Crawford, the younger brother of Brownlow Medal winner Shane, was recruited from Tocumwal in the Murray Football League by Sydney as a zone selection.
He was just 18 when he made his debut in 1995[1] and earned an AFL Rising Star nomination for a 26-disposal and two-goal game against Fitzroy.
An on-baller, Crawford took part in Sydney's qualifying final win over Hawthorn in 1996 but had just seven disposals and was dropped for the preliminary final to make way for Tony Lockett's return.
[2] He joined his brother at Hawthorn in 1997 after being traded for David McEwan and the 17th selection of the 1996 AFL draft, which was used on Rowan Warfe.
He resurfaced in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL) to play with South Fremantle and was part of the club's premiership in 2005 but left the club at the end of that year.