Playing career

Recruited from St. Brendan's, McDonald debuted with the North Melbourne Football Club

North Melbourne Football Club

The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...

 in the VFL in 1982. He was a tall player who could play key position

Key position

In the sport of Australian rules football, a "key position" refers to positions on the ground that are considered vital to the structure of a team.Key position players make up what is known as the "spine" of a team...

 or in the ruck

Ruckman (Australian rules football position)

In Australian rules football, a ruckman is typically a tall and athletic player who contests at centre bounces and stoppages . The ruckman is one of the most important players on the field...

, and in 1984 won the Kangaroos' leading goalkicker award. He played in the VFL until 1992, having amassed 155 games and 165 goals.

Coaching career

McDonald became captain-coach of Werribee in the VFA, and coached the club to a premiership victory in 1993.

From 2000 to 2002 he was non-playing coach of the Box Hill Hawks

Box Hill Hawks

Box Hill Hawks Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the Victorian Football League. It has an alliance with the Hawthorn Football Club which plays in the Australian Football League....

 in the VFL

Victorian Football League

The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...

, and coached the club to a premiership victory in 2001, defeating his former club Werribee in the grand final.

In 2004, McDonald took over from Peter Schwab

Peter Schwab

Peter Schwab is a former Australian rules footballer and coach in the VFL/AFL.-Playing career:Recruited from Bennettswood, he played with Hawthorn from 1980-1991, going on to play 171 games and boot 38 goals...

 when he was sacked from the Hawthorn Football Club

Hawthorn Football Club

The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...

 coaching job late in the season following a dismal season. He was promoted from assistant coach to caretaker, with four matches left to go. hawthorn won two of them. but was not retained for the 2005 season, instead, Alistair Clarkson took over the top job. McDonald became assistant coach at his old club, North Melbourne Kangaroos, for the 2005 season. Donald McDonald was one of the leading players on the team but unfortunately retired shortly after he joined.