Russell Jeffrey facts for kids

Russell Jeffrey (born 6 February 1966) is a former professional Australian rules football player. He played for two teams, St Kilda and the Brisbane Bears, in Australia's top league, the VFL/AFL.

Russell Jeffrey's Football Journey

Russell Jeffrey started his football journey as a junior player at St Mary's. He then joined the Geelong team in Victoria. However, he mostly played in their reserve team. A serious knee injury made it seem like his professional career might be over. He left Victoria, but then the St Kilda team called him to play a game in 1987.

Playing for St Kilda and Brisbane

After playing 14 games for St Kilda in 1988, Russell left Victoria again. In 1989, he played for Jerilderie and helped them win the Murray Football League championship. He was even named the best player in the Grand Final games for both 1987 and 1989.

St Kilda signed him again in 1990. Russell usually played as a defender, stopping the other team from scoring. He had his best season in 1990, playing every game and getting lots of the ball. He also played for Victoria in a special game called State of Origin football that year. Before that, he had represented the Northern Territory in a big carnival in 1988.

At the end of the 1991 season, Russell moved to the Brisbane Bears team. When he played his first game for them, he became the 100th player to ever play for the club!

Coaching Success and Achievements

In 1992, Russell returned to his old club, Wanderers. He became their captain and led them to win the 1992/93 Northern Territory Football League Grand Final. He even won the Chaney Medal for being the best player in that final.

He coached Wanderers until 1997. During this time, he also coached the Northern Territory's team for young players (the Teal Cup side) and the league's main representative team. In 1998, he joined the Palmerston as a playing coach. He guided them to play in four Grand Finals in a row! He coached them to win championships in the 2000/01 and 2001/02 seasons.

Russell Jeffrey is an Indigenous Australian. He was part of the Indigenous All-Stars team in 1994, which is a special team made up of Indigenous Australian football players.

Beyond Football

After his football career, Russell Jeffrey also became involved in politics. He was a candidate for the Labor Party in the area of Brennan during the 2012 election in the Northern Territory.