French spent the 1998 AFL season playing for South Australian National Football League (SANFL) club Sturt.
[3] Port Adelaide elevated French to its senior list for 1999 and he made his AFL debut as a 23-year-old, playing 62 games and kick 20 goals for the club.
However, French was generally the club's number three or four ruckman behind Matthew Primus, Dean Brogan and Brendon Lade, at the time, and this limited his opportunities with Port.
[4] At the end of the 2002 AFL season, French was traded to the Carlton Football Club in exchange for a second-round draft selection (#16 overall).
French announced his retirement at three quarter time of the Blues' Round 22, 2006 match against the Sydney Swans, which they lost by 92 points.