HISTORY shows Crows superstar Andrew McLeod tends to save his best for the big games, and Sunday’s 300 milestone at AAMI Stadium was no exception.

McLeod was surprisingly afforded the freedom of playing loose across half-back for large periods against Richmond, and he racked up 28 possessions and seven marks – his best game statistically since round five.

Coach Neil Craig was full of praise for the man affectionately known as ‘Bunji’ (meaning 'brother') following the emphatic 63-point win.

“Andrew was good, wasn’t he?" Craig said. "He played half-back and he was an influence in the match. It’s not often that he plays half-back without a strong, negating forward tag on him, so the way it panned out, I know he was really pleased with his form today.”

“It was a great day. For the people that showed up they certainly saw, not only one of the great champions of our club, but of the game of AFL. It was a pretty good day for everyone.”

McLeod capped off his sizzling form with a brilliant running goal in the second quarter.

The five-time All-Australian got on the receiving end of a tap from teammate Brad Symes and, despite appearing to run too far, streaked into an open goal and set sail from just inside 50m.

In celebrating the goal, McLeod decided against his trademark pointed index finger to the crowd, and instead jumped straight up in the air with a fist pump, a la his skipper Simon Goodwin.

“I was going to pass the ball off then I heard Nathan van Berlo telling me to keep going,” McLeod said after the game.

“The eyes lit up and it’s always nice to kick a goal. Goody wasn’t happy, he reckons I stole his celebration, but he said he’d let me get away with it just once.

“I could hear my old man sitting on my shoulder telling me to keep going. It was nice because the crowd were pretty excited and so were a few of the boys.”

McLeod, who ran through the banner with his kids Connor and Maddison, was well supported in his 300th game by wife Rachael and a strong family contingent from Darwin.

The decorated Crow played down his contribution and said he was just proud to see a tear in his dad Jock's eye after the game.

“I was pretty excited about today and was looking forward to it. I was just hoping the weather was going to be nice, so people could come out and watch,” McLeod said.

“I’ve got a fair few numbers [of family members] here and it was just great they could come down watch it and be part of the celebration. I was really glad and proud of the way the football club went about it. It was such a fantastic win and it makes it the little bit better I suppose.

“You like to set yourself to play well [in big games]. I was wary of the fact that you can put too much pressure on yourself to perform.

“I just wanted to be able to contribute and do my bit. You don’t want to try and be overly spectacular. You just want to do your job and that’s all I focused on.”