Leigh Matthews [Archive]

Grimreepah

31 Mar 2007, 12:57

Link (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21477157-23211,00.html)

Nerves still bite Leigh

By Dan Koch
March 31, 2007
LEIGH Matthews has more reason than most to feel jaded going into his 36th season involved at football's top level, but the Brisbane Lions coach admits he still gets nervous as he heads into tonight's match against Hawthorn at the Gabba.

Nerves aren't normally associated with the man they call 'Lethal', but that sense of anticipation and drive to succeed is what has kept him relevant during 749 games as a player and coach.
"In pre-season, well, you want to win but it's not the big deal. But the wins and losses start accumulating in round one," Matthew said yesterday.
"I have been here a long time but I have never been someone who is comforted by nice memories. I always use the term that it's a bit like junk food. It tastes good but it doesn't give you any long-term nourishment. I have had some very nice memories over a long period of time, but that doesn't really comfort me a great deal and it won't comfort me if things are going bad late in the game tomorrow night."
It is fitting that Matthews celebrates his 750-game milestone against the Hawks, the club at which he played 332 games between 1969 and 1985. He was Hawthorn captain for five years, kicked 915 goals and collected eight best-and-fairest awards and four premierships along the way.
He has added a further four premiership medallions as a coach, with his hat-trick of wins with the Lions adding to the flag he won at Collingwood in 1990.
Incredibly, for a man rated by his peers as the greatest player to lace on a boot, Matthews nominates those four games as the most special of his amazing career.
"That's the only time coaching has even a greater sense of exhilaration and adrenalin flow," Matthews said.
"Because coaching is all about the team, when the siren goes tomorrow night, win, lose or draw I will be going down to the dressing room thinking what do I say to kick off the next seven-day campaign. You don't really get to reflect at all and you've got no personal 'doing' as players have.
"But on grand final day, when you accept you've won - whether that is on the siren or when you realise you can't lose - that's been probably the four best moments of my footy life."
The Lions wrapped up preparations for tonight's match against a Hawks side minus key midfield trio Shane Crawford, Richie Vandenberg and Campbell Brown, with a light run at the Gabba. After a surprisingly strong showing during the NAB Cup, in which the Lions made the final, Matthews said he believed his side was in a better position than at the same time last year.
He even managed to put a positive spin on losing spearhead Daniel Bradshaw for the season with a knee injury. While admitting he wasn't sure how he would replace the 59 goals Bradshaw contributed last season, Matthews said he had greater flexibility on his bench to cater for the running demands of modern football.
"It always hamstrings you in a 22-man team to have two players filling one position," Matthews said.
"The downside is Daniel is capable of being a high goalkicker and is certainly very valuable as a marking forward. But not having him, we will use our ruckman down there a little bit which means we can get a different type player on our interchange."
The match will be the first chance to see the five captain system Matthews has employed in Brisbane to replace retired skipper Michael Voss.
While he joked about the possibility of a race to break through the banner first, Matthews said the added responsibility had a positive effect on all five players, particularly veteran midfielder Nigel Lappin, who returns after missing last season with an ankle injury.
"Nigel has really elevated himself over the summer," Matthews said.
"I think he has thought of himself as a leader this summer, in the absence of Vossy. He's been a bit more visual and vocal around the group than he has ever been."

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/7397/leighis5.jpg

TheBrownDog

1 Apr 2007, 11:06

Congrats on winning your milestone game Leigh!

scott522

1 Apr 2007, 23:54

Glad we managed a win for this important milestone

Grimreepah

14 Apr 2007, 13:34

Link (http://www.gcbulletin.com.au/article/2007/04/14/4484_columnist.html)

Big wraps for Lethal in lifting the Lions

14Apr07
IT HAS BEEN the talk of Melbourne this week, and Leigh Matthews rightly deserves big wraps for re-building the Lions list into a team capable of returning to finals football.
Some believed Lethal was mad not to move on from the Lions last year, satisfied with his three premierships.
And, after the season he had just endured, he could not really have been blamed if he had followed the door with the exit sign on it.
Not only has he remained loyal to his contract, because let's face it he could walk into any coaching job on just about any money, but he's stayed and worked wonders so far with a young team.
The continued emergence of the likes of Michael Rischitelli, Justin Sherman, Cheynee Stiller and Rising Star nominee Cameron Wood has made a lot of armchair critics like myself eat our words.
No one would have tipped the Lions to be perched on top of the ladder going into round three.
Excellent fitness, hard running, committed all-field defensive and a shared workload has Matthews and Lions fans smiling again.
That has been achieved with 12 players still on the injured list, some a possibility of returning tomorrow against the Swans.
With many others back in the weeks ahead, there is a lot to like about the Lions of 2007.

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2057/leighag9.jpg

TheBrownDog

14 Apr 2007, 18:05

<3 Leigh!

lionbear

18 Apr 2007, 21:41

3 Premierships in 8 years is an amazingeffort for us let alone the other things he has achieved in his career.

How much longer does Leigh Matthews have on his current contract?

I hope he is around for a few more years to come yet, what he has done with the squad in the last 18 months has been excellent:D.

danielcanberra

19 Apr 2007, 20:04

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/lethal-rebuilding-program/2007/04/18/1176696916398.html

Lethal rebuilding program
Jake Niall
April 19, 2007

http://www.realfooty.com.au/ffximage/2007/04/19/wbFOOTYlethal.jpg
Master coach Leigh Matthews recognises that making a second premiership team is a greater achievement than landing a quick flag elsewhere. Photo: Glenn Hunt

THE resume is as intimidating as the man. Four premierships as a player, a further four flags as coach. Coached Collingwood to its unthinkable first in 32 years, guided the Lethal Lions to three on the trot and transformed the fortunes of the code in Queensland.

He was captain of Hawthorn's 1983 premiership, won a ludicrous eight best and fairests at Hawthorn, topped the league's goalkicking once — as a rover — and Hawthorn's six times. He was voted the AFL's best player of the 20th century.

What is left for Leigh Matthews?

Only one challenge remains — to take a team that has fallen from the heights and bring it back to high altitude, to coach the Brisbane Lions into contention for premierships again.

Kevin Sheedy, the other active member of the four-flag club, has twice brought Essendon back up the mountain. It is the sole gap in the Matthews resume.

Matthews built Collingwood up, but couldn't get the souffle to rise twice. He took over a youngish Magpie team in 1986 that fell to 12th the following year as he introduced a group of young players who would become cornerstones of the 1990 premiership side.

His final three years at Collingwood represent the major blot on his coaching record, the Magpies finishing no higher than eighth. Matthews was sacked and paid out the balance of his contract. Allan McAlister's "coach for life" was gone at the end of 1995 and did not bequeath Tony Shaw a strong playing list.

As coach of the Lions, Matthews more than redressed the failures of 1993-95. It's true that he inherited a once-in-a-generation group of players, but he also extracted all that he could from the talent. If he was blessed with the highest quality cattle, no one could have done better.

Now that the Brisbane empire has been dismantled by natural attrition and internal convulsions, and names such as Voss, Akermanis, Lynch, Leppitsch and Michael have been replaced by no-name kids, Matthews faces perhaps a more challenging task than Collingwood circa 1987; certainly, he has a tougher gig now than when he was appointed coach of the team that — amazingly, given the list — finished last in 1998.

