Noonan, from Mooroolbark, was a reserves footballer at Carlton as a youngster but he left without making a senior appearance.[2] He joined Clarence, playing his first TFL season in 1988 and winning their Best and Fairest award in 1990.
Brisbane recruited Noonan to the AFL with a pre-draft selection in 1990. A utility, he had 31 disposals in his debut game and played at Brisbane for three seasons before returning to Clarence.[3]
In his second stint at Clarence he won two further Best and Fairests as well as back to back William Leitch Medals in 1995 and 1996. His 1995 medal caused a great divide and contention in the state and indeed the league when he was caught on camera deliberately king hitting superstar North Launceston on-baller Marcus Todman during the grand final.
His last TFL game was a premiership, with a Darrel Baldock Medal winning performance in the 1997 Grand Final win against Burnie.[4]
Post-football career
After his football career Noonan became a financial planner. In 2017 he pleaded guilty to 107 counts of fraudulently misappropriating, or stealing, $2.5 million from clients of his financial planning company to fund his gambling addiction. He was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail with a minimum sentence of just over three years.[5]
References
^Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2014). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (10th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Bas Publishing. ISBN978-1-921496-32-5.
