Adam Saad

Adam Saad (born 23 July 1994) is an Australian rules footballer currently playing for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League. He previously played for the Gold Coast Suns and the Essendon Football Club.

Early career As a junior, Saad first played for West Coburg Football Club in the Essendon District Football League. He was part of the club's under-18s premiership in 2010, where he was coached by Phil Cleary.

Saad joined Coburg in 2013 following a TAC Cup stint with the Calder Cannons. After appearing to struggle between Senior and Development level football, he established himself as one of the VFL's leading small defenders, winning the Coburg best and fairest award in 2014 sharing in a tie with Daniel Venditti, and was named in the 2014 VFL Team of the Year. His strong form and State Combine testing led him to being drafted to the Gold Coast Suns with pick 25 in the 2015 rookie draft.

AFL career Gold Coast Saad made his debut for the Gold Coast Suns in round 1 of the 2015 season and kicked one goal in a defeat to . In round 5, 2015, Saad was nominated for the Rising Star after his team's win over the Brisbane Lions where he had 26 touches.

Following the 2017 season, Saad requested and was granted a trade to Essendon, who sent their 2018 second round draft pick to the Gold Coast in return.

Essendon Following his impressive first two seasons, in which he placed fourth and third in the Crichton Medal, Saad and Essendon opened contract talks on the eve of the 2020 season about a long-term extension, with a four-year deal expected to be agreed in the short term. However, after round 1 of the season, the league was forced to shut itself down indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the AFL placing an indefinite embargo on any new player contracts as it sought to come to terms with the financial ramifications of the situation. The AFL resumed its season in early June, but did not lift the contract embargo until mid-July. Essendon struggled for form during this period, and by the time the contract embargo had been lifted, Saad was less sure about re-signing with the Bombers than he had been in March.

At the end of the season, Saad shocked Essendon by requesting a trade to their fierce rivals, Carlton, only three years after seeking out Essendon to recruit him.

Carlton Saad kicked his first goal for Carlton in the Blues' round 7, 2021 win against his old side Essendon.

Saad was selected as a 2022 All-Australian.

Through his career, Saad has been known for his dashing pace, and propensity to run long distances with the ball, frequently bouncing it. He led the league in bounces in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022; in both 2018 and 2022, his tally of bounces more than doubled his nearest rival. As of 2024, he holds the record for highest average running bounces per game since statistics were first recorded in 1999, with 3.46 per game. He has a long left-foot kick, and during his time at Carlton, the spectators would shout "woof!" whenever he took a kick; he was the fifth long-kicking left footed Carlton player to receive this traditional treatment, which had originated with Val Perovic in the 1980s.

Personal life Saad is a practising Muslim. He is of Lebanese descent.

Statistics Updated to the end of round 22, 2026.

219 !! 12 !! 23 !! 2512 !! 1497 !! 4009 !! 768 !! 514 !! 0.1 !! 0.1 !! 11.5 !! 6.8 !! 18.3 !! 3.5 !! 2.3 !! 15