While officials from rival clubs expected Leigh to bail from Brisbane once the super team was finished, and speculated that he would find a club that was "ready to go" (i.e. to contend), Matthews clearly recognises that making another premiership team, or even a mere contender, is a greater achievement than landing a quick flag elsewhere.

It can be argued that his job is tougher than many of his competitors, because the Lions have lost the bulk of their premierships core and the club did not have high draft choices from 1999 to 2004.

This time, Matthews will not have the benefit of a merger, nor a salary cap advantage that enabled him to keep the playing group together.

The Brisbane premiership teams also had a sizeable number of players from the club's (mainly Queensland) zone, including Voss, Akermanis, Darryl White and Clark Keating. The zone freebie — tantamount to Geelong's father-son largesse — is no longer a factor.

Matthews is building more or less from scratch this time. He has Jonathan Brown, the game's most imposing player, but otherwise the key position stocks are thin after Mal Michael's "retirement", and he will have to manufacture a key defender or two.

Like all coaches, his chances of reviving the Lions rests on his recruiting team's drafting, and he has little choice but to play the kids, work out who can play 100 games and wait for the next core group to enter their prime. That's the system.

Matthews is said to be happier in 2007 than he was last year. In part, this is because he no longer has the constant distraction of Jason Akermanis, and he appears to be enthused by the rebuilding project.

It's clear that he could have coached and still could coach Hawthorn if he wished. Hawks supporters doubtless would view a homecoming as the missing piece in the career jigsaw. Pragmatic Matthews, however, is not noted for his sentiment. I suspect that reconstructing Brisbane from the ground up and restoring the Lions represents his own final frontier.

BigCat2

19 Apr 2007, 20:14

That's what we like to hear. :)

TheBrownDog

19 Apr 2007, 20:46

Ceebee

20 Apr 2007, 15:13

That is actually a VERY inspiring article , makes you get all excited about what is up the track a bit.:)

TheBrownDog

10 May 2007, 20:13

The game this week against the Crows is Leigh's 200th game as Coach of the Brisbane Lions.

Dr Pea P.I

11 May 2007, 01:22

We are so damn lucky and privileged to have Lethal as our coach. Hats off to Leigh!!

Ceebee

11 May 2007, 14:50

We are so damn lucky and privileged to have Lethal as our coach. Hats off to Leigh!!
And so say all of us. Sorry Scott522 I couldn't resist, I want to be famous too.:)

danielcanberra

12 May 2007, 14:53

Another record for Matthews
12 May 2007 Herald-Sun
Mike Sheahan
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/files/lions.jpg LEIGH Matthews first started scaling football's heights when he was named in the Victorian schoolboys' team in 1965 as a 13-year-old.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5481331,00.jpg
What a career: From a 13-year-old Victorian rep, to victorious Hawthorn skipper, to premiership coach at Collingwood and triple-flag winning coach at the Brisbane Lions.

His teammates for the trip to Canberra included Warwick Irwin, who was to play 229 games for Fitzroy and Collingwood, and Steve Hoffman, who played 160 games for South Melbourne and Footscray.

As meritorious as the Irwin and Hoffman achievements are, they have been dwarfed by those of the youngster from Bonbeach High.

One of the icons of Australian sport will create yet another piece of history tonight when he becomes the first man to play or coach 200 games at three clubs.

Matthews will take his total of games played and coached to 756 (332 as a player at Hawthorn, 224 as a coach at Collingwood, 200 as coach of the Brisbane Lions).

He has played in or coached a total of eight premierships, with at least one flag at each club.

It is a monumental achievement, with no hint the epic journey is going to end any time soon.

Matthews, now 55 and a grandfather, seems to be enjoying a new lease on life this year.

The turnaround in Brisbane has been extraordinary, the Lions on four wins in fourth place after looking destined for an extended period in the bottom half of the ladder.

There was another "first" only a few weeks ago when the scrapbook kept by his late mother Lorna became a coffee-table book and best seller based on advance orders.

In the introduction to Icons Of Australian Sport: Leigh Matthews, Hawthorn premiership captain and coach David Parkin said of Matthews: "When he first walked into the gates of Glenferrie Oval as a 17-year-old in 1969, I thought, 'He hasn't chosen his parents very well to be good at this game'.

"But, when, in the first practice match, he held me by one hand and marked the ball with the other, I thought, 'This young bloke can really play'.

"Leigh has already made an indelible mark on our game as a player and coach, but I want to say for all of us associated with our great game, the most intriguing aspect of Leigh's career has been his development into one of the Australian football's most admired and respected statesmen.

"His balanced view on all aspects of the game has been absorbed by us all."

Matthews looked at peace with the world yesterday.

As usual, there was at least one message in his media conference. He said he was thrilled and proud to have played all his career in the same jumper.

It is a piece of history that allows him to play the loyalty card with his most valuable players coming out of contract, as he did in the past 12 months with Jonathan Brown and Luke Power.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21715763%255E20322,00.html

danielcanberra

12 May 2007, 14:58

Playing days not forgotten for Lions' coaching great

Andrew Stafford, Brisbane | May 12, 2007

http://www.realfooty.com.au/ffximage/2007/05/11/svMATTHEWS.jpg
Milestone man: Leigh Matthews will reach another notable mark tonight.
Photo: Glenn Hunt

LEIGH Matthews will tonight coach his 200th game for the Brisbane Lions, the first person to reach that milestone with three clubs, following 332 games as a player with Hawthorn and 224 as coach of Collingwood.

It's a span that involves eight premierships — four with Hawthorn, the famous drought-breaking 1990 flag with Collingwood and three consecutive cups with the Lions, yet Matthews still reserves great pride in being a one-club player.

"It's quite strange when you think that the clubs that tend to be your lifeblood when you're there become your opposition when you move on," Matthews mused. "I've spent three decades with my life intertwined with an organisation and then gone and that same organisation's been my competitor for another 10 years of my life.

"But importantly, I only had one jumper on, and that's one of the great satisfactions of my life. Off-field you go to different clubs, but to play with one club for your whole career is a great satisfaction."

He said he hoped Jamie Charman would be a one-club player and said the Lions would do everything possible to fend off Richmond's daring bid to sign the ruckman. "We're certainly hoping Jamie will be a Brisbane boy for the duration of his career," he said.

Richmond coach Terry Wallace has made no secret that the 24-year-old, 197-centimetre Charman is a priority to solve the club's ruckman crisis in 2008.

Asked if he had another decade of coaching in him, Matthews said: "Who knows? I'm mid-50s now, so in another decade I'm in my mid-60s. It's not a physical job that I do; so as long as you're healthy, I guess, and active, there's no particular time frame.

"I suspect our footy operation has gone a little bit like American sport, where you've got a lot of coaches to look after a lot of players. A lot of them (American coaches) are in their 60s, well into their 60s, so just maybe. It's not in my control."

With AAP

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/playing-days-not-forgotten-for-lions-coaching-great/2007/05/11/1178390555113.html

TheBrownDog

12 May 2007, 23:41

Geez we are shocking with Milestone games.

