Brad Crouch has announced he is hanging up the boots after a 161-game career in the AFL.

The former Adelaide Crows and St Kilda star has been forced to walk away from the game due to chronic knee issues.

Crouch played in the 2024 season opener for the Saints against Geelong, but missed the remainder of the season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to address ongoing degenerative knee issues.

Ultimately the injury became too much with the 30-year-old calling time on his career on Tuesday.

“It’s been a really tough few months and this is definitely not how I saw my footy career ending,” Crouch said.

“That being said, I’ve been able to live out my dream of playing AFL at two incredible clubs over 12 seasons, played in a grand final alongside my brother and made many lifelong friends.

“I’d really like to thank my family for their constant support not only through this period, but throughout my entire career.

“Without them, none of this would have been possible and spending more time with them is something I’m very much looking forward to in this next chapter of my life.”

Crouch played 95 games for Adelaide, which included the 2017 Grand Final, before he joined the Saints where he played a further 66 games.

The midfielder won Adelaide’s Malcolm Blight Medal in 2019 and finished inside the top 10 of the Saints’ Trevor Barker Medal in 2022 and 2022. His stellar 토토사이트 2023 season saw him poll a career-best 18 votes in the Brownlow Medal.

“This is a really disappointing way for Brad’s career to end,” St Kilda’s Executive General Manager of Football David Misson said.

“We’ve been working with Brad for several months now as he has worked through his knee issues and we were hoping that we could get him back to a place where he could make an impact on-field, which is why we retained his place via our rookie list.

“However, we respect that Brad needs to think about his long-term health first and support him in this decision.

“Brad and the entire Crouch family will always be welcome at St Kilda, and we wish them all the best for the future.”

Despite his time on the park coming to an end, Crouch will remain with the club after being appointed as a non-playing assistant coach