Adrian McAdam looks back with regret on an AFL career that was as eye-catching as a New Year's Eve fireworks display but ended almost as suddenly.

Now 39, the freakishly talented indigenous forward, whose first three AFL matches with North Melbourne in 1993 yielded 23 goals, hopes other budding Aboriginal sportsmen can learn from his mistake.

Sixteen years after his last AFL game, he remains a passionate sportsman, currently representing the Northern Territory in the Imparja Cup, an indigenous cricket carnival in Alice Springs.

But McAdam, who also loves playing soccer and basketball, admitted he still often wondered what could have been had he got the most out of his AFL career.

Despite standing just 183cm, the spring-heeled forward booted 68 goals from 17 games for the Kangaroos in an incredible debut 1993 season, no small feat in an attack that also contained Wayne Carey and John Longmire.

After 22 majors from 18 games in his second year, he had his jaw broken in two places in a 1995 pre-season match, which effectively brought a premature end to his career.

He returned for one home and away game that year and was picked up by Collingwood the following season, but never took the field for the Magpies, admitting his motivation had faded.

"I just never was the same so I thought I'd just give it up and go back home," the Alice Springs resident, who is now a father-of-five, said.

"I had people in places who wanted me to go and play footy, whether it was interstate or in the Territory, but I sort of wasn't too concerned about it after that."

He wishes he had shown greater resolve.

"I'll be 40 in March this year, I look back on it now and I always say to myself and my kids and my mates and friends and family that I should have stuck it out," he said.

"Maybe I should have went back after a year or so, I wish I did now. Now it's all gone and it's over.

"Hopefully if young fellas from around the Territory or Alice get involved with AFL clubs, I can give that sort of information on where I went wrong and hopefully they don't do the same thing."

McAdam suspects his story might have been different had he been playing in today's AFL, given the greater prevalence of indigenous players and the league's advancement in policies and practices regarding race issues.

"Definitely. The way the AFL works with indigenous footballers and indigenous organisations these days it's just so professional," he said.

"... There's all the other brothers or whatever, blokes are all around and there's places where you can go, whether you need support in different areas."

His AFL exit at least allowed McAdam to devote more time to cricket, with the fast-bowling allrounder's accomplishments in that sport including taking three wickets against a touring Bangladesh side while representing NT in 2003.

He said the Imparja Cup showcased plenty of budding indigenous talent in cricket, although it is yet to flow through to the elite ranks in anything like AFL levels.

McAdam said greater opportunity and a willingness by developing indigenous cricketers to leave places like the NT for more heavily-populated areas was the key to that changing.

"Get away from the Territory and go to a state where the level's a lot better and the professionalism is a lot better and they teach you things and help you out," he said.

"That's probably the best way to go about it, if you think you're good enough, then go away and get out of here and try at a higher level, because that's the only way you're going to learn."

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