Grimreepah

23 May 2007, 01:30

Link (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/matthews-tightlipped-after-learning-his-lesson/2007/05/21/1179601296492.html)

Matthews tight-lipped after 'learning his lesson'

Andrew Stafford | May 21, 2007 - 12:50PM

Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Matthews refused to talk-up the historic rivalry between Brisbane and Collingwood ahead of the clash at the Gabba on Saturday night, saying he had "learned his lesson" about sledging opposition players ahead of the game.
Matthews last week queried the integrity of his former full-back Mal Michael, who performed well in Essendon's thrashing of the Lions at Telstra Dome last Saturday.
"I broke one of my principles last week which I'll never break again - I spoke about an opposition player," Matthews said.
"You can ask me all the questions you like from now on; I will never talk anything except positively about any opposition players."
Matthews paid tribute to his champion midfielder Simon Black, who will play his 200th match this week, describing the 2002 Brownlow Medallist as being "a delight to coach".
"He's been multiple All-Australian; that means you've been very good", Matthews said.
"Simon is enormously respected. That combination of respect and affection, I think Simon has got both of those."
Matthews also joked that he was 'distraught' to hear of a goalpost being knocked over by a player in Tasmania last week, harking back to the time he infamously snapped a point post during his playing days at Hawthorn.
"It's amazing what you get remembered for, even in a long career. Knocking that damned point post, more people remember that than anything else," he said.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/3829/leighqu6.jpg

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Ceebee

24 May 2007, 10:53

Link (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/matthews-tightlipped-after-learning-his-lesson/2007/05/21/1179601296492.html)
Thanks for that Grim. I was disappointed with Leighs comments last week.
With that, plus all the stuff about Sheedy and the Hird death ,it really gave the Bombers a lot to fire them up.
Hope he handles the Bulldogs game better, that is one game I am not looking forward too, could get quite messy:eek:

Grimreepah

27 Jul 2007, 20:38

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7158/leigh1tp9.jpg

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/1071/leigh2vw1.jpg

notliondown

27 Jul 2007, 21:56

With the departure of Pagan and Sheedy, Matthews becomes the oldest coach in the AFL.

By oldest you mean
most experienced
most distinguished
most established
most respected
most valuable
most important
and
most influential
don't you Grimreepah...:rolleyes:

Grimreepah

6 Aug 2007, 01:39

Link (http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22194377%255E19746,00.html)

Matthews no show with Hawks
06 August 2007 Herald Sun
Jon Pierik
FOR all those Hawthorn romantics hoping Leigh Matthews would one-day coach the Hawks, it may be time to face reality.
If the Hawks maintain their upward curve this year and next, Matthews - out of contract at Brisbane after next season - won't be approached to replace Alastair Clarkson.
"People have been indulging in that fantasy for probably the last six years, every couple of years, can we get Leigh Matthews back?" Hawks director Jason Dunstall said yesterday.
"The fact is he is firmly entrenched at Brisbane.
"He has won three premierships up there and he has probably got that job as long as he wants, I would suggest.
"In two years time, would he want to coach on?
"We are trying to make future predictions. It is very difficult."
The Hawks are said to have approached Matthews in 2004 about returning to the club he captained, played in 332 matches and won four premierships.
Matthews, 55, said at the time he was happy with the Lions, having just come off three straight premierships.
Clarkson was then appointed, with Dunstall a key supporter of the rookie coach.
Matthews' blue-chip reputation would no doubt help to market the Hawks, but Dunstall said the club already had a strong plan in place.
"That's where Kevin Sheedy would bring terrific to the Melbourne Football Club," he told Triple M.
"I think we have taken care of that at Hawthorn. There is a very good business plan that is setting the club up for the future.
"Yes, it would be great to have Leigh Matthews back.
"In two years time, if he wanted to come back and we are travelling as well as we expected to be, and Alastair Clarkson has grown into the job beautifully, it certainly wouldn't be at Alastair Clarkson's expense that Leigh Matthews returns to the club."

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8470/leighyj9.jpg

Right at home: Leigh Matthews urges on the Lions against the Kangaroos in Brisbane on Saturday night.

Grimreepah

6 Aug 2007, 18:36

Link (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22197364-5003410,00.html)

No 'tanking' in footy, says Leigh Matthews

August 06, 2007 12:00am

ANYONE who suspects AFL clubs of tanking matches is out of touch with the sport, according to Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Matthews.
Carlton caretaker coach Brett Ratten has had to fend off tanking accusations after star forward Brendan Fevola briefly left the field in the final term despite kicking six goals in Saturday's 24-point loss to Collingwood.
Some of Ratten's midfield rotations during the last quarter also raised eyebrows.
Carlton have lost seven straight games but are still third last on the ladder with 16 points ahead of Melbourne (12) and Richmond (six) with four rounds left.
The Blues will claim the No.1 priority pick in the draft if they fail to win another game as they also won fewer than five games in 2006.
However, Matthews today said it was "complete naivety" to suggest an AFL team would throw a game.
"I'm of the view that people who talk about tanking have no idea of what people involved in the team think or feel – it's complete naivety," he said.
"The recruiting department of a footy club might want the draft choice but they have nothing to do with putting the team on each week.
"It's totally foreign for coaches and players to go to the footy without being prepared to die for the win – I believe that to be the case.
"The tanking concept are by people who don't understand the competitive urges that participants feel."
Matthews had the media squarely in his sights as he dismissed the tanking theory at Carlton.
"Where do the perceptions come from? Media innuendo. And where does that come from – people who don't understand (the game).
"If we are going to listen to naive views, we are going to do a lot of things."
Matthews said he had no problem with a system that rewarded poor performance.
"The equalisation policy are clearly planks of the AFL system," he said.
"The salary cap is one of those and the other key plank is the draft where the club that has the worst year has the best pick of the following year's talent.
"If we look at the evennness of the competition . . . I think it is good – it makes the AFL comp what it is.
"I'm happy enough with the current system."

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/2839/leighee5.jpg

Grimreepah

11 Aug 2007, 00:32

Link (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22224481-10389,00.html)

Coach embraces success

Article from: http://www.news.com.au/images/sources/h14_thecouriermail.gif (http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/?from=ni_story)
Robert Craddock and Andrew Hamilton
August 11, 2007 12:00am

