Chris Connolly (born 25 March 1963) is a former Australian rules football player, coach and administrator, most notable for his six years as senior coach of the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League.
Playing career
Melbourne Football Club
During his playing career with the Melbourne Football Club, Connolly played 84 games and kicked 38 goals as a midfielder. He played from 1982 to 1987, and in 1989, with his career being interrupted and ultimately cut short by knee injuries.
Playing career timeline
1978 - captain of Goulburn Valley schoolboys side, winners of Under 15 Victorian State Championships
1979-1980 - Victorian Under 17 Teal Cup representative, Victorian vice-captain, 1980
1980 - senior premiership with Shepparton United
1981 - Melbourne Football Club Under 19 premiership
1982 - Melbourne Football Club Under 19 captain and Club Champion
1982-1990 - Melbourne Football Club senior player
1983, 1985, 1986 - fourth in Club Championship
1987 and 1990 - knee reconstruction
1990 - retired from the Melbourne Football Club.
1991 - made a Life Member of the Melbourne Football Club
Coaching career
Melbourne Football Club
In 1991, Connolly was appointed as assistant coach at the Melbourne Football Club under senior coach John Northey.
Other coaching roles
He then went on to become the coach of the Under 18 Eastern Ranges team in 1992. In 1995, Connolly coached the Victoria Metro team.
Hawthorn Football Club
In late 1995, Connolly joined the Hawthorn Football Club as reserves coach for the 1996 season. In 1998, he was elevated to the senior assistant coaching role. In the 2001 season, Connolly coached Hawthorn as interim senior coach for one game in Round 17, 2001 against Carlton, in the absence of regular senior coach Peter Schwab due to illness, when Schwab was first diagnosed with a benign arrhythmia of the heart. Hawthorn won this game, with Ben Dixon kicking the winning goal after the siren.
Fremantle Football Club
Connolly took over the coaching role at the Dockers for the 2002 season, when he became the senior coach of Fremantle Football Club after their wooden spoon season of 2001. Connolly replaced Fremantle Football Club caretaker senior coach Ben Allan, who replaced Damian Drum, after Drum was sacked during the middle of the 2001 season. In his first season as senior coach, the struggle continued somewhat, with the team finishing thirteenth at the end of the 2002 season. However, Connolly then led Fremantle to its inaugural finals series in the 2003 season, which resulted in a loss to Essendon at Subiaco Oval in the first elimination final.
In following seasons, Connolly was criticized for not building on that initial finals appearance, with the Dockers finishing ninth in the 2004 season and therefore just missed out of the finals, and finished in tenth position in the 2005 season, despite a late season surge.
Before the 2006 season, Connolly made only three changes to the playing list, trusting the young list that had been developed during his tenure. Despite an indifferent start, and with intense scrutiny on Connolly's coaching, Fremantle stormed home, winning a club record nine games in a row and finishing third at the end of the 2006 season.
In Round 5, 2006, Connolly was involved in the 2006 AFL siren controversy, where he ran onto the ground believing play had finished and was involved in a heated discussion with St Kilda football player Lenny Hayes.
The 2006 finals series then saw the Dockers lose to Adelaide (away), before Connolly led them to the club's first ever finals win, against Melbourne at Subiaco Oval. Unfortunately, the Dockers' run ended the following week, with a preliminary final loss to Sydney.
In the 2007 season, Connolly's coaching future at Fremantle was constantly under scrutiny, as despite starting the season as one of the premiership favourites, the team performed poorly, sitting at thirteenth position on the ladder with six wins and nine losses. Fremantle president Rick Hart publicly stated that making finals would be a major factor in Connolly retaining the senior coaching post.