Donnelly was a solid contributor to West Coast in their run to the second week of finals in 1996 , playing 20 games . He had 118 marks , the second most by a West Coast player and kicked 28 goals , the third most . In just his third league game , against Melbourne , he kicked four goals and had 25 disposals to earn best on ground honours at the Brownlow Medal night . He was awarded the best first year player award for 1996 by the Eagles , beating Ben Cousins who also made his debut that year and won the 1996 AFL Rising Star award . He struggled with various injuries during the rest of his time with the Eagles and retired in 2001 , after another season playing for Subiaco
1996 AFL Rising Star
1996 AFL Rising Star
Andrew Donnelly