IT'S been 22 years since Leigh Matthews last played under master coach Allan Jeans at Hawthorn but he still heeds his words.
Matthews claims he learnt much from the three great club coaches he played under including David Parkin ("he coached in the '70s like people do now with reviews and feedback") and John Kennedy ("he was the ultimate team-comes-first coach"). But the lesson of Jeans's subtle communication skills have particular relevance this season as Matthews tries to squeeze every ounce of potential out of an unfashionable side which, with a late winter surge featuring five wins in a row, is exceeding the expectations of everyone but himself.
At a function at the Lions raceday at Doomben in February several punters laughed when Matthews, asked what his best tip was, replied: "Brisbane to make the eight."
They are clinging on to eighth place and, should they nail it for the playoffs, it will be quite a story.
Though the side has an impressive core of premiership blue bloods including Jonathan Brown, Simon Black, Luke Power, Nigel Lappin and Chris Johnson, the romantic stories come from the blue-collar boys below them.
Many of them have fought their way back from somewhere near the scrap heap.
Rhan Hooper temporarily quit the club pre-season after pining for his mother who had moved to Victoria. Joel Patfull was once delisted by Port Adelaide amid concerns he was an introvert who lacked confidence. Jason Roe was set free by Collingwood four years ago after "commitment" problems.
Joel Macdonald missed a year with a reconstructed knee. Scrapper Robert Copeland has reinvented himself, playing a unique role defending in the Lions forward line.
When Macdonald, Roe, Copeland and Cheynee Stiller were eligible for their major drafts as emerging players, clubs throughout Australia had more than 60 chances to choose them. None were interested.
Somehow Matthews and his henchmen have massaged out the insecurity of men with plenty to feel insecure about. All the while Matthews has tried to remember the lessons of his old mentor.
"Allan Jeans was just the most wonderful communicator," Matthews said.
"He epitomised the most difficult component of communication . . . listening. He had the great ability to communicate by getting you to talk and him to listen.
"He could convince you he was on your side even if he was delivering bad news. That was a great art. I think of him all the time.
"When you deliver bad news it is easy for a player to think you hate them. The press builds up the coach versus player thing so you have to try and reinforce that just because your career is not going great at the moment I am here to help you even if I am leaving you out of the team."
Just as Steve Waugh "cuddled" Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden from being Test fringe dwellers to 100-Test players, Matthews knows that, for all the talk about game plans and execution, if a player lacks self-esteem he's got big problems.
"It's important. Most of them have to learn to believe they belong in this environment. These kids have been watching the AFL on the TV like fans. Now they are one of them. It takes a while for them to believe that they belong."
Waugh used to give newcomers to his one-day international side just one tip – "don't second guess yourself, go hard with your first instinct" – and Matthews has given his young charges the same advice . . . young hearts, run free
"Our game is very instinctive. You can have plans when the umpire is about to put the ball back into play because you can have a 10-second break but for most of the rest of the game you have to back your instincts," he said.
"As soon as you have a conscious thought it is too late. You do not think. They have learnt to do it rather than think about doing it.
"The one thing we have altered about six weeks ago was some of the training methods to try and get the end result such as more congested and simulated pressure at training."
As intimidating an aura as he projects, Matthews will drop his guard and show unrestrained joy if he feels his team has excelled.
The memorable photo of him embracing Hooper in the dressingroom after Brisbane's obliteration of Collingwood two weeks ago was one of the most enduring images of the Lions' revival.
"It wasn't a planned thing. Rhan's contribution has been really valuable over the past few weeks. We all know his life has been unsettled over the summer and his motivation disappeared," Matthews said.
"It is a very disciplined lifestyle that any young footballer has to learn. Rhan had a problem with that – we had to work with him. If you don't turn up for two months you have to earn your stripes.
"He did that which is why he did not play much senior footy. To fight his way through those few hurdles. I was really pleased for him."
The temptation is to say Matthews is mellowing but insiders warn us not to go too far – if you don't tackle and are not hard at the ball you simply won't get in his team.
"I am not sure what we can make of this year because we gave away too big a start. But what we have seen over the last month has given our members and supporters and everybody around the club encouragement that this group has got what it takes to be not a bad footy team," Matthews said.
"What they have put together over the past month entitles them to think that."
Life has taken Matthews on a course he never expected.
In the coming months he will move into a new house currently being built on Brisbane's south side, a hint he may stay in Brisbane even when his time at the Lions ends (he is contracted until the end of next season).
"We feel this is our home. If your livelihood does not take you anywhere then the large probability is we will continue to live in Brisbane.
"When I came here at age 45 my daughter was about to have her first grandchild.
"And I had this thing in my mind that I would be here for five years and (be back) by the time she started primary school. She is almost nine now. But my life is up here.
"My commitment is infinite – there is no time span, one or 10 years. It is very hard to not be involved because it is like nature's drug.
"We crave this involvement. The challenge.
"I still feel it as strong as ever."

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A good article that. I'm guessing it was more Craddock than Hamilton:cool:

TheBrownDog

11 Aug 2007, 00:39

Link (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22224481-10389,00.html)

http://i16.tinypic.com/6ccyft5.jpg
CELEBRATION ... coach Leigh Matthews hugs Lions prodigal son Rhan Hooper after beating Collingwood last month.

A good article that. I'm guessing it was more Craddock than Hamilton:cool:

Fantastic article. Sounds like Leigh has no plans to hang up his coach's whistle at the end of next year, and personally, that makes me very, very happy.

Power King

11 Aug 2007, 01:14

Considering my dislike for brisbane at the height of our rivalry that has died down in recent seasons, it surprises me that two of my favourite non-port afl figures are in fact lions affiliates:

Mal Michael & Leigh Matthews.

Grimreepah

13 Aug 2007, 22:03

Link (http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/sport/no-subs-means-no-good-lethal/2007/08/13/1186857400996.html)

No subs means no good: Lethal

Phil Lutton | August 13, 2007 - 2:01PM

Lions coach Leigh Matthews and Swans coach Paul Roos might be facing off this weekend at The Gabba but they concur on one thing - limiting interchange is a backward step for the game.
The AFL said on Thursday it wanted feedback on the number of interchanges per match, kicking backwards and deliberately-rushed behinds.
Sydney coach Roos has come out strongly against the idea of any restrictions on the number of interchanges, with Matthews today agreeing that tinkering with the law could shortchange fans who have become accustomed to a game that runs on high-octane for its duration.
Brisbane has upped its interchanges from just under 40 per game at the start of the season to almost 60 with three games to play, with Matthews saying coaches had to keep up with the evolving pace of the sport or be left in the dust.
"The ability to try and keep energy levels up by rotating off the interchange, you've got no choice now. If you don't do it, you'll probably lose," was Matthews' frank assessment.
"If we both have 20 interchanges a game it wouldn't matter. The Swans probably interchange more than almost anyone, they get up to 60 or 70 a game. If you don't do that, you can't compete."
Matthews said paying fans demanded a game that flowed ffrom start to finish, not a contest that started out strongly but faded as the clock ticked on.
"You've got to change with the times. No use putting your head in the sand. If you see something that has to be done, you've got to do it. And it's become apparent that you have to do it," he said.
"If you love the game the way it is, than leave the interchange the way it is. You tended to go to a game of footy and there was this frantic first 15 minutes and then the pace would slow down.
"But with this interchange it doesn't slow down, it almost stays at this frantic pace the whole game.
"Given that the crowds and TV and stuff, maybe that's what people want. The game's not for participants at our level, the game's for the fans.
"It's evolved more in the past 10 years than it has in the previous 100. So you've got to try and keep the game the spectacle the fans want. I like the spectacle."

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/756/leighsd5.jpg

Grimreepah

15 Aug 2007, 00:43

Link
(http://realfooty.com.au/news/news/lions-wary-of-lethal-predators/2007/08/14/1186857513244.html)
Lions wary of Lethal predators

