VFL/AFL premiership players