St Kilda forward Adam Schneider will play his last AFL game this week after announcing his retirement from the AFL.

Schneider will play his final game against the Sydney Swans, the team he represented on 98 occasions, including the 2005 premiership and 2006 losing Grand Final.

After he was traded to the Saints along with teammate Sean Dempster for pick 26 (Brett Meredith) at the 2007 National Draft, Schneider went on to represent St Kilda in 129 games including the 2009 Grand Final and the 2010 draw and replay.

With five AFL Grand Finals to their name, Dempster and Schneider are level with Hawthorn’s Shaun Burgoyne for the most AFL Grand Finals played by any player on an AFL list in 2015.

In total, Schneider has played 227 games and kicked 257 goals.

The 31-year-old carved out a reputation as one of the AFL’s most dangerous small forwards with the occasional run through the midfield over his 13 years in the AFL system.

After battling with injury over the past three years, Schneider was placed on the rookie list at the end of 2014 but was elevated back to the primary list for round one, playing 14 games throughout the season.

Schneider said he was thankful for his time at both the Saints at the Swans and that this week’s game presented as the perfect opportunity to finish his career.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have represented two great clubs throughout my time in football,” Schneider said.

“I’ve had some fantastic experiences, met a lot of wonderful people and am extremely grateful to have had the career I have had.”

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson said Schneider had shown himself to be a genuine leader at the club.

“Adam is a tremendously skilled and hard-working player who has been a wonderful servant of both St Kilda and Sydney,” Richardson said.

“I have only coached Adam in the final two years of his career but in that time I have found him to be a genuine leader of this group both by example and also by instruction.

“At times he has been like another assistant coach on the field and has provided tremendous guidance for our young players like Jack Lonie and Jack Sinclair.”