Caroline Wilson | August 15, 2007

THE Brisbane Lions will move before Christmas to secure Leigh Matthews until at least the end of 2009, with club chairman Tony Kelly admitting he wanted to avoid the risk of the Lions' triple-premiership coach receiving "the Godfather offer" in the next 12 months.
Kelly told The Age last night that Matthews, who is contracted to Brisbane until the end of 2008, was "odds-on" to be offered a contract extension in late spring, adding that the extension could be anything between one and three years.
"Leigh has shown every sign that he wants to continue with this young group and I've told him that we'll be talking to him at the end of the season," Kelly said.
"We believe he is the man to coach this young group and steer them into the future.
"From my point of view as chairman, you would think he'd be odds-on favourite to continue and I'd like to end any speculation before this summer.
"I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if someone came out and made the Godfather offer. In fact, I'd almost be offended if he wasn't and I've got total faith he would broach it with me if he took it seriously. I suspect he's already been spoken to."
With four senior AFL coaching positions yet to be filled for 2008 and several other coaches moving out of contract next year, the market for coaches rarely has been hotter.
While Fremantle (Mark Harvey) and Carlton (Brett Ratten) are likely to be filled within weeks, Melbourne and Essendon remain at least some distance from reaching a final decision regarding 2008.
Mark Thompson comes out of contract with Geelong at the end of this season and Dean Laidley is out of contract at the end of 2008, but is expected to announce a new deal with the Kangaroos soon.
Matthews, who joined Brisbane in late 1998 and has never reached the final year of a coaching contract without his deal being extended, now seems certain to enter his second decade and beyond with the Lions, ending any speculation that his triple premiership captain Michael Voss could replace him at the end of 2008.
With Denis Pagan and Kevin Sheedy unlikely to coach AFL sides beyond this season, he would, at 55, become the official veteran of the current group.
Kelly said of Matthews' longevity as one of only two AFL coaches to have begun in the 1980s: "When we sit down with Leigh, we certainly won't be asking to see his birth certificate."
Matthews confirmed last night that the club had indicated it wished to negotiate a new contract at the end of 2007, a season in which the Lions have exceeded expectations and remain a chance to play finals.
"The club has said they would like to talk at the end of the season and I'm happy with that," Matthews said.
Kelly said the terms and conditions of Matthews' new deal — he and Collingwood's Mick Malthouse are the two highest-paid coaches in the competition — would be discussed at a meeting of the club's board in either October or November.
"I'd like our board to be discussing it this side of Christmas. Whether it's one or two or three years, we will be talking to Leigh before the end of the year," Kelly said.
"We think we're turning a corner with this young group.
"We believe this group has a very big future and we want Leigh to be a part of that."

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/2294/leighgb3.jpg

lionbear

15 Aug 2007, 09:22

This is really good news to see Matthews being talked about long term. I will be more then happy to see him signed this year as I think we will have a very strong side in the next year or two and he is the man to take us back to the top.

TheBrownDog

15 Aug 2007, 09:53

Best coach in the competition.

Get his signature ASAP.

Grimreepah

18 Aug 2007, 03:14

Link (http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22264067%255E19746,00.html)

Matthews talks on hold

18 August 2007 Herald Sun
Jim Wilson

BRISBANE Lions coach Leigh Matthews has put all contract negotiations on hold until the end of the season.Matthews is holding off on starting talks, despite Lions chairman Tony Kelly wanting to immediately begin negotiations on a new deal.
The coach is contracted until the end of next season but Kelly wants to lock in an extension sooner rather than later.
"I'm contracted for next year. When we get to the end of this campaign, the club and myself will talk about the future but there is no urgency at this point," Matthews said.
He said he hasn't been approached by any of the four clubs seeking a new senior coach and if he had been, the answer would have been blunt. "No, I'm not a mover . . . coaching has always been about a two-way street and I'll coach while I want to and while I think I'm the right man for the job, and conversely the club feels the same," Matthews said.

http://i13.tinypic.com/4lympdz.jpg

TheBrownDog

18 Aug 2007, 11:51

He said he hasn't been approached by any of the four clubs seeking a new senior coach and if he had been, the answer would have been blunt. "No, I'm not a mover"

But.... but.... the Carlton Bigfooty board said all it would take was for Pratt to open his chequebook at Leigh would be there in an instant....

*confused*

Who to believe... Lethal himself or "Marc_Schmurf" on the Carlton board.... :confused:

Grimreepah

18 Aug 2007, 12:40

That would be a reference to this (http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=340661&highlight=Matthews) thread. The delusions of grandeur are quite funny.

notting18

23 Sep 2007, 23:20

On Footy Classified, i know it is not on in QLD, there was no big revelations besides Leigh saying that he "probably won't" coach anywhere after Brisbane as he may be slightly too old to start a new 10 year stint as coach and the young coach is now "fashionable".

To top it off, he said he had a "handshake agreement" to extend his contract by one extra year - meaning he will stay at least until the end of 2009. He did say that the only reason it would not be longer than 2 years, is that he wouldn't want the club to be comitted to him or vice versa for a longer period of time, as 2 years is a long time in football.

Grimreepah

7 Oct 2007, 15:03

Link (http://lions.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/5085/Default.aspx?newsId=52246)

Matthews extends Lions' contract
12:31 PM Sun 7 October, 2007
By Simon White,

LEIGH Matthews will coach the Brisbane Lions until at least the end of 2009, following the announcement at the club’s awards night of a one-year extension to his current contract.
The Lions spoke in August of their desire to extend Matthews’ tenure and chairman Tony Kelly confirmed the four-time premiership-winning coach would kick on into an 11th year at the helm.
“The Brisbane Lions are clearly in a better position on-and-off the field than we were at this time last year,” Kelly said.
“We have reason and hope to expect better results next season. The Lions can truly be great in 2008.
“I’m delighted to inform you all that the club has offered and Leigh has accepted a one-year extension of his current contract.”
Matthews, as he did several times during the second half of the season, spoke of his optimism for the future.
“Our basic mandate is to develop and maintain an elite team,” he said.
“We’re certainly not that at the moment. But what we did do on a handful of occasions this season was perform like an elite team.
“And if you know you’ve done it once, you know you can do it again. The optimism and hope you need to drive forward is there.
“We are optimistic about what can be achieved with the group we’ve got but that’s tempered by the realism of knowing we have to improve significantly.”
While most sides are some weeks off starting the pre-season proper – the Lions won’t begin full-scale training until late-October – Matthews believes the 2008 campaign starts now, with every side on level pegging.
“Today, the week after the AFL grand final, is really the start of a new season – and we all start equal,” Matthews said.
“Geelong have been celebrating heartily for week, and I hope they continue to do so for the next six months!
“As always with premiership teams in the modern era, people are talking of dynasties. They’ll discover that dynasties happen in retrospect not in advance.”

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7986/leighwr1.jpg

Haha. I like his comments at the end there:D

TheBrownDog

7 Oct 2007, 15:58

Link (http://lions.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/5085/Default.aspx?newsId=52246)

http://i20.tinypic.com/316md0x.jpg

Haha. I like his comments at the end there:D

Yeah, everyone had a chuckle last night when he said that.

Cop that Eagles. :thumbsu:

Raav

16 Oct 2007, 19:28

I love how Leigh presents himself.
Straight forward and honest.
Great person to have as the head of the club.

Cousin Jed

16 Oct 2007, 19:32

I love how Leigh presents himself.
Straight forward and honest.
Great person to have as the head of the club.

Did you just watch the story on Fox Sports news? Or something else?

Raav

19 Oct 2007, 15:02

no i didn't
what did i miss?

Grimreepah

3 Nov 2007, 00:56

There was a poll this year in the Age of TAC players regarding which coach they would most like to play under.
Leigh Matthews won hands down.

Interesting.

Kochie 16

4 Nov 2007, 14:28

Interesting.
Very Interesting.:p

Vipertooth

4 Nov 2007, 14:50

Very Interesting.:p

Super Dooper Interesting. :p

konstas_87

4 Nov 2007, 14:54

Super Dooper Interesting. :p

OMG!! Thats Interesting!! ;)

Grimreepah

26 Nov 2007, 23:30

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/821/leighgl8.jpg

TheBrownDog

7 Jan 2008, 15:11

Lethal coached 224 games for Collingwood.

He will eclipse this personal feat in round 10 this year vs Kangaroos at the Gabba when he will coach his 225th game with Brisbane.

Pedro the Lion

15 Feb 2008, 10:34

TheBrownDog

15 Feb 2008, 10:40

Leigh Matthews is being interviewed on ABC radio's conversation hour right now. An hour long in depth interview on his career as a coach and player. Nice insight into the philosophies of football and what it takes to play our great game. "If you think twice it's too late, your instincts have to be right everytime."

Thanks for the heads up Pedro.

The Conversation Hour with Richard Fidler is always a great listen.

They always upload them onto the web as downloadable podcasts too.

So for those who have missed the Leigh interview, it should be available here (http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/conversations/default.htm), a little later on today

Pedro the Lion

15 Feb 2008, 11:12

Good call BrownDog, I didn't realise the ABC made conversation hour podcasts available. If anybody has the time it's definitely worth a listen.

Among other great stories, he tells of how Justin Leppitsch jokingly asked him after the third straight grand final win what he would be without the Brisbane Lions team. To which he replies "just the greatest footballer of the last century". (he stressed many times that he is not a drinker and had been very friendly with Mr Crown Lager at that point)

A true colossus of a man!

TheBrownDog

15 Feb 2008, 11:27

Among other great stories, he tells of how Justin Leppitsch jokingly asked him after the third straight grand final win what he would be without the Brisbane Lions team. To which he replies "just the greatest footballer of the last century". (he stressed many times that he is not a drinker and had been very friendly with Mr Crown Lager at that point)

Bit of a classic tale that one now.

Does anyone remember when FuManchu tried to spin that story into some crap about Leigh and Leppa hating each other? Trolls say the darndest things.

TheBrownDog

15 Feb 2008, 12:15

While we wait for the Leigh Matthews interview to go up, here is a link to the Alastair Lynch one from 2006. (http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/conversations/stories/s1576895.htm)

Pedro the Lion

15 Feb 2008, 12:29

Hopefully in 20 years time the conversation will go something more like this...

Casey Voss - "So Leppa, now that we've won the last five premierships together as captain and coach, what would you be without us?"

Justin Leppitsch - "Mate, ask your father, I'm still the best centre half back in the history of the Brisbane Lions"

Casey Voss - "Nah, my dad told me that Tom Collier was twice the player you were!"

:rolleyes: ... thank god the football starts tomorrow!

Grimreepah

18 Feb 2008, 12:01

Does anyone remember when FuManchu tried to spin that story into some crap about Leigh and Leppa hating each other? Trolls say the darndest things.

That was Thommo (http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8472687&postcount=94)

Grimreepah

18 Feb 2008, 13:45

Here (http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/conversations/stories/s2163875.htm?backyard) is an article, presumably from that same interview:

Leigh Matthews - AFL Coach
Last Update: Monday, February 18, 2008. 11:44am AEST

Leigh Matthews has a statue in his likeness in front of the MCG. As an outstanding player for Hawthorn, he coached Collingwood to a very emotional grand final victory and was voted the best AFL player of the 20th century.
He's since taken the Brisbane Lions to three back to back premierships and has been described by his players as brilliant, decisive and a bit scary as well...
Leigh Matthews says football was always part of life in his family, "Pretty much every winter Saturday we'd be off to the local footy, then getting out at half time and having a kick. It was a great bonding thing in our family." It set him up well for his later life on the field. "Part of the concentration is actually just putting your focus on what you're doing right now, not five seconds ago, not in five seconds time. You kind of live in the moment, and that's I think a really important attribute, you're in sync with the game. I say to my players if you have a second thought it's usually too late".
Good players, says Matthews, have a kind of sixth sense for the game. "The good performers in all ball sports, team sports, have a sort of awareness. It's a sixth sense almost - where people are, the sensing of bodies, the sensing of space - the ability to watch the football is a skill in itself. To actually know where the football is at every point in the game, even though it might be obscured or there were twelve bodies all around the footy."
He can still remember going on the field for his first big match. "I can visualise it, it was 1969, it was at the MCG. Hawthorne was playing Melbourne. They put me on with about five minutes to go and the ball came to me, I grabbed the footy and I kicked a goal - just an instinctive thing." Mathews described the feeling as being dreamlike, almost as if in a dazed state. But the big test is the Grand Final, where the pressure is on, but the focus has to stay the same throughout the game. "It's always a little bit more nerve-wracking obviously, because it is the final game of the season. I used to say to our players - you've got to try and live in the bubble. You can't ignore what's going on - all the media focus, Grand Final parades on Fridays, all those things - you sort of still see them, but you've got to put yourself in a bubble and don't let them into your competitive beam. But be part of it, observe it because it's enjoyable! But don't let it affect you as a physical participant when the time comes to compete."
One of the big targets at results time is the team coach, but when it comes to judging performance, Matthews says he'll never judge another coach's performance. "It's hard enough within a football club to judge the coach's performance, anyone who's not behind the scenes has no idea. They know about the end result, they might hear about odd coversations, but they don't see how it's working. Unless you see how it's working, it's always hard to work out the contribution of any of the off-field roles."
Meantime, some people describe him as a scary person, but Leigh Matthews says he's really a gentle family man. "I'm the mellow middle-aged genial grandfather. It's one of life's great pleasures I must say. As most grandparents will attest to - you always feel like your kids all of a sudden have grown up, and grandkids is like your kids being young again, so it's always very enjoyable".

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3734/matthewscs0.jpg

Grimreepah

12 Mar 2008, 11:12

Link (http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/sport/lethal-benny-see-eye-to-eye/2008/03/12/1205125947609.html)

Lethal, Benny see eye to eye
Daniel Sankey
March 12, 2008

They're mentors for two very different teams vying for fans in a competitive sporting market - but Leigh Matthews and Wayne Bennett have more in common than you think.
At the end of this season, Bennett will sever ties with the Broncos after six premierships and 21 years in charge.
This year will be Matthews' 10th season at the Lions. In that time, he's steered Brisbane to three premierships and four consecutive grand finals.
Make no mistake - the Broncos and the Lions compete for not only the corporate dollar, but the even more lucrative fan base that goes with it, with the fortunes of both clubs swinging on their success on the football field.
But in spite of the cross-code rivalry, Matthews and Bennett have over the years been eager confidantes when it comes to sharing ideas on player management and new coaching methods.
At the Brisbane Lions' corporate launch at the Gabba last night, Matthews said he had again recently enjoyed a pre-season coffee with the Broncos coach. And while no doubt they swapped some ideas and war stories, the subject of their personal futures was an important talking point.
"I had a coffee with Wayne Bennett the other day and (we agreed) we all like coaching, but we don't like match days," Matthews said.
"If you could eradicate match days from the coaching role you could do it forever.
"Most coaches are control freaks - you control and manage the team during the week. But once they start playing, it's a player's game.
"So I don't enjoy coming down to the game that much, but I love the involvement and the management and the coaching and sort of looking after them and trying to get the best (out of the players)."

