Hugh Greenwood Biography

North Melbourne coach David Noble explains how he lured Hugh Greenwood to the club as a delisted free agent.

"I was about to jump on a plane to come back to Melbourne and my wife goes 'you better go and have a look on AFL.com.au, Hugh's been delisted'. One thing led to another and I reached out on Friday, we got our skates on over the weekend and we were able to secure him as a delisted free agent," Noble told SEN radio.

"(Greenwood) came to footy late, so the 29-to-30-year-old aspect didn't worry us and we think his longevity in the game is going to be there."

Gold Coast CEO Mark Evans says losing Hugh Greenwood was "unexpected", but the club knew the risk it was taking in delisting him last week.

"We started this conversation with Hugh and the club equally committing to a pathway of him being retained at the Suns. What was unexpected is the size of the offer that came from North Melbourne. That certainly turned Hugh's head towards that," Evans said.

"Our preference would be that Hugh Greenwood played with us in 2022. It's a slight deviation from that."

North Melbourne pulls off a free agency coup, signing Hugh Greenwood after he was surprisingly cut by Gold Coast for list management purposes with the promise of being re-listed in the upcoming AFL Draft.

"The Suns have been transparent with me and my manager throughout this whole process and I was fully committed to doing everything I could to ensure the club continued to take steps in its journey towards success," Greenwood said.

"It’s been a whirlwind past 48 hours, however the opportunity to extend my career and set my young family up with North Melbourne was one too good to turn down.

Hugh Greenwood will miss the rest of the 2021 season after tearing his medial collateral ligament in the opening quarter of the Suns' win against GWS following a collision with teammate Sam Day in a marking contest.

Former Crows midfielder and Suns recruit Hugh Greenwood responds to Adelaide director Mark Ricciuto's claims of him being too old and slow following Gold Coast's thrashing of his former side.

Responding to a tweet that said Greenwood had won nearly as many clearances as the entire Adelaide midfield in the first half, he responded: "If only I were younger and quicker @markricciuto."

Ricciuto immediately replied, saying: "Haha all good enjoy the win mate!! By the way if you were quicker and younger you might have got more then (sic) 10 touches as well?"

Greenwood then responded to Ricciuto's jibe with: "What a shock!! Someone at the Crows more concerned about disposals than actual impact on the game. Who would have thought."

The Suns recruit then tweeted again that the exchange was "all good banter" and that he had "no hard feelings" towards the Crows.

Adelaide director Mark Ricciuto explains the reason the club decided to trade Hugh Greenwood. who subsequently signed a four-year deal with the Suns.

"Everyone says we've got the slowest midfield in the competition; you can't just keep having those players in your midfield then whinge you've got a slow midfield. He's 28 this year and not going to play in our next premiership side so we're trying to get draft picks in to rebuild," Ricciuto said on Triple M.

Hugh Greenwood says being reunited with former Crows development coach Tate Kaesler was a factor in his decision to move to the Suns.

"He was really patient with me. When I got to Adelaide I couldn't kick, couldn't handball, no one wanted a bar of me," Greenwood said.

"He really took me under his wing and showed a lot of patience with me as my development coach. He was with me every day. I owe a lot to him to be in this position, so to be back with him full circle is awesome."

Hugh Greenwood is traded from the Crows to Gold Coast in exchange for future third and fourth-round picks.

"I’m very excited to be here, it’s been a bit of a process, but to finally be here and be part of the Gold Coast football club, is very exciting," Greenwood said.

"It’s a young, exciting and enthusiastic group and I’m just looking forward to slotting in and playing my role as part of it."

Greenwood received a two-year offer to remain with the Crows, but opted to move this October after receiving a four-year deal with the Suns.

Hugh Greenwood officially requests a trade from the Crows, nominating Gold Coast as his preferred destination.

Greenwood has decided to turn down the two years he was offered from the Crows, opting instead for the three years offered by the Suns with a straight-forward trigger to activate a fourth season through to the end of 2023.

"He missed the first 4-5 years that a traditional player would be there to make money, he was in College (basketball). We want to shore up his future," Greenwood's manager Michael Oakes said.

"They (Crows) were leaning on the side of a two-year agreement, we were leaning on the side of a longer-term agreement. We've agreed to disagree most of the year but at no stage have we packed up and not spoken.

"I think it's more the ability to be re-born again and the excitement be generated (at Gold Coast). It's being part of something that's going to grow."

Hawthorn has registered its interest in Adelaide midfielder Hugh Greenwood, who remains out of contract as the end of the home and away season draws nearer.

Greenwood has been in discussions with the Crows on a new deal throughout the year.

