James Rahilly (born 15 June 1979) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with

Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...

in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is currently serving as an assistant coach with the

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2 ...

Early life and junior football

Rahilly played his early football at

South Warrnambool Warrnambool (Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (All ...

but was recruited from the

Geelong Falcons The Geelong Falcons is a youth Australian rules football representative club in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition, Victoria, Australia. The club takes in talented junior players from the Geelong, Colac and Warrnambo ...

in the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Vic ...

Playing Career

A defender, he received a

1998 AFL Rising Star The Norwich AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a standout young player in the Australian Football League. The 1998 medal was won by player Byron Pickett. Eligibility Every round, an Australian Football League The Australian Footb ...

nomination in his sixth league game, against

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

at the

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern ...

, where he had 22 disposals. Although Geelong made it into the final in three of the seasons he was at the club, Rahilly was never selected for a finals game. Rahilly was, however, a member of the Geelong reserves team which won the 2002

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

(VFL) premiership and was awarded the

Norm Goss Memorial Medal The Norm Goss Memorial Medal is awarded to the player judged to be the best afield in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier ...

for his efforts in the grand final. He also won Geelong's "Best Clubman" award, in 2003.

Coaching Career

He returned to the VFL in 2008 as an assistant coach and was then appointed to Chris Scott's senior coaching staff for the

2011 AFL season The 2011 AFL season was the 115th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured s ...

. At the end of 2020 James was appointed as Adelaide's forward line coach, assistant coach to Matthew Nicks for season 2021. At the end of 2023 Rahilly returned to Geelong as their forward line coach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahilly, James 1979 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Geelong Football Club players Geelong Falcons players South Warrnambool Football Club players Living people