John Barnes (born 1 June 1969) is an Australian politician and former Australian rules footballer who currently serves as the councillor for Buckley Ward on the City of Moonee Valley. He previously played for the Essendon Football Club and the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
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Football career
Barnes' VFL/AFL career included two State of Origin games for Victoria.
Early career – from Essendon to Geelong
The young Barnes was a ruckman/forward recruited by Essendon in 1986 from Cobram, Victoria. He was traded after five seasons with Windy Hill to the Geelong Football Club for Sean Denham. Under the coaching of Malcolm Blight and later Gary Ayres he would go on to feature prominently in the losing 1994 and 1995 Grand Final sides. During a Round 5 encounter at Princes Park against Carlton in 1997, after a marking duel, Barnes landed awkwardly on his left elbow, dislocating it and sidelining him for ten weeks. Barnes was delisted by the club in 1999. He had played a total of 144 games with 65 goals with the Cats.