Andrew McLeod

In a preliminary final rematch against the Bulldogs, McLeod would kick a career-high seven 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 from 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.

In 2011, 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. McLeod was a part of the Thunder's Northern Conference and NEAFL premiership teams.

Against the Essendon Football Club in round 10 at AAMI Stadium, McLeod played his 250th AFL game, where he tallied 18 disposals while soaring for a spectacular mark in a 138-point demolition of the Bombers.

McLeod began the 2010 season healthy and in decent form. However, in a round 11 match against Fremantle, he re-injured his troubled right knee, ultimately keeping him sidelined for a month. He returned on 16 July 2010 in a round 16 match against Geelong in which Adelaide won by 11 points. This would ultimately be McLeod's last game of AFL football, as his knee continued to have problems. On 23 August 2010, McLeod announced his retirement from AFL football. Andrew McLeod's retirement announcement:

Following his retirement, McLeod has been compared with Jason Akermanis and Ben Cousins as three greats of the AFL who all retired in 2010.

On his return from injury, McLeod captained the Indigenous All-Stars in the 2009 pre-season. McLeod continued to perform consistently for the Crows, and in round 9 (fittingly, it was Indigenous Round) he played his 313th game, breaking the club games record held by former teammate and good friend Mark Ricciuto.

Prior to the start of the AFL 2007 season, McLeod won the Polly Farmer Medal after being the best for the Indigenous All-Stars in a 50-point loss to Essendon. McLeod, the side's captain, kicked two goals to be his team's leading goalkicker.

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

Despite rating himself just a "two out of ten" chance to return for the finals, 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 only polled seven votes in the 2006 Brownlow Medal despite averaging 22 possessions and being named All-Australian. He finished 4th in Adelaide's best and fairest.

In an interview with Australian men's magazine Alpha in September 2005, McLeod would later reveal that he refused to play for Fremantle after feeling insulted and belittled by the newly appointed Fremantle coach Gerard Neesham, who had not actually seen him play before.

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. McLeod polled 11 votes in the 2005 Brownlow Medal.

In 2005, Andrew and former friend tennis player Lleyton Hewitt had a much publicised dispute over the use of footage shot at Aboriginal sacred sites in a DVD Hewitt was to release.

2004 was a disappointing year for Adelaide, and coach Gary Ayres would be sacked later in the year. McLeod only polled 2 votes in the Brownlow despite a season disposal average of 21.

McLeod played every game of the home-and-away season in yet another superb year. He would lead the 2003 Brownlow medal count until round 15, remarkably having six best-on-ground performances up until that point, according to the officiating umpires of matches McLeod played in. However, McLeod never got any more votes and would finish 10th with 18 votes, although the margin was only 4 points between McLeod and the joint winners; teammate Mark Ricciuto was one of these players. He would finish 3rd in the Adelaide best and fairest.

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. 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.

McLeod had perhaps the finest season of his career in 2001, controversially being named runner-up in the Brownlow Medal Count. Having been made a permanent fixture in the Crows midfield by coach Gary Ayres, McLeod averaged a career-best 24.7 disposals. He would win the Leigh Matthews Trophy to be recognised as the Most Valuable Player in the league, according to a vote 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, he had amassed a season-high 37 disposals in Adelaide's final round loss to Fremantle; however, he was awarded no votes in that game, and he consequently finished second behind Akermanis. 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.

Nevertheless, McLeod had a fine season; his average of 23.9 disposals was his highest since finishing runner-up for the Brownlow Medal in 2001. This was duly acknowledged when he was announced as captain and a half-back flanker of the 2007 All-Australian team. McLeod polled 15 votes in the 2007 Brownlow Medal and won the club's Best and Fairest award.

McLeod had an outstanding season in 2000, playing most of the season in the midfield. He averaged 24 disposals per game, an increase from 18 in 1999, and kicked 28 goals. He 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.

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

McLeod is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time and is often considered by many as the greatest player of the Adelaide Football Club. Mcleod won two premierships for the Adelaide Football Club in 1997 and 1998. He was also awarded the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the 1997 and 1998 AFL grand finals.

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 and 11 marks, he was judged 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.

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 in the All-Australian team for the first time in his career despite only playing 15 games due to injury. He would also get 10 Brownlow Medal votes in 1998 after only 1 vote in 1997.

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. He was also awarded Adelaide's Emerging Talent Award.

Moving from Darwin to Adelaide in South Australia, McLeod played with the Port Adelaide Football Club in the SANFL in 1994 where he became known as an exciting young forward with electrifying pace. McLeod capped off a solid debut year for Port Adelaide with a Premiership medallion, bagging two goals in Port's 37-point win over Woodville-West Torrens in the 1994 SANFL Grand Final.

In the 1994 offseason period, the right to recruit McLeod was traded by Fremantle Football Club to the Adelaide Crows in return for their promising forward Chris Groom in what many now consider to be one of the most lopsided trades in Australian rules football history.

In the dying seconds of the game, with Adelaide trailing by four points, McLeod raced into an open forward line while being hotly pursued by Hawk Ray Jencke. 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. The Crows were able to avenge their worst-ever home loss in history the year before (round 9 1994 by 97 points to Hawthorn).

After two tumultuous years under Robert Shaw, legendary footballer Malcolm Blight took over as coach of Adelaide. McLeod lost 10 kg in preparation for a big season. 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.

Andrew Luke McLeod (born 4 August 1976) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the games record holder for Adelaide, having played 340 games.