Leigh Matthews

Leigh Matthews AM
Statue of Leigh Matthews outside the MCG
Personal information
Full name	Leigh Raymond Matthews
Nickname(s)	Lethal
Date of birth	(1952-03-01) 1 March 1952 (age 64)
Place of birth	Frankston, Victoria
Original team(s)	Chelsea (MPNFL)
Height / weight	178 cm / 86 kg
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1969–1985	Hawthorn	332 (915)
Representative team honours
Years	Team	Games (Goals)
1971–1982	Victoria	14 (29)
Coaching career3
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
1986–1995 1999–2008 Total 1997–1998 1998	Collingwood Brisbane Lions Representative Victoria Australia	224 (125–94–5) 237 (142–92–3) 461 (267–186–8) 2 (2–0–0) 2 (1–1–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1985. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2008.
Career highlights
Club 4× VFL premiership player: 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983 8× Peter Crimmins Perpetual Memorial Trophy: 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982 VFLPA MVP Award (Leigh Matthews Trophy): 1982 Award renamed in 2002 in Matthews honour All-Australian team: 1972 2× VFL Team of the Year: 1982, 1983 Coleman Medal: 1975 6× Hawthorn leading goal kicker: 1973, 1975, 1981, 1982. 1983, 1984 Hawthorn captain: 1981–1985 AFL Team of the Century (forward pocket) Australian Football Hall of Fame - legend status: (inaugural legend) Hawthorn Team of the Century (rover) Hawthorn Hall of Fame: Legend Status Championship of Australia Championship: 1971 NFL Night Series championship: 1976 AFC Night Series premiership: 1977 VFL Night Series premiership: 1969 Representative 2× Australian National Football Carnival Championship: 1972, 1975 Captain of Victoria Coaching 4× AFL premiership: 1990, 2001, 2002, 2003 3× All-Australian team: 2001, 2002, 2003 AFL team of the year: 1990 Collingwood Hall of Fame Brisbane Lions Hall of Fame

Club

Representative

Coaching

Leigh Raymond Matthews AM (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions.

Squat, short legged and barrel-chested, Matthews earned the iconic nickname "Lethal Leigh" due to his physical as well as skillful style of play. He is officially recognised as the "best player of the 20th century" according to the AFL, is a Legend in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, on the Hawthorn and AFL Teams of the Centuries and is one of the most successful AFL coaches of all time. He is now an AFL commentator on television with the Seven Network and on radio with 3AW.

Matthews played his junior football at the Chelsea Football Club. He joined Hawthorn at the age of sixteen, having already played senior suburban football. Part of a footballing family, Matthews' brother Kelvin had played 155 games at Hawthorn and Geelong. Matthews made his senior debut for the Hawks in round 16 of the 1969 season against Melbourne as a forward pocket, crumbing around the feet of Hawthorn’s champion full forward, Peter Hudson. Matthews kicked a goal with his first kick and went on to kick at least one goal in each of his five games that year, winning the club's Best First Year Player award. By midway through 1970, Matthews had earned a regular place in the team as a rover rotating forward. He was immediately impressive, kicking 20 goals from 16 games for the season.