Footyinfo

Andrew Swallow

North Melbourne · “Spitter”

AFL career

224 games80 goals

Debut
R8 2006 v FRE20 May 2006
Most recent
R23 2017 v BRL26 Aug 2017

Stats

AFL

2017
NTH
16
8.4
11.2
19.6
2.1
1.6
0.9
6.7
0.3
0.2
81
80
2016
NTH
22
8.0
12.4
20.3
2.4
1.1
1.5
7.5
0.0
0.2
83
85
2015
NTH
22
10.0
11.8
21.8
2.0
2.4
1.5
7.5
0.2
0.1
88
95
2014
NTH
18
10.8
11.1
21.9
3.0
1.6
1.3
5.9
0.3
0.3
87
90
2013
NTH
17
12.4
11.4
23.8
3.3
2.2
1.3
6.3
0.1
0.5
94
101
2012
NTH
23
12.1
13.7
25.9
3.2
2.5
1.5
7.1
0.4
0.5
103
111
2011
NTH
22
12.2
13.4
25.5
3.1
2.2
1.8
6.6
0.5
0.3
99
112
2010
NTH
22
9.4
11.9
21.2
3.1
2.4
1.0
8.3
0.7
0.5
99
106
2009
NTH
22
8.5
10.2
18.7
3.9
2.4
0.9
6.9
0.8
0.4
90
99
2008
NTH
3
6.0
7.7
13.7
2.0
1.3
2.7
4.7
0.0
0.0
51
45
2007
KAN
25
6.8
7.9
14.7
3.0
1.3
0.7
5.1
0.4
0.2
67
73
2006
KAN
12
7.3
5.3
12.5
2.8
1.6
0.7
3.8
0.2
0.4
57
-

VFL

2017
WER
4
13.3
16.8
30.0
2.8
2.8
1.8
9.0
0.0
0.0
115
2014
NBR
2
12.5
8.5
21.0
4.5
3.5
1.5
7.0
1.0
0.0
102
League
Season
BRL
Gabba
R23
13
9
22
4
1
1
0
1
0.0
71
74
STK
ES
R22
9
11
20
3
0
1
0
8
0.0
87
76
HAW
UTAS
R21
11
8
19
1
2
2
0
13
0.0
100
78
COL
ES
R20
7
12
19
2
4
0
0
5
0.0
75
56
MEL
BA
R19
10
17
27
2
4
1
0
7
1.0
105
131
ESS
ES
R18
7
13
20
2
1
2
0
2
1.0
62
83
PAD
AO
R17
11
13
24
2
2
0
0
11
0.0
111
101
FRE
ES
R16
6
16
22
0
0
0
0
4
1.0
72
91
GCS
MS
R15
6
18
24
5
1
1
0
3
0.0
79
85
WBD
ES
R14
8
10
18
0
3
1
0
11
0.1
89
86
MEL
MCG
R9
7
10
17
2
1
1
0
9
0.0
81
67
FRE
DS
R5
8
7
15
3
1
2
0
6
0.1
67
59
WBD
ES
R4
9
9
18
1
2
1
0
11
0.0
91
94
GWS
BA
R3
4
10
14
0
1
1
0
3
1.0
48
52
GEE
ES
R2
5
6
11
3
1
1
0
5
0.0
54
41
WCE
ES
R1
13
10
23
3
1
0
0
8
0.1
102
109

Profile

Born
02 June 1987 (age 39y 142d)
Height
182 cm
Weight
80 kg

Teams

Honours

  • North Melbourne B&F(3×) 2009, 2011, 2012
    3rd
    2010
    Top 10
    2014, 2015, 2016
  • North Melbourne captain(5×) 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

Family

Selected by North Melbourne with pick 43 in the 2005 National Draft, Andrew Swallow arrived from East Fremantle and quickly established himself as the engine room of the Kangaroos' midfield. While he lacked the blistering pace of some contemporaries, he compensated with an elite work rate and an unrelenting desire for the contested ball. Swallow developed into one of the league's premier in-and-under midfielders, renowned for his ability to extract the ball from stoppages and his immense tackling pressure. His consistency was rewarded internally as he claimed three Syd Barker Medals in a four-year span between 2009 and 2012, cementing his status as the club's most important on-baller during a critical period of development.

Swallow assumed the captaincy from club legend Brent Harvey ahead of the 2012 season, leading the side for five years during which the club returned to preliminary final action. As the game evolved to favour faster ball movement, his heavy contested style eventually saw his role diminish in his final season. Despite speculation regarding a potential move to the Gold Coast Suns to finish his career alongside younger brother David, Swallow announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2017 season. He departed Arden Street as a Life Member and a highly respected one-club player who defined the hard-nosed North Melbourne spirit for over a decade.