However, his security in the club's midfield has been a sticking point since he was dropped after round 11 before winning a late reprieve against Greater Western Sydney.

Instead of facing Collingwood in a Friday night blockbuster at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide midfielder Hugh Greenwood could have been chasing Commonwealth Games gold with the Australian men's basketball team.

"I always enjoyed representing my country playing for the Boomers and the under-19 Emus," Greenwood said.

"To be able to represent your country in the Commonwealth Games would've been pretty remarkable and Australia's chances are pretty high."

Hugh Greenwood reveals he had pain in his Achilles near the end of the 2017 season and hopes his recent foot surgery will rectify that.

"The surgery limits the pain, which will hopefully increase my running capacity and technique," Greenwood said.

"(I want) to be able to slot back in and do what I did last year, and hopefully a bit more to help the team achieve the ultimate goal."

Hugh Greenwood has undergone foot surgery to correct his Achilles soreness and won't return to full training until next year.

"Hugh was experiencing some soreness around his Achilles towards the back end of last season and it hadn't improved over the holiday period," Crows general manager high performance Matt Hass said.

"After further investigation, there was some irritation in an area adjacent to his Achilles and it was decided surgery was the best option for him."

Hugh Greenwood will wear Adelaide's No.1 jumper for the 2018 season in honour of his late mother, who lost her battle with cancer in October.

"Mum’s life quote was, ‘Make every second count’," Greenwood said.

"Now, every time I go to my locker or put on the jumper I’ll see the No.1 and it will remind me to make the most of every day, and every second.

"Hopefully, I can continue to raise awareness for secondary breast cancer, too."

Hugh Greenwood and Alex Keath have been guaranteed of being elevated to the Crows' senior list after both were recruited as Category B rookies at the end of 2015.

The Crows will use their last two picks in the NAB AFL Draft – selections 77 and 109 overall – to upgrade Greenwood and Keath.

Hugh Greenwood signs a new two-year deal with the Crows that will keep him at the club until the end of 2019.

Greenwood, who was born in Tasmania, says that recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie was integral to his Crows career.

"I owe a lot to Hamish for giving me my first opportunity to be here at the club," Greenwood said.

"I put all my eggs in one basket – I just really wanted to play AFL footy.

"It's been a big jump up … and for me, only being back in the sport for a couple of years you're learning something different every day."

Hugh Greenwood makes his AFL debut for Adelaide at the Gabba with 15 disposals (9 kicks and 6 handballs), 2 marks, 9 tackles and 3 goals in an 80-point win over Brisbane.

Hugh Greenwood will realise a life-long dream when he makes his AFL debut in Adelaide's clash this week against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.

Adelaide chased Hugh Greenwood's signature for eight years before landing their man, who quit his basketball career earlier this year to join the Crows.

Greenwood was a promising point guard who starred at college level in the US before training with the Utah Jazz.

He signed with the Perth Wildcats to play in the current NBL season, but when he considered his hopes of representing the Boomers at next year's Olympic Games dashed he decided to "pull the trigger" on his code hop.

"After the NBA didn't work out I came back to Australia really trying to put my foot in the door with the Olympic stuff … I didn't make the side initially so that was going to be really, really hard for me to make the Olympics the following year so I pulled the trigger with the footy," Greenwood said.

"Persistence pays for old 'Haggis' (Crows recruiter Hamish Ogilvie) … eight years basically – he was my development coach, he found me in Tassie … every time the [basketball] season was finished I could expect some voice mails from Haggis, 'what are you doing in the off-season? Do you want to come and see Adelaide?'

"I've got to break that basketball tag and become a footballer – that's my biggest thing at the moment – getting away from 'Hugh the basketballer' and becoming 'Hugh the footy player'."

Adelaide signs former basketball star Hugh Greenwood, who walked out on the Perth Wildcats a little over a month into a three-year contract.

The 23-year-old 193cm big man will join the Crows as a Category B rookie on a two-year deal and has been training with the club for two weeks.

Greenwood trialed with NBA outfit the Utah Jazz in May, a month after being crowned the University of New Mexico's co-MVP in his final year of college.

He has also been a part of the Australian Boomers squad for several years and captained the country's under-19 side.

A talented junior footballer, Greenwood has previously said he'd consider a move back to the sport if his NBA dream didn't eventuate.

"I am blessed and humbled to be given this opportunity by the Adelaide Football Club," Greenwood said.

"After a short visit to the club earlier in the week, the professionalism and environment of the organisation as a whole is what impressed me the most.

"I know there will be plenty of challenges and obstacles ahead for me, but as an athlete that is what excites me and drives me the most."