[2] He moved to Sydney's Western Suburbs club in 1975 and quickly gained a reputation that grew to almost cult status for his fiery on-field play as well as his off-field larrikin persona.
[3] With Wests, Donnelly formed part of one of the most dominant forward packs in Australian Rugby League history under coach Roy Masters in the late 1970s, earning test selection for Australia in 1978 against New Zealand.
By the 1980s however, he was plagued by increasing weight problems and constant suspensions, subsequently moving to English club Southend Invicta for the 1985–1986 seasons.
[4] Donnelly returned to Australia in 1986 immediately after his season in England, where he took on a position as captain/coach of the Byron Bay Red Devils in Group 18 of the Country Rugby League.
However, Donnelly, who had epilepsy throughout his career, drowned after having a seizure while surfing at Byron Bay before the season began and died at the age of 31.