A defender, he received a 1998 AFL Rising Star nomination in his sixth league game, against Carlton at the MCG, 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.[2] Rahilly was, however, a member of the Geelong reserves team which won the 2002 Victorian Football League (VFL) premiership and was awarded the Norm Goss Memorial Medal 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.[3]
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.[4]
References
^Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN978-1-920910-78-5.