Andrew Swallow (born 2 June 1987) is a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for the

North Melbourne Football Club The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos or colloquially the Roos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AF ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). He was the captain of North Melbourne from 2012 to 2016 before retiring in 2017.

AFL career

Recruitment

He was North Melbourne's third round draft selection in the 2005 AFL Draft, number 43 overall, from the ast Fremantle football clubin the WAFL.

2006 (Debut)

He received a nomination for the NAB Rising Star for his performance against Geelong in Round 17, 2006 when he managed 28 possessions and a goal.

2007

Swallow's form improved during the 2007 season, consistently gaining high numbers of disposals each week. This culminated in the spectacular 1-point win over Melbourne in Round 9 in which he scored the winning goal.

2008

Swallow played the first 3 games in 2008, before being sent back to the VFL to work on his outside run and spread from the stoppages. After some positive performances at North Ballarat Roosters, he injured his ankle during a game and missed 7 weeks.

2009 (Syd Barker Medallist)

But he was back to his best in 2009 returning to the side to be one of North's finest throughout the season. His disposal has notably improved, and he has worked on all aspects of his game to play every game, and is now recognised as one of the best tacklers and clearance players in the North Melbourne side, and the AFL. On 2 October 2009, Swallow was awarded the

Syd Barker Medal The Syd Barker Medal is awarded to the North Melbourne Football Club player who has been judged the best and fairest of the footy season. The award has been given out continuously since 1937. Before then it was known as the Syd Barker Memorial Tr ...

by North Melbourne for being the club's best and fairest player for the year.

2010

He had another terrific season in 2010 playing all 22 games for the second consecutive season and finishing just one vote behind

Brent Harvey Brent Harvey (born 14 May 1978), often known by his nickname "Boomer", is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He holds the record for most matches played ...

and Brady Rawlings for the Syd Barker Medal.

2011

In 2011, he would have arguably his best season to date again playing every game and taking home his second Syd Barker Medal which he shared with Daniel Wells. He would also be one of four North Melbourne players selected in the 40 man All Australian squad however he missed out on being selected in the final 22. He would however be selected as part of the Australian squad for the International Rules series against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

2012

In February 2012, Swallow was announced captain of

replacing

. As a captain, Andrew Swallow capped off a fantastic year to win the Syd Barker Medal with 60 votes becoming a three time Syd Barker Medalist.

2016

In December 2016 it was announced that

Jack Ziebell Jack Ziebell (born 28 February 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Ziebell is currently playing for Avondale Heights in the EDFL ...

would take over the captaincy role at

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

2017

By the conclusion of the 2017 season, Andrew Swallow announced his retirement from AFL

Statistics

: ''Statistics are correct to the end of round 9, 2016'' , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 12 , , 2 , , 5 , , 87 , , 63 , , 150 , , 34 , , 45 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 7.3 , , 5.3 , , 12.5 , , 2.8 , , 3.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 25 , , 10 , , 4 , , 169 , , 198 , , 367 , , 74 , , 128 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 6.8 , , 7.9 , , 14.7 , , 3.0 , , 5.1 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 19 , , 3 , , 0 , , 0 , , 18 , , 23 , , 41 , , 6 , , 14 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 6.0 , , 7.7 , , 13.7 , , 2.0 , , 4.7 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 22 , , 17 , , 8 , , 187 , , 224 , , 411 , , 85 , , 152 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 8.5 , , 10.2 , , 18.7 , , 3.9 , , 6.9 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 22 , , 16 , , 11 , , 206 , , 261 , , 467 , , 68 , , 183 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 9.4 , , 11.9 , , 21.2 , , 3.1 , , 8.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 22 , , 11 , , 7 , , 268 , , 294 , , 562 , , 69 , , 145 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 12.2 , , 13.4 , , 25.5 , , 3.1 , , 6.6 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 23 , , 9 , , 12 , , 278 , , 316 , , 594 , , 74 , , 164 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 12.1 , , 13.7 , , 25.8 , , 3.2 , , 7.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 17 , , 2 , , 8 , , 210 , , 194 , , 404 , , 56 , , 107 , , 0.1 , , 0.5 , , 12.4 , , 11.4 , , 23.8 , , 3.3 , , 6.3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 18 , , 5 , , 6 , , 195 , , 200 , , 395 , , 54 , , 107 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 10.8 , , 11.1 , , 21.9 , , 3.0 , , 5.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 22 , , 4 , , 3 , , 219 , , 260 , , 479 , , 43 , , 164, , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 10.0 , , 11.8 , , 21.8 , , 2.0 , , 7.5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 9 , , 9 , , 0 , , 2 , , 77 , , 99 , , 176 , , 16 , , 75 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 8.6 , , 11.0 , , 19.6 , , 1.8 , , 8.3 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 195 ! 76 ! 66 ! 1914 ! 2132 ! 4046 ! 579 ! 1284 ! 0.4 ! 0.3 ! 9.8 ! 10.9 ! 20.7 ! 3.0 ! 6.6

Personal life

Swallow is the older brother of

Gold Coast Suns The Gold Coast Suns, officially the Gold Coast Football Club, are a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in the ...

midfielder

David Swallow David Swallow (born 19 November 1992) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). Swallow won the Gold Coast Suns Club Champion award in 2014, becoming the second player to win the a ...

, who was taken at pick #1 in the 2010 AFL Draft. Swallow was born and raised in Western Australia attending

Rehoboth Christian College Rehoboth Christian College is a dual-campus independent trans-denominational Protestant co-educational primary and secondary day school, located in the south-eastern corridor of Perth, Western Australia. The college comprises a Year K to Year ...

. Swallow is a Christian.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swallow, Andrew 1987 births North Melbourne Football Club players East Fremantle Football Club players Syd Barker Medal winners Australian rules footballers from Western Australia Living people Australian Christians North Ballarat Football Club players Australia international rules football team players Aspley Football Club players Werribee Football Club players Australian people of Dutch descent Australian people of English descent 21st-century Australian sportsmen