Leo Barry
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-05-19) 19 May 1977
Place of birth Deniliquin, New South Wales
Original team(s) Deniliquin (NSW)
Debut Round 22, 3 September 1995, Sydney vs. Collingwood, at SCG
Height 184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 88 kg (194 lb)
Position(s) Back pocket, fullback
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1995–2009 Sydney Swans 237 (56)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2009.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Leo Barry (born 19 May 1977) is a retired Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL) with the Sydney Swans.

Originally from Deniliquin, New South Wales, Barry attended Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview, 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 marks, earning him the nickname "Leaping Leo".

In 2001, Swans coach Rodney Eade 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 votes).[1]

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, David Neitz, Anthony Rocca, Chris Tarrant, Quentin Lynch, Matthew Lloyd, Jonathan Brown, Daniel Bradshaw and Matthew Richardson.

Barry has twice been included in the All-Australian team, in 2004 and 2005.[2]

On 18 August 2009, Barry announced he would retire from football at the end of the 2009 season.[3]

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 AFL Grand Final between Sydney and West Coast. After a kick from Dean Cox 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 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 for promotional purposes, and Barry sued for them using it without his permission, claiming that the image was "worth A$50,000".[4] A confidential out-of-court settlement was reached.[5] Since the court case, Barry has held the rights to the photo.[5]

Statistics

[6]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1995 Sydney 21110628401.00.06.02.08.04.00.0
1996 Sydney 21520131023580.40.02.62.04.61.01.6
1997 Sydney 2110129673910630131.20.96.73.910.63.01.3
1998 Sydney 211696826214438160.60.45.13.99.02.41.0
1999 Sydney 21171081279622388160.60.57.55.613.15.20.9
2000 Sydney 21171551127618863180.90.36.64.511.13.71.1
2001 Sydney 2119111439223584350.10.17.54.812.44.41.8
2002 Sydney 211300897516443280.00.06.85.812.63.32.2
2003 Sydney 212402182151333133560.00.17.66.313.95.52.3
2004 Sydney 212300139148287107340.00.06.06.412.54.71.5
2005 Sydney 212600213128341152370.00.08.24.913.15.81.4
2006 Sydney 212501224147371173390.00.09.05.914.86.91.6
2007 Sydney 211840145131276116360.20.08.17.315.36.42.0
2008 Sydney 212020149154303125350.10.07.57.715.26.31.8
2009 Sydney 213002023431430.00.06.77.714.34.71.0
Career 237 56 32 1711 1334 3045 1175 374 0.2 0.1 7.2 5.6 12.8 5.0 1.6

References

  1. ↑ AFL Tables - Sydney v St Kilda - 06-Jun-2004 - Match Stats
  2. ↑ "Ricciuto to lead All-Australian side". ABC News. 6 September 2005. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  3. ↑ Nicholls, Michael: Leo Barry announces retirement, AFL Online, 18 August 2009.
  4. ↑ Robinson, Russell (16 September 2006). "Leaping Leo's grab for $50,000". The Australian. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  5. 1 2 AFL Grand Final 2005: Leo Barry takes you inside his premiership-winning mark against West Coast, Billy Rule, Perth Now, September 23, 2015
  6. ↑ Leo Barry's player profile at AFL Tables
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