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/7135/leighbg8.jpg

POBT

12 Mar 2008, 13:44

Brisbane based football sides have a tendency to appoint coaches for long periods of time. Before the current coaching merry-go-round, John Connolly was Reds coach for many years and before him Bob Templeton was in the chair for a long time. Lethal's 10 year stint is remarkable given that he's among the older coaches. And Bennett's stint at the Broncos is absolutely incredible. I think part of it is the one team town phenomenon. When there is only one coach in town at the senior level, that person tends to get portrayed as the doyen of the code. As a consequence, people are less likely to question their positions.

Success also helps. Qld was the strongest provincial rugby side in the world for many years. The Broncos have been dominant. And Lethal's done OK since he moved up here!

Grimreepah

17 Mar 2008, 01:09

Link (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23384746-5003410,00.html)

Leigh Matthews eyes future as Lions coach
Article from: http://www.news.com.au/images/sources/h14_thecouriermail.gif (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/)
Paul Malone
March 16, 2008 11:00pm

Leigh Matthews is entering his 10th season as Lions coach. Paul Malone asks him about his future, coaching's generation gap and premiers Geelong.

THE FUTURE AND WAYNE BENNETT

Q You re-signed last October until the end of 2009. What was your motivation for doing it then?
A I sort of feel like I'm coaching indefinitely .The club asked me to make some definitiveness about it. We both agree at the end of that, we should see it through to the end of 2009 and then ask ourselves am I the right man? I'm not going anywhere else. I'm available unless I conclude I'm not the man for the job or they conclude I'm not.
Q You wouldn't have envisaged an 11th season with the Lions when you came here?
A I feel I've lived my life one week at a time for 40 years. I'm not thinking of 2009.
Soon after I came up, my first granddaughter was born and I thought: 'In five years, I'll be back for when she starts school'. But I've been up here 10 years and my life is here – this is home now.
Q I've been told your wife and you are getting a new house built. Will you live here when your time ends at the Lions?
A That's our intention. We feel Brisbane is now home and the only reason to move is if there's a job which took you outside Brisbane.
Until one door closes, I can't really think of the next phase of my life.
Q You occasionally catch up with Wayne Bennett. What was your view on Wayne's treatment by the Broncos?
A I have always really had a clear view in this industry if the board wants to make a change of coach, that's their responsibility. If you want me to do the job, trust me to do it – don't tell me how to do the job. when you think it's time for a change, be honest and tell me. I suspect Wayne came to believe the Broncos were going in a different direction, so rather than have this innuendo going for months, he decided to clear the decks. In league, players regularly, and coaches sometimes, are announcing they will be at another club the next year. It doesn't happen in AFL at all. If I was going to retire, I could (make an announcement mid-season).
Q How do you now find common ground in coaching men in their twenties?
A In the modern era, it's about a sub-structure of management. We have five assistant and development coaches who spend a lot of time with individual players. I don't spend as much time with individual player as I'd probably like to. You are depending on each of those coaches looking after nine or 10 players.
Q When you do need to do one-on-one work with younger players, who are mindful of what you've done in the game, do you find it useful to maintain your distance, sort of keep your authority?
A One of the things we believe – and maybe it's a Generation Y thing – is that working together rather than bludgeoning players into doing what you want them to do is clearly the better option. The more I've coached, the more I've believed that.
If coaches want to honest, the difficulty we have is listening, so we hear what they're saying, rather than just telling them what to do. I don't do it that well, but I'm always trying.
Q Bennett is a similar age. Have you shared notes on those issues?
A Not really, but the generation thing is interesting. I believe I have been involved with that age group the whole time. I've got older, but the players remain the same age.
The motivational aspect of coaching is overrated. You have to tell players why they are doing something. What they want to know the most is how they do something: 'Tell me how to do it better'. I might speak to Wayne a couple of times a year, but actually I had coffee with him the other week. One of the things we agreed on, we all like the coaching job except on match days. We like the management, the coaching, the teaching, but on match day we are out of control because the players do it. There's a lot of tension for those two hours. We have some involvement, but the players do it or they don't.

THE PAST AND WAYNE CAREY

Q Which of your three Lions premierships is your favourite?
A It's like comparing your children, but the first premiership year we crossed the divide where one of the teams from the northern states couldn't win one.
Q Over the course of your time with the Lions, who's the player you most regret having to let go?
A Craig Bolton and Jason Gram are the main two. They both were products of us being a very good team when they were developing players and they thought their opportunities would be better elsewhere. We were winning premierships and they were on the fringe.
A few years later, Craig Bolton has become a top-notch player. He was always highly regarded here. Jason Gram had the go-home factor too, but he has become one of the elite running, ball-carrying defenders. We'd be very much a better team if we had those guys.
Q Did you play in the best era – the 1970s, the early 1980s?
A It depends which part you talk about. Kids in the suburbs still dream of being a professional AFL player. But now your livelihood and your passion is all wound up in the same vehicle.
If your body packs up on you, your career is over and that adds an enormous amount of pressure to them. There's more pressure on the modern footballer than when I was paid for playing footy and had a job and your life. They are now under scrutiny 24 hours a day.
Q: In 2000, you were named the best player of the 20th century. In a book just released on the AFL's 150-year anniversary, the leading Melbourne commentator Mike Sheahan picked you at No2 in his list of the all-time top-50 players. He had Wayne Carey No1.
A: It's one individual's opinion. Would I have liked to be No1? Probably yeah. Will I lose sleep over it? No.
Q: So who's the best player you'd seen?
A: Oh, Carey. To be thought of in the same category ... in all my time in football, I've never seen anyone dominate the game like he did regularly. Gary Ablett was the most freakish talent, but Carey was the most influential in winning games.
Q: Dermott Brereton told a Melbourne newspaper he had a different view about Carey's influence on games and then there's the fact he won two premierships where others won many more.
A Premierships are won by teams, not individuals.

GEELONG

Q Geelong is a clear favourite in premiership betting. How good are they?
A It's wonderful that Geelong are the benchmark team because they play footy the way footy is supposed to be played. They move the ball quickly, try to bring in the centre square, kick it long into the forward line if it's on. The thing is teams tend to want to emulate the premiers' style. It's a great launching pad for footy this year.
Q: Do you have a hunch about Geelong handling the premiership hangover factor?
A: The best way to avoid a premiership hangover is to ignore the premiership won the year before. There's Geelong who won the grand final by 20 goals and Geelong who beat Collinwgood in the preliminary final by five points. They were certainly the dominant team last year. If they thinking about September they are in trouble. The problem will be as everyone externally is asking the question, you don't win the premiership in March.

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/7304/leighoe1.jpg
TEN-YEAR man . . . Leigh Matthews is entering his 10th season as Lions coach.

Grimreepah

28 Mar 2008, 08:14

Link (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23443594-19742,00.html)

Last of the super coaches
Andrew Hamilton
March 28, 2008 12:00am

THEY are the last of the super coaches. This is the first season in the history of the 16-team AFL competition that has started without Kevin Sheedy and Denis Pagan pulling the strings somewhere - Malcolm Blight went a few years ago and so did David Parkin.
It leaves only Michael Malthouse and Leigh Matthews in the "super coach" club.
That is if multiple premierships is the pass mark to be called a super coach. And if it takes more than two the Brisbane Lions mentor stands alone.
Matthews has won four premierships from five attempts as a coach to go with the four he won at Hawthorn as the "player of the century".
Malthouse had to lose one to Hawthorn in 1991 before he steered West Coast to flags in 1992 and '94, the first time the premiership cup left Victoria.
When Eddie McGuire took charge of Collingwood in 1999 and set to work on restoring his beloved club's mantle as the greatest in the league, Malthouse was the man he wanted.
The results haven't quite materialised, but few would argue Malthouse had the same quality at his disposal that Matthews enjoyed in the 2002-03 grand finals between the clubs.
So is it just time in the game that has allowed the pair to reach doyen status, or do they have something other coaches don't possess?
Brisbane assistant coach Adrian Fletcher has worked under both and is convinced the two men stand apart from their peers.
"It is not time. You still have got to be able to lead men into Grand Finals and then win them," Fletcher said.
"If 14 other coaches did that they would be heroes as well. There is a special chemistry you have got to have, a persona when you stand in front of the guys.
"You have to have character, when things aren't going well you have got to believe in what you are doing and I think they both have those traits, no doubt.
"And you have got to know the game back to front, and they both do that."
The pair have remarkably similar reputations . . . to call either frosty would be a sledge to snowmen.
And their approach to the media is almost identical.

Of all the coaches in the AFL, none is more dismissive of journalists when in the wrong mood yet as quick or accomplished at using the media to their advantage when it suits them to send a message.
And neither has ever had any qualms taking a side-earn from newspaper columns and TV appearances.
The major difference is in their philosophy to coaching. Matthews is all about preparing his team. Malthouse focuses a lot on the opposition.
Fletcher refused to be drawn on the best approach, only saying their records spoke for themselves.
"Look, they both have the score on the board," he said. "One has four premierships, the other has played in just as many and has two.
"You'd have to say they are both good leaders of men, fantastic leaders of men.
"They get a strong brand of footy out of their players, they always crash and bash games.
"If there was one thing you could say was different is you'd say Mick is 70 per cent is about what the opposition will do and the other 30 per cent is sticking to his game plan.
"Leigh is 70 per cent about his game plan, making sure it works, and the other 30 per cent is worrying about what the opposition will do.
"Tactically, that is the major difference between the two."
Blake Caracella played under both men and is clearly uncomfortable going on the record about either.
Now an assistant to Malthouse, the two-time premiership player is in the unique position of having also played under Kevin Sheedy - the only modern-day coach to come close to Matthews' record.
"Sheeds is at one end of the spectrum when it comes to organisation, planning and making decisions on the spur of the moment," he said.
"Leigh is very organised, he comes with a plan and I don't know if he likes to sway away from those plans because he thinks that is the best way to beat a team.
"Sheeds will try stuff if things aren't going well and Mick sits somewhere in the middle, he is a bit closer to Leigh but he is more open to change.
"All of them live and die footy, that is why they have been so successful."
Caracella was at Brisbane when it was the most powerful club in the league - the side was full of superstars who knew what they had to do.
At Collingwood, Malthouse has a young list and Caracella admits the different circumstances makes it hard to compare coaching styles.
"Leigh probably oversees the coaching. He probably had a less hands-on role when I was there and left more responsibility to his assistants," he said.

"Mick has a younger list and is more hands-on, he has more one-on-one time with the players."
But what about the culture of the two clubs? Fletcher is the best man to ask this question.
He played 231 games at Brisbane, St Kilda, Fremantle and Geelong and has been an assistant coach at the Cats, Magpies and the Lions.
He says the two clubs are similar and both coaches have a knack for instilling a winning culture.
"No doubt, they are both leaders of men, they create an environment that is fun but workmanlike," he said.
"They are the big things you see with the cultures they create and I've been to other football clubs."
So there is plenty of similarities, but could the two ever be mates?
"I'd say they would because they both love the game, they are very passionate about football," Fletcher said.

"You've got to be mates if you can sit and talk about footy and you both know the game back to front.
"I'd say they'd be mates. I know there is definite respect there, you can see when they shake each other's hands they are warriors, men going to work, but after the footy is finished it is just a game, they understand that."

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/9263/leighsi1.jpg

Woof Dog

28 Mar 2008, 10:24

Link (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21477157-23211,00.html)

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/7397/leighis5.jpg

Seriously, why aren't these jumpers used as the alternative strip? amazing.

Dylan12

28 Mar 2008, 20:58

Seriously, why aren't these jumpers used as the alternative strip? amazing.

Beacause they are Bears jumpers! You may see them again in the heritage round, i think round 19, i would imagine that it will be a Bears related guernsey. We wore the Fitzroy jumper in our famous win over Eagles last year.

Grimreepah

13 Apr 2008, 02:50

Link (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/two-old-lions-still-find-plenty-to-growl-about/2008/04/12/1207856925974.html)

Two old Lions still find plenty to growl about
Tim Lane
April 13, 2008

ALTHOUGH Brisbane wasn't big enough, in the end, for Leigh Matthews and Jason Akermanis, it's somehow heartening to know that the world is. The two protagonists are now based at either extremity of AFL life on Australia's east coast and normal transmission has been resumed. Both are still talking, although not necessarily to each other, and when they talk people listen.
Matthews got things going recently with his comments about Adam Goodes' tribunal reprieve on the eve of the Lions' game against Sydney. The dual-Brownlow medallist was given the less-than-complimentary description of "protected species" by a man who didn't win a Brownlow but who has done everything else there was to be done in the game.
As though stung by his old coach's momentary headline-grabbing ascendancy, within hours Akermanis was involved in a "testicle grabbing" headline-grabber of his own. He, too, had a dual-Brownlow winner in the cross-hairs.
Matthews, within his role as a coach, is a remarkable media performer. His knowledge of the game and thoroughly earned reputation, combined with a shrewd intelligence and ruthless streak, make him as formidable an interview subject as there is in Australian sport.
I know this only too well. Soon after Matthews returned to coaching in Brisbane, he told me he'd forgotten what a relentless interrogator I could be. It was perhaps less a compliment than a warning. Subsequently he seemed to decide that attack was the best form of defence. A couple of on-air exchanges that followed left me feeling as Barry Cable, Keith Greig, Peter Giles, Ken Hunter, Neville Bruns and a few others might have felt in earlier times in a different arena.
The impression from this distance is that in Brisbane Matthews is rarely, if ever, challenged. For a number of years there, as the mastermind of three straight premierships, he has been free to hold court. He clearly enjoys it. He can, and does, use the media, apparently unfettered by journalists asking annoying questions.
There is an upside for the media. Week in, week out, Matthews delivers; he says something. Frequently, the frankness of his observations shocks even the most seasoned watchers of the game in its heartland. The comments about Goodes were a perfect example.
Once upon a time, for a player to make such a provocative, match-eve remark about an opponent would have been seen as a needless, stupid mistake. That might still be the case. "You don't give them ammunition" has long been the game's mantra. Matthews meditates, or pre-meditates, to his own mantra.
The fact that an arm of officialdom, in this case the tribunal, had given Goodes a reprieve in the preceding days, and that it was the player's second recent incident of such good fortune, provided an opening.
Perhaps Matthews felt he could unsettle Goodes; more likely he felt he could soften up the umpires.
Until recently, such an implied criticism of the tribunal from a coach would have warranted an AFL sanction. These days, coaches are permitted to comment on judicial outcomes within reasonable limits.
His was the sort of comment that ought to have the AFL pondering the wisdom of granting more rope to coaches. At a time when umpires and tribunals are being treated with ever-less respect, it's not what football needs.
For his hard-nosed cynicism, though, Matthews earned