O'Donnell played just short of 250 senior matches for Essendon over a 12 season career which included four years representing Victoria in the AFL State of Origin, two years as Club Captain, a Premiership and a Club Best & Fairest win.
Finishing with Essendon at the end of 1998, it wasn't long before he accepted an assistant coach position with the Lions. Gary was then with the Club for six seasons before returning to Essendon late 2004 as an assistant coach to Kevin Sheedy.
The 45 year-old now returns to the Club to bolster the Lions' coaching staff once more. Gary will bring much experience to the coaching panel and Michael Voss is very pleased to have him on the team.
