Footyinfo
Footyinfo
Footyinfo
Home
Theme
--:--
PAD
PAD
COL
COL
Alberton Oval
--:--
STK
STK
BRL
BRL
RSEA Park
--:--
GEE
GEE
FRE
FRE
GMHBA Stadium
--:--
GCS
GCS
RCH
RCH
People First Stadium
--:--
WBD
WBD
MEL
MEL
Mission Whitten Oval
--:--
SYD
SYD
WCE
WCE
Henson Park
--:--
NTH
NTH
ADE
ADE
North Hobart Oval
--:--
HAW
HAW
ESS
ESS
Kennedy Community Centre
--:--
CAR
CAR
GWS
GWS
Ikon Park

Leigh Matthews

Hawthorn · “Lethal”

AFL career

332 games915 goals

Debut
R16 1969 v MEL26 July 1969
Most recent
GF 1985 v ESS28 Sept 1985

Coaching career

461 games267 wins186 losses8 draws

First
R4 1986 v GEE19 Apr 1986
Most recent
R22 2008 v SYD30 Aug 2008

Stats

1985
HAW
21
10.0
3.4
13.4
3.7
1.2
2.0
2.7
1.7
1984
HAW
24
13.3
5.3
18.5
4.6
1.4
2.0
3.2
2.2
1983
HAW
22
16.5
3.5
20.1
5.8
1.8
2.7
3.6
2.3
1982
HAW
22
17.4
5.0
22.5
5.0
2.5
2.3
3.4
2.5
1981
HAW
16
18.3
5.3
23.5
6.1
1.8
2.6
3.0
2.3
1980
HAW
17
21.4
5.5
26.9
4.6
2.1
3.0
1.9
2.0
1979
HAW
13
18.2
7.7
25.9
4.2
1.9
3.7
2.3
1.9
1978
HAW
23
20.1
5.3
25.5
6.4
2.9
2.9
3.1
2.5
1977
HAW
24
21.4
6.0
27.4
5.5
3.4
2.8
3.8
2.6
1976
HAW
22
18.9
3.6
22.5
3.0
2.8
3.0
3.2
1.9
1975
HAW
23
20.5
2.3
22.8
3.3
3.4
2.7
3.0
2.2
1974
HAW
21
18.8
2.5
21.3
3.4
2.2
3.5
2.5
2.5
1973
HAW
19
22.4
2.5
24.9
4.3
3.5
2.9
2.7
2.5
1972
HAW
21
20.6
2.3
22.9
5.1
2.8
3.4
2.1
2.4
1971
HAW
23
19.3
3.7
22.9
4.8
2.4
3.3
1.9
2.0
1970
HAW
16
15.6
3.0
18.6
3.3
2.6
3.6
1.3
1.7
1969
HAW
5
12.0
3.0
15.0
1.2
2.0
2.8
1.4
0.8
League
Season
ESS
MCG
GF
11
3
14
5
1
3
0
1.1
FSC
WP
PF
6
5
11
3
0
1
0
2.1
ESS
WP
SF
6
2
8
3
0
4
0
1.0
FSC
MCG
QF
14
5
19
4
2
1
0
2.4
NTH
PP
R22
8
3
11
1
1
1
0
0.1
CAR
PP
R21
9
3
12
4
0
1
0
3.1
FSC
WO
R20
9
3
12
1
3
0
0
1.3
COL
PP
R19
10
3
13
5
0
4
0
4.2
SYD
PP
R15
16
3
19
8
2
4
0
6.2
ESS
WP
R14
8
2
10
3
1
2
0
0.0
GEE
PP
R12
6
1
7
2
2
3
0
2.0
NTH
MCG
R11
10
1
11
2
0
1
0
3.3
CAR
PP
R10
12
4
16
4
0
2
0
3.3
FSC
PP
R9
13
3
16
5
3
2
0
6.3
COL
VP
R8
11
5
16
2
3
1
0
1.2
STK
PP
R7
16
4
20
8
0
4
0
6.3
FIT
VP
R6
11
7
18
10
1
2
0
4.1
RCH
PP
R5
5
2
7
0
1
2
0
2.0
SYD
SCG
R4
10
2
12
2
0
2
0
2.3
GEE
WP
R1
11
5
16
3
2
1
0
5.3
ESS
WP
R3
8
6
14
2
3
2
0
2.0

Profile

Born
01 Mar 1952 (age 74y 234d)
Birthplace
Frankston, VIC
Height
178 cm
Weight
86 kg

Teams

Coaching

  • Collingwood (Senior Coach)
    1986–1995
    224 games (W125 L94 D5), 55.8%
    Premiership 1990
  • Brisbane (Senior Coach)
    1999–2008
    237 games (W142 L92 D3), 59.9%
    Premierships 2001, 2002, 2003

Honours

  • Premiership(4×) 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983
  • Hall of Fame Legend1996
  • Hall of Fame1996
  • Coleman Medal1975
  • Leigh Matthews Trophy1982
  • Hawthorn B&F(8×) 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982
  • Goal of the Year1979
  • Hawthorn captain(5×) 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985
  • Brownlow Medal
    3rd
    1973, 1982
    Top 10
    1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980

Family

Bio

1 revision

Recruited from Chelsea on the Mornington Peninsula, Leigh Matthews debuted for Hawthorn as a teenager in 1969 and immediately established himself as a force in the VFL. Unlike many rovers of his era who relied primarily on speed, Matthews possessed a brick-wall physique and a ruthless competitive streak that allowed him to physically intimidate and overpower larger opponents. This unique combination of strength and skill earned him the nickname 'Lethal', reflecting both his aggression on the field and his clinical finishing ability around goals.

Matthews effectively revolutionised the role of the rover-forward, spending significant periods in the forward pocket where he was virtually unstoppable one-on-one. He was equally adept at winning hard ball in the midfield as he was taking contested marks, leading the club's goalkicking six times and winning the Coleman Medal in 1975, an extraordinary achievement for a non-key position player. His ability to impact the scoreboard was constant, finishing his career with 915 goals and averaging nearly three goals a game over 17 seasons.

Edit