Leo Barry (born 19 May 1977) is a retired

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 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) with the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...

. Originally from

Deniliquin, New South Wales Deniliquin () is a town in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is ...

, Barry attended

Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Saint Ignatius' College Riverview is an Australian independent single-sex primary and secondary Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding school for boys located in Riverview, New South Wales, Riverview, a small suburb on the Lane Cove Rive ...

, before being drafted as a zone selection in the 1994 National Draft and making his debut in the final round of the 1995 season against Collingwood. For the next few seasons, he played in the forward line without consistency, struggling to find a place in an already strong forward line. He did, however, display an ability to take spectacular jumping

mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

s, earning him the nickname "Leaping Leo". In 2001, Swans coach

Rodney Eade Rodney Eade (born 4 April 1958) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach in the Australian Football League. He is a former coach of the Sydney Swans, the Western Bulldogs and the Gold Coast Football Club. He has, to date, coached 377 ...

moved Barry to the backline, where he prospered. Despite being short for a full-back at 184 centimetres, he has successfully played on much taller opponents, making use of his leaping skills and using his body well. Regularly playing on opponents 10–15 cm taller than he is, Barry rarely had multiple goals kicked upon him. Barry's unique defensive ability was observed in 2004 when he kept 196-centimetre St Kilda full-forward Fraser Gehrig to two handballs for the whole game (for this effort, he received three

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

votes). Despite being only 184 centimetres tall, Barry was surprisingly strong, which was a useful attribute for him when facing taller opponents such as Fraser Gehrig,

Brendan Fevola Brendan Fevola (born 20 January 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer and radio presenter. He played with the Carlton Football Club, Carlton and Brisbane Lions football clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Fevol ...

, David Neitz,

Anthony Rocca Anthony Rocca (born 15 August 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the Australian Football League. Rocca is currently serving as North Melbourne's development coach. Early l ...

Chris Tarrant Christopher John Tarrant (born 10 October 1946) is a retired English broadcaster, television personality, radio DJ and stand up comedian. He is best known for presenting the ITV children's television show '' Tiswas'' from 1974 to 1981, and th ...

, Quentin Lynch,

Matthew Lloyd Matthew James Lloyd (born 16 April 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A highly decorated full-forward, Lloyd's AFL's honours include ...

, Jonathan Brown, Daniel Bradshaw and Matthew Richardson. Barry has twice been included in the

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

, in 2004 and 2005. On 18 August 2009, Barry announced he would retire from football at the end of the 2009 season. Barry is now a portfolio manager at Fairview Equity Partners.

"That Mark"

Barry will always be remembered as the player who secured the 2005 AFL premiership for the Sydney Swans. Not only did he ensure the victory for the Swans but Barry's backline heroics were instrumental to the Swans' success, which culminated with one of Barry's trademark spectacular marks during the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league was then known as the Victorian Football Leag ...

between Sydney and West Coast. After a kick from

Dean Cox Dean Michael Cox (born 1 August 1981) is a retired Australian rules footballer and the current senior coach of the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Cox played a 290-game career with the West Coast Eagles. Originally from ...

was sent into the forward line, Barry marked in a big pack within the dying seconds of the game to secure the Swans' long-awaited premiership. Commentator

Stephen Quartermain Stephen William Quartermain (born 7 May 1962) is an Australian television personality, journalist and presenter. Quartermain is currently a sport presenter on ''10 News First'' in Melbourne. Early career Quartermain began his career as a cade ...

described the mark as follows:

''"Cox throws it onto the left; one last roll of the dice for the Eagles! Leo Barry, you star!...(siren in background)...The longest premiership drought in football history is over! For the first time in 72 years, the Swans are champions of the AFL!"''

This image was later used by

Tabcorp Tabcorp is Australia's largest gambling company, employing more than 5,000 people. It is the largest provider of wagering and gaming products and services in Australia. Tabcorp is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). History In ...

for promotional purposes, and Barry sued for them using it without his permission, claiming that the image was "worth A$50,000". A confidential out-of-court settlement was reached. Since the court case, Barry has held the rights to the photo.AFL Grand Final 2005: Leo Barry takes you inside his premiership-winning mark against West Coast
Billy Rule,

Perth Now ''The Sunday Times'' is a tabloid Sunday newspaper published by Seven West Media, in Perth and distributed throughout Western Australia. Founded as ''The West Australian Sunday Times'', it was renamed ''The Sunday Times'' from 30 March 1902. ...

, September 23, 2015

Statistics

:Leo Barry's player profile at AFL Tables
/ref> , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 1 , , 1 , , 0 , , 6 , , 2 , , 8 , , 4 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 6.0 , , 2.0 , , 8.0 , , 4.0 , , 0.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 5 , , 2 , , 0 , , 13 , , 10 , , 23 , , 5 , , 8 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 2.6 , , 2.0 , , 4.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.6 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 10 , , 12 , , 9 , , 67 , , 39 , , 106 , , 30 , , 13 , , 1.2 , , 0.9 , , 6.7 , , 3.9 , , 10.6 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 16 , , 9 , , 6 , , 82 , , 62 , , 144 , , 38 , , 16 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 5.1 , , 3.9 , , 9.0 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 17 , , 10 , , 8 , , 127 , , 96 , , 223 , , 88 , , 16 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 7.5 , , 5.6 , , 13.1 , , 5.2 , , 0.9 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 17 , , 15 , , 5 , , 112 , , 76 , , 188 , , 63 , , 18 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 6.6 , , 4.5 , , 11.1 , , 3.7 , , 1.1 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 19 , , 1 , , 1 , , 143 , , 92 , , 235 , , 84 , , 35 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 7.5 , , 4.8 , , 12.4 , , 4.4 , , 1.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 13 , , 0 , , 0 , , 89 , , 75 , , 164 , , 43 , , 28 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 6.8 , , 5.8 , , 12.6 , , 3.3 , , 2.2 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 24 , , 0 , , 2 , , 182 , , 151 , , 333 , , 133 , , 56 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 7.6 , , 6.3 , , 13.9 , , 5.5 , , 2.3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 23 , , 0 , , 0 , , 139 , , 148 , , 287 , , 107 , , 34 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 6.0 , , 6.4 , , 12.5 , , 4.7 , , 1.5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 21 , , 26 , , 0 , , 0 , , 213 , , 128 , , 341 , , 152 , , 37 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 8.2 , , 4.9 , , 13.1 , , 5.8 , , 1.4 , - ! 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;", , 21 , , 25 , , 0 , , 1 , , 224 , , 147 , , 371 , , 173 , , 39 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.0 , , 5.9 , , 14.8 , , 6.9 , , 1.6 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! 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;", , 21 , , 18 , , 4 , , 0 , , 145 , , 131 , , 276 , , 116 , , 36 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 8.1 , , 7.3 , , 15.3 , , 6.4 , , 2.0 , - ! 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;", , 21 , , 20 , , 2 , , 0 , , 149 , , 154 , , 303 , , 125 , , 35 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 7.5 , , 7.7 , , 15.2 , , 6.3 , , 1.8 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! 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;", , 21 , , 3 , , 0 , , 0 , , 20 , , 23 , , 43 , , 14 , , 3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 6.7 , , 7.7 , , 14.3 , , 4.7 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 237 ! 56 ! 32 ! 1711 ! 1334 ! 3045 ! 1175 ! 374 ! 0.2 ! 0.1 ! 7.2 ! 5.6 ! 12.8 ! 5.0 ! 1.6

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Leo 1977 births Living people Australian rules footballers from New South Wales Sydney Swans players Sydney Swans premiership players All-Australians (AFL) Deniliquin Football Club players People from Deniliquin Australia international rules football team players VFL/AFL premiership players People educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview