Adelaide Crows’ defining moment No. 11: A legend is born
IN 1995, when an 18-year-old Andrew McLeod broke a Ray Jencke tackle and dribbled a glorious, matchwinning goal against Hawthorn with 54 seconds on the clock, Adelaide knew it had discovered a gem.
MAY 27, 1995. That was the night a Crows legend was born. When an 18-year-old Andrew McLeod — playing just his second AFL game — broke a Ray Jencke tackle and dribbled a glorious, matchwinning grubber goal against Hawthorn from a tight angle in the north-west pocket of Football Park with 54 seconds on the clock, Adelaide knew it had discovered a gem. The Crows’ dual Norm Smith Medallist, premiership hero and games record holder spoke to Andrew Capel about the moment that made him.
Andrew Capel: You debuted against Melbourne three weeks earlier, had just four disposals and was dropped from the side. What was your confidence like going into the clash with the Hawks?
Andrew McLeod: Not high. Against Melbourne I spent most of the night on the bench, so I didn’t know what was going on. I got back in the side and I guess I took it as an opportunity to do something and show what I was made of.
Capel: Things clearly didn’t go to plan early. At half-time the Crows trailed by 34 points, 1.1 to 5.11, and seemed to be out of the match. What was going through your mind?
McLeod: It was a horrible, wet night and we weren’t playing well and I remember thinking at half-time that we just had to do something to turn things around. It was a defining moment of the year for us because we’d just lost to Fitzroy, who weren’t real flash at the time, and our club had to step up and show we had a bit of substance.
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THE LIST SO FAR
No. 11 A legend in born
No. 12 Tyson’s comeback and farewell
No. 14: The great Jarman double act
No. 16: Blighty’s mighty spray
No. 17: The 148-point turnaround
No. 18: First and only minor premiership
No. 19: First Showdown win — The Comeback. 1997.
No. 20: 2002 epic semi-final win against Melbourne
No. 21: Modra wins the Coleman
No. 22: Carey chooses Adelaide
No. 23: The Demolition of Fremantle
No. 24: Independence from the SANFL
No. 25: 1993 preliminary final loss to Essendon
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Capel: You fought back to get within four points when your moment of magic won the game for Adelaide. Talk us through the goal.
McLeod: When Nick Pesch got the ball out of centre and booted it down I just used my speed to get in front of Ray Jencke and was able to tap the ball around him near the boundary line, I got lucky with a couple of bounces, and picked it up and kicked the goal. I knew there wasn’t long to go, that it was time-on, so I just had to head for home and I got lucky that it went through I guess. I was 18 years old so I was pretty ecstatic about it all.
Capel: What did that goal mean to you?
McLeod: I wouldn’t say that kicking that goal made me feel like I’d actually made it but it certainly made me feel like I belonged. That was the start of the belief for me and the moment where I felt I could play at that level. There were a few celebrations and I remember Benny Hart being pretty excited. He was thrust forward to try to sneak a few goals (he kicked two) and Mods (Tony Modra) was playing and I remember those guys being really excited that we’d won because they’d done it pretty tough after 1993 when the team made the preliminary final but lost to the Bombers. The club struggled to live up to expectations in 1994 (finishing 11th) and was battling again in 1995 when we played the Hawks. We were questioning where we were as a footy club so it was a great moment for us to win that game.
Capel: Twenty years later you’ve still got a glint in your eye when you recall the goal. Of all your many magical moments in your 340-game career where does it rank?
McLeod: Obviously the two premierships (1997 and 1998) are the most special but the thing with the goal against Hawthorn was that it gave me the belief that I could mix it with the best. It made me, for the first time, feel like I belonged at that level. It was also one of those moments that you’d played out in the backyard or at mum’s and dad’s house like millions of other kids have done. It was one of those moments where I got to live the boyhood dream. For me it was especially timely because after my first game I thought I was no good.
SCOREBOARD
ADELAIDE 0.1 1.1 6.6 9.6 (60)
HAWTHORN 3.3 5.11 5.15 7.16 (58)
BEST: Adelaide: A. Jarman, Bickley, McLeod, Tregenza, McDermott, Hart, Connell. Hawthorn: Holland, D. Jarman, Langford, Pritchard, Platten.
SCORERS: Adelaide: Hart 2.2, Tregenza 2.1, McLeod 2.0, Modra, McCartney, Pesch 1.0, Connell 0.2, Brown 0.1. Hawthorn: Dunstall 2.4, Hudson 2.1, Stevenson 1.1, Cooper, Young 1.0, Taylor, Minton-Connell, Platten 0.2, Tallis 0.1, rushed 0.3.
Injuries: Adelaide: Ricciuto (corked thigh), J. McCartney (sprained finger). Hawthorn: J.Robran (AC joint).
Umpires: Brett Allen, Trevor Garrett, David Howlett.
Crowd: 38,746 at AAMI Stadium.