Andrew McLeod
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| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | August 4, 1976, |
| Recruited from | Port Adelaide |
| Height/Weight | 180cm / 83kg |
| Playing Career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 6, May 5, 1995, Adelaide vs. Melbourne, at Football Park |
| Team(s) | Adelaide (1995-)
260 games, 243 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2006 season | |
| Career Highlights | |
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Andrew McLeod (born August 4, 1976) is an Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League and part of the Adelaide Crows Football Club. One of the game's elite players, his blistering pace and smooth skills have made him one of the most damaging players in the league.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Early Years
Moving from Darwin in the Northern Territory to Adelaide in South Australia, McLeod started his career at the SANFL in 1994, playing for the Port Adelaide Football Club where he became known as an exciting young forward with electrifying pace. McLeod capped off a solid debut year for the Magpies with a Premiership medallion, bagging two goals in Port's 37-point win over Woodville-West Torrens in the 1994 SANFL Grand Final.
In 1995, McLeod was recruited by the newly established Fremantle Football Club as part of their inaugural squad. However, Fremantle would later agree to exchange McLeod to the Adelaide Crows for promising forward Chris Groom in what many now consider to be one of the most lopsided trades in Australian rules football history.
In an interview with Australian men's magazine Alpha[1] in September 2005, McLeod would later reveal that he refused to play for Fremantle after feeling insulted and belittled by Fremantle coach Gerard Neesham who had not actually seen him play before.
[edit] 1995
In his first year with the Adelaide Crows, McLeod began his AFL career quietly, appearing tentative and nervous during pre-season games. However, in a round 9 match against Hawthorn at Football Park, a confident McLeod began to emerge. In the dying seconds of the game with Adelaide trailing by 4 points, McLeod raced into an open forward line while being hotly pursued by his opponent. Swooping onto the loose ball, he calmly laid it on his foot under pressure, dribbling it through for a miraculous goal from a tight angle at the Northern End of the ground to give his side a remarkable 2-point victory after they had trailed by 34 points at half-time.
McLeod would later be named as an AFL rising star nominee late in the 1995 season after a string of consistent performances in a struggling Adelaide side which only managed a 9-13 record.
[edit] 1997
After two tumultuous years under Robert Shaw, legendary footballer Malcolm Blight took over as coach of Adelaide. The Crows would begin the season slowly as they adjusted to Blight's long-kicking and direct style of football before claiming a finals berth for the first time since 1993.
In the preliminary final against the Western Bulldogs, McLeod, who had been playing primarily as a forward or half-back flanker was placed into the midfield in the second half by Blight in an effort to spark the Crows side who trailed by 31 points at half-time. It would be the first time in McLeod's career that he would play in the middle and in a thrilling contest, McLeod and the Crows would win the match by 2 points to reach the Grand Final for the first time in the club's history.
In the Grand Final against St. Kilda, McLeod would take his first significant step in his journey towards joining the game's elite. Accumulating 31 disposals, he was best on ground against the Saints, winning the prestigious Norm Smith Medal while helping his team win the AFL premiership. This was followed shortly thereafter with a gold jacket when he was named as the Crows best and fairest for the 1997 season.
[edit] 1998
Having caught the eye of football followers with his magical feats in the 1997 finals, McLeod would continue to dazzle crowds with his pace and agility in 1998 before being named All-Australian for the season.
In a preliminary final rematch against the Bulldogs, McLeod would kick a career-high 7 goals while being opposed to Tony Liberatore who was reputed to be the most ferocious tagger in the game at the time. In the following game, against Grand Final favourites, the Kangaroos, the Crows would win by 35 points with McLeod emulating his feats a year earlier. Gathering 30 disposals and winning back-to-back Norm Smith Medals, McLeod became the first player to win two Norm Smith Medals since Gary Ayres in 1986 and 1988.
[edit] 2001
McLeod had perhaps the finest season of his career in 2001. Having been made a permanent fixture in the Crows midfield by coach Gary Ayres, McLeod averaged a career-best 24.7 disposals [2]. He would win the Leigh Matthews Trophy to be recognized as the Most Valuable Player in the league as voted by his peers in the AFL Players Association as well as his second best and fairest award from the club.
McLeod, however, would be denied the AFL's greatest individual honour in the 2001 Brownlow Medal. Trailing by two votes in the last round to Jason Akermanis of the Brisbane Lions, many believed he would receive votes after amassing 37 disposals against Fremantle in the final round. Instead, the umpires decided not to award McLeod with any votes for the game leaving him stunned as he looked on while the medal was presented to the flamboyant Akermanis.
[edit] 2002 to 2004
Having established himself as one of the league's premier players in 2001, McLeod had to contend with increasing attention and pressure from opposition players over the following seasons. Combined with various personal off-field problems, McLeod grew increasingly frustrated and struggled to recapture his best form. However, he was still able to provide sporadic bursts of brilliance, as seen when he was awarded the 2003 Michael Tuck Medal for being best on ground in a pre-season Grand Final win against the Collingwood Magpies.
[edit] 2005
In 2005, under coach Neil Craig, McLeod made a return to the half-back line to provide his side with run and drive from defense using his sublime skills. In round 2 against Collingwood and the scores tied late in the game and the Crows desperately needing a win, McLeod kicked an unbelievable left-foot goal from the boundary line from about 35m out to seal the deal. This win would would be the Crows first in 6 years vs the Pies and spur Adelaide to a minor premiership by the end (top spot after 22 rounds) of the season.
In October, McLeod was named co-captain of the Australian International rules football team against Ireland. In what became a somewhat spiteful match, Australia would win comfortably while McLeod was named best player and awarded the Jim Stynes Medal.
[edit] 2006
After a year under Neil Craig's system, McLeod would return to some of his best form. Teaming with the younger Graham Johncock at half-back, the duo would be part of a stingy Adelaide defense, regularly streaming from the back lines, evading opponents and delivering the ball with precision to teammates up the ground. His form would eventually lead to his 4th All-Australian selection.
Against the Essendon Bombers in round 10, McLeod played his 250th game at AAMI Stadium where he tallied 18 disposals while soaring for a spectacular mark in a 138-point demolition of the Bombers.
For much of the season, however, McLeod played with a painful bursa in his left foot. After round 16, the decision was made for him to undergo surgery to remove the bursa, an operation expected to keep him out for a few weeks.
McLeod made a relatively earlier than expected return to the side in round 19. However, by round 21, after a disappointing loss to Port Adelaide, his foot was heavily infected and the club announced that he would require further surgery along with the disappointing news that he would more than likely miss the rest of the season and Finals. [3]
Despite rating himself just a "two out of ten" chance to return for the finals [4], McLeod made a surprise return to the side in the preliminary final against the West Coast Eagles. After a promising first half, however, McLeod and the Crows were swamped by the West Coast midfield in the second half to eventually lose by ten points. McLeod kicked a superb boundary line goal from the southwest pocket.
[edit] Personal Life and Controversies
Despite separating for a short while in 2004, Andrew is still currently married to Rachael. She is commonly believed to be responsible for adding fuel to the fire in the feud between the McLeod's and Tyson Edwards and his wife, Mandy.
McLeod was also involved in a feud with long-time best friend and No. 1 Crows ticketholder Lleyton Hewitt, who is understood to be good friends with the Edwardses. McLeod refused footage of a sacred Aboriginal site to be used on a DVD of Hewitt's. [5]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Alpha Magazine, Sep 2005
- ^ "Andrew McLeod Career Statistics", FootyWire.
- ^ "McLeod sidelined with foot infection", ABC Sport.
- ^ "McLeod almost out of time", AFL.com.au.
- ^ "Hewitt - love him or hate him", The Age.
| Preceded by Glenn Archer |
Norm Smith Medallist 1997-1998 |
Succeeded by Shannon Grant |
| Preceded by Matthew Liptak |
Adelaide Best and Fairest winner 1997 |
Succeeded by Mark Ricciuto |
| Preceded by Anthony Koutoufides |
Leigh Matthews Trophy 2001 |
Succeeded by Luke Darcy, Michael Voss |
| Preceded by Simon Goodwin |
Adelaide Best and Fairest winner 2001 |
Succeeded by Ben Hart |
