Leigh Adams Biography

Jason Horne-Francis is dropped from the Kangaroos' side to face the Crows, denying the young midfielder a chance to return to his home state.

North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey explained that Horne-Francis' subpar preparation did not meet the standards of interim coach Leigh Adams.

"He hasn't done nothing bad, his teammates love him, the coaches love him...this is just part of the development of a young boy to get his preparation right," Harvey told RSN.

"With Leigh Adams in charge, the standards have gone to another level, and players have to play their part."

Leigh Adams knew something was wrong earlier this year when he occasionally struggled to remember people's names, where he had put his keys or why he had walked into a room.

He was also prone to debilitating headaches that lasted for days, had little to no energy and, most concerningly, had an unusually short temper.

Adams' ordeal began when he was concussed in North Melbourne's round 23 win over Melbourne at the end of last season.

The side-effects of that concussion lingered long enough that Adams saw a neurologist and was ruled out of North's three-week finals campaign.

Adams already had a history of concussions – his most recent one having come less than three months earlier when he was driven to the ground in a strong tackle by Richmond's Troy Chaplin – and the neurologist wanted to monitor him closely, concerned by his slow recovery.

Six months later, Adams suffered another concussion just 10 minutes into his second game of the 2015 pre-season.

He was playing for North's VFL affiliate Werribee in a practice match against Footscray. It would be another 10 weeks before he felt like himself again.

"That's when it was starting to get a bit of a worrying trend towards obviously some long-term damage," Adams said.

"It was more frustrating than anything. The specialists told me it was definitely going to get better, but early on I couldn't really see it getting better because I was in a bit of a fog.

"A lot of blokes do get those concussion symptoms for a week, maybe two if they've had a severe concussion - but I was having them for eight to 10 weeks, which is obviously not a great sign.

"The specialists just kept reiterating, 'It's going to get better, it's just a matter of time'.

"I think that really helped, knowing they were saying I was going to come out of it."

Despite his concerns, Adams wanted one last shot at resuming his AFL career. At 27, he did not want to retire before his time.

He returned in the VFL in late May and showed no signs of rust, racking up 28 possessions for Werribee in three-and-a-half quarters against Sandringham.

But in his third game back, Adams was again concussed after copping a head knock against Collingwood's VFL team.

It would be another six weeks before he officially retired. In that time, he continued to be closely monitored by his neurologist, with North keen for the side-effects of his latest concussion to pass before he made any decision on his future.

But Adams knew almost as soon as he came off the ground that June afternoon that his football career was over.

"After I got that minor hit to the head (against Collingwood's VFL team) and was suffering those concussion symptoms I knew it was probably time to retire," he said.

Leigh Adams has been forced into retirement by a series of head knocks that have prevented him from playing a single AFL game this season.

Coach Brad Scott said Adams, who was known affectionately as 'Patch', had shown great commitment to his teammates and redefined the forward/midfielder role.

"'Patch' was such a highly valued person and highly valued performer for us over such a long period," Scott said.

"But we know there are things that are more important than the game.

"As a footy club, I'm proud of the way everyone has supported 'Patch' through a really difficult time and certainly support his decision."

Leigh Adams has revealed a battle with depression earlier this year forced him to weigh up his football future.

"I just thought the world was against me and, 'Poor me … I don't want to play any more'," Adams said.

"I'd had enough and was just sick of getting knocked around.

"It is really common, one in two people with concussion get depression."

After an extended period away from the game due to concussion, North Melbourne midfielder Leigh Adams has begun to step up his training after expressing a keenness to resume his career.

North Melbourne football manager Geoff Walsh told SEN the Kangaroos were pleased that Adams had been given a clean bill of health and the midfielder's intention was to build his training program.

"Pleasingly, in the last four to five weeks particularly, he has started to train really well [and] he's feeling well, [which] is the main thing," Walsh said.

"He's of the mindset that he is now ready to get back on the horse."

North Melbourne coach Brad Scott says he is hopeful that forward Leigh Adams will return to the Kangaroos after suffering yet another concussion last month.

There had been speculation the 104-gamer had been contemplating retiring from the game following a spate of heavy knocks, including one in round 23 last season that sidelined him from North's three finals.

But Scott said he is confident Adams will return, provided he passed the relevant testing next month.

"He's progressing really well. We've taken a very cautious approach with him and he'll go through a battery of tests over the next couple of weeks," Scott told Fox Footy.

"I'm cautiously optimistic, we're certainly not going down the path of talking about retirement – that's what people want to talk about but I'm cautiously optimistic that he'll come back.

"He's a favourite of ours and he's a favourite of mine."

North Melbourne skipper Andrew Swallow says teammate Leigh Adams' football future is in doubt after his latest concussion but he won't be in a position to decide whether he plays on until he meets with his doctor in two weeks' time.

"He's going to have a couple of weeks where he just goes in and trains and I know he's got a doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks so he'll get a bit more information (then)," Swallow said.

"Hopefully he can rebound from this and he'll be all right, but as players I think everyone in the back of their mind has got to be thinking long-term and where they want to be."

Mitch Robinson accepts a two-match ban for his bump on Kangaroo Leigh Adams.

Mitch Robinson is facing suspension for the third time this year, with the Match Review Panel handing the Carlton forward a two-match ban for his bump on North Melbourne's Leigh Adams.

Playing his first game back after a two-match suspension for striking Collingwood's Taylor Adams in round 15, Robinson was reported on Friday night for engaging in rough conduct against Adams in the first quarter.

Leigh Adams is no longer a free agent after signing a new two-year deal with North Melbourne.

"It's good to have the security of another two years," Adams said.

"I think from the time 'Scotty' (coach Brad Scott) got here, he said if we can create a great culture, blokes won't want to leave and that seems to be working.

"We're all pretty close and good mates down there, and the club looks after us, so no one has really found the need to leave."

Leigh Adams admits that he has had a dreadful start to the year.

"I've been horrible," Adams said.

"Hopefully I can start to turn things around pretty quickly.

"From a team point of view, it's been good that they've been able to carry me, but I need to start to get a kick myself."

Leigh Adams wears sunglasses to training after a minor medical procedure to an eye.

"They just thought my eye was going to be a bit sensitive to the light for a couple of days, so it was better to keep it shaded as much as possible for as long as I could," he said.

Leigh Adams says he hopes to test his shoulders out in the NAB Cup after recovering from post-season surgeries.

"I've still got a little bit of a way to go before I'm back to [doing] everything, but it's tracking as well as it could be," Adams said.

"I'll play some sort of role in the NAB Cup. I'm not sure how much I play, but I'll play at some stage. It will be nice to get back into it."

The Roos' finals hopes is dealt a blow with midfielder Leigh Adams' season after scans confirm the midfielder will require surgery to correct a shoulder injury sustained during North Melbourne's clash with Essendon.

Chris Judd incurs a four-week ban for his 'chicken wing' tackle on Leigh Adams.

"We're disappointed but we respect the tribunal's decision," Judd told reporters outside the hearing room.

"I'd just like to reiterate that it was never my intention to hurt Leigh Adams.

"I've obviously expressed this apology to him personally since the event, and we'd just like to extend that apology to the Carlton Football Club and their supporters for obviously letting them down."

MRP chairman Mark Fraser says Chris Judd's tackle on Leigh Adams was 'unsportsmanlike'.

"We had a discussion amongst the panel about whether it was rough conduct or misconduct and we decided this would probably be best served under misconduct," Fraser said.

"We thought it was unsportsmanlike in nature. It has the potential to bring the game into disrepute so we thought it would be better served by sending it straight to the tribunal for a verdict."

A medical report by the Kangaroos submitted to the Match Review Panel is expected to reveal that Leigh Adams' shoulder was dislocated by Chris Judd's 'chicken wing' tackle.

Chris Judd's report for a "chicken wing" tackle on Kangaroo Leigh Adams dominates the media landscape.

"I was stuck at the bottom of the pack and obviously felt the arm get pulled and it was a pretty uncomfortable position," Adams said.

"He doesn't have a bad bone in his body so I'm sure, whatever he did he didn't mean it, and hopefully he gets off."

North Melbourne categorically rules out trading ruckman Hamish McIntosh during the 2011 trade period.

""We've said it ad nauseam, Hamish isn't up for trade," North Melbourne chief of football Donald McDonald said.

"He's a required player, we've contracted him until the end of 2013. We think that with Todd Goldstein and Hamish, they form a fantastic ruck duo and it enables Drewey (Petrie) to play forward."

Leigh Adams has played 23 games in four seasons but looms as one of North Melbourne's key midfielders in 2011.

"We've always rated him really highly. He came fourth in our best and fairest last year and he missed seven games, so he was a vitally important member of our squad," Scott said

"And he's had an even better pre-season this year. He looks a really seasoned AFL player now."

North Melbourne's Leigh Adams will have heart surgery to correct a condition that caused him to suffer nausea and shortness of breath at various stages throughout the year.

"I've pretty much done every session but probably the one thing that gets me is time trials when I've just got to push my body and my heart that little bit harder," Adams said.

"The surgeon is pretty optimistic about it. He just said he's done AFL footballers before and does the surgery every day of the week, so it's not like it's a rare thing.

"We didn't think much of it after the first time it happened and I managed to get through the rest of the year."

North Melbourne midfielder Leigh Adams escapes serious injury after teammate Hamish McIntosh fell across his reconstructed right knee.

"There were a lot of nerves when I hit the ground," Adams said.

"If this was going to be a second reconstruction its fair to say I would have been in a fair bit of trouble.

"I was rapt when doctor Con (Mitropoulos) told me it would only be two weeks because before that I thought the season was over for me."