Esso/Mobil Superleague During the
Esso/Mobil Superleague era, O'Donnell and her sister Wendy played together for several teams. In 1987, together with
Shelley Oates-Wilding, they were both members of the
Australian Institute of Sport team that were grand finalists. In 1989, together with
Nicole Richardson, they played for Melbourne/Doncaster Keas. In 1990 they played for Melbourne City, a composite team coached by
Norma Plummer and also featuring
Roselee Jencke and
Simone McKinnis. Melbourne City finished as champions after defeating
Contax 52–42 in the grand final. In 1993, alongside
Kathryn Harby and
Julie Nykiel, she played for Contax as an "import player". In 1994 she captained Melbourne Keas while Nicole Richardson served as vice-captain. In 1996 she captained the AIS team after returning as an "import player".
Melbourne Kestrels Between 1997 and 2005, O'Donnell played for
Melbourne Kestrels in the
Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She was the inaugural Kestrels captain and continued in the role until 2000. She missed the 2001 and 2002 seasons after giving birth to her daughter, Hannah. She returned in 2003, but then missed the 2004 season after giving birth to her son, Jasper. She then made a second comeback in 2005 and played her final senior netball season.
Australia Between 1990 and 1999, O'Donnell made 84 senior appearances for
Australia. O'Donnell previously represented Australia at under-21 level, including at the
1988 World Youth Netball Championships, when her teammates included her sister, Wendy. She made her senior debut on 21 November 1990. She was subsequently a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the
1991,
1995 and
1999 World Netball Championships, the
1993 World Games and the
1998 Commonwealth Games. O'Donnell was vice-captain of the 1999 World Netball Championship squad and announced her retirement from international netball following their title win. In
1992 O'Donnell, along with the rest of the gold medal-winning 1991 World Netball Championship squad, were awarded the
Medal of the Order of Australia. In 2010, O'Donnell was inducted into the
Australian Netball Hall of Fame. ==Coach and commentator==