52 Facts About Andrew McLeod

Andrew Luke McLeod was born on 4 August 1976 and is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League.

Andrew McLeod is the games record holder for Adelaide, having played 340 games.

Andrew McLeod won two premierships for the Adelaide Football Club in 1997 and 1998.

Andrew McLeod was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the 1997 and 1998 AFL Grand Finals.

Andrew McLeod had an older sister and older brother and was the family's youngest child.

Andrew McLeod always gave me time when he came home.

Andrew McLeod played a variety of sports as a junior, including athletics, soccer, rugby union, rugby league and Australian rules football.

Andrew McLeod's family had a long history of playing for the Darwin Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League, starting with his great-grandfather Put, down to his father, who had played over 200 games, so McLeod began playing for their senior team in 1993.

Andrew McLeod wasn't told that he'd be staying behind until the morning that his father left him there.

Andrew McLeod started by playing one game in the Under-17s side, followed by one game in the Under-19s side and four games in the reserves side, then finishing the season with 14 consecutive games in the senior team, including becoming a premiership player by winning the 1994 SANFL Grand Final.

Andrew McLeod felt insulted and belittled and refused to play for Fremantle.

Andrew McLeod made his AFL debut for the Crows in their Round 6 match against Melbourne, which the Crows won but 8 points, but McLeod spent most of the game on the interchange bench and only touched the ball four times through the game.

Andrew McLeod was dropped after this game, then played his second game in Round 9 against Hawthorn.

The ball was kicked inside Adelaide's forward 50, and Andrew McLeod raced at the ball, competing with Hawk defender Ray Jencke.

Andrew McLeod was able to recover the ball, evade Jenke's attempts to tackle him, and kick a dribbling goal from a tight angle to win the game for Adelaide.

Later in the year, Andrew McLeod was nominated for the Norwich Rising Star award, but he discovered towards the end of the 1995 season that he had broken several bones in his feet, and he had to have injections in his feet to play the last seven rounds without pain.

The injuries came as a result of Andrew McLeod being forced to wear boots made by Adidas, who were a Crows sponsor at the time.

Andrew McLeod said, 'Well, we got him as a half-back flanker from Darwin'.

Andrew McLeod had a standout moment in Round 19 in Showdown II against Port Adelaide, kicking a difficult goal in the final minutes to give the Crows a 7-point lead that they carried to the end of the game.

Andrew McLeod would get 10 Brownlow Medal votes in 1998 after only 1 vote in 1997.

Adelaide would not match the success of the two previous seasons in 1999 and would finish 13th; however, Andrew McLeod continued on progressing as one of Adelaide's young stars, gathering 7 Brownlow votes.

Andrew McLeod had an outstanding season in 2000, playing most of the season in the midfield.

Andrew McLeod averaged 24 disposals per game, an increase from 18 in 1999, and kicked 28 goals.

Andrew McLeod made the All-Australian team as a half-forward, narrowly finished second in Adelaide's Best and Fairest to Simon Goodwin, and polled 20 Brownlow Medal votes, finishing third behind Shane Woewodin and runner-up Scott West.

Andrew McLeod had perhaps the finest season of his career in 2001, controversially being named runner-up in the Brownlow Medal Count.

Andrew McLeod would be denied the AFL's greatest individual honour in the 2001 Brownlow Medal.

Akermanis later wrote, "I stole the Brownlow from Andrew McLeod," as McLeod was a raging favourite and won the majority of media awards for the year.

Andrew McLeod had another fine season in 2002, but he was reported in round 4 for the first and only time in his career due to a late charge on Essendon's Matthew Lloyd.

Andrew McLeod received a one-match ban for the incident, playing every other game of the season and amassing 16 Brownlow votes; however, he only finished equal 6th in the best and fairest.

Andrew McLeod played every game of the home-and-away season in yet another superb year.

However, Andrew McLeod never got any more votes and would finish 10th with 18 votes, although the margin was only 4 points between Andrew McLeod and the joint winners; teammate Mark Ricciuto was one of these players.

Andrew McLeod only polled two votes in the Brownlow despite a season disposal average of 21.

In 2005, under coach Neil Craig, Andrew McLeod made a return to the half-back line to provide his side with run and drive from defence using his sublime skills.

In what became a somewhat spiteful match, Australia would win comfortably, while Andrew McLeod was named best player and awarded the Jim Stynes Medal.

In 2005, Andrew McLeod was named in the Indigenous Team of the Century in the position of ruck rover.

For much of the season Andrew McLeod played with a bursa in his left foot.

Andrew McLeod made a relatively earlier-than-expected return to the side in round 19.

Andrew McLeod only polled seven votes in the 2006 Brownlow Medal despite averaging 22 possessions and being named All-Australian.

Andrew McLeod played most of 2007 again as a half-back flanker, sweeping up loose balls and creating his trademark run out of defence with his smooth skills.

Andrew McLeod was well held in his final game of the season, finishing with just 12 disposals after being heavily tagged by Hawthorn's Richard Vandenberg in Adelaide's elimination final loss to the Hawks.

Nevertheless, Andrew McLeod had a fine season; his average of 23.9 disposals was his highest since finishing runner-up for the Brownlow Medal in 2001.

Andrew McLeod polled 15 votes in the 2007 Brownlow Medal and won the club's Best and Fairest award.

Four weeks after returning from a stint on the sidelines due to knee surgery, Andrew McLeod celebrated his 300-game milestone with a 63-point victory over Richmond in round 19.

Andrew McLeod is just the second Aboriginal player to reach 300 games.

On his return from injury, Andrew McLeod captained the Indigenous All-Stars in the 2009 pre-season.

Andrew McLeod continued to perform consistently for the Crows, and in round 9 he played his 313th game, breaking the club games record held by former teammate and good friend Mark Ricciuto.

Andrew McLeod began the 2010 season healthy and in decent form.

Andrew McLeod returned on 16 July 2010 in a round 16 match against Geelong in which Adelaide won by 11 points.

On 23 August 2010, Andrew McLeod announced his retirement from AFL football.

In 2011, Andrew McLeod signed a part-time contract with the Northern Territory Football Club in the inaugural North East Australian Football League season, and played a total of eight games for the Thunder, including the finals series.

Andrew McLeod was a part of the Thunder's Northern Conference and NEAFL premiership teams.

Andrew McLeod admitted in 2018 in a podcast that he doesn't feel welcome at his old club in the Crows saying "the Crows doesn't really have that vibe" referring to other clubs having players come to their former clubs and feel welcomed back.