Andrew Leoncelli

Andrew Leoncelli (born 17 July 1974) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Leoncelli was recruited by Carlton in the 1993 Pre-Season Draft but was too light at just 72 kgs and lacked commitment. Leoncelli was de-listed in 1994 when he moved to Brisbane to pursue in his education, where he played no football whatsoever. Leoncelli saw the Brisbane Lions training at his university and this made him realise how much he missed the game. He then played amateur football for Kooweerup and Old Xaverians before being re-drafted. He finally made his league debut in 1996 with Melbourne. Playing in the midfield Leoncelli had a good 1997 season finishing 3rd in the Demon's best and fairest despite only playing 12 games because of a stress fracture. In 1999 he was Melbourne leading kickwinner and made the Victorian State Of Origin side. He was appointed deputy vice-captain for 2000 and played a vital role in Melbourne's finals series but had a disappointing game in the Grand Final, as he struggled for half a game. He had a flat 2001 season and at one stage was dropped, but followed up with a fine 2002 season. Leoncelli was forced into retirement late in 2003 at the age of 29, having played all of the 16 games up to that point. He made the shortlist for the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century.

Since retiring from the AFL, he joined the Hamton Property Group as a development manager,^[1] and is a director of the Melbourne Football Club.^[2] He studied commerce at the University of Melbourne.

References

External links

• Andrew Leoncelli's statistics from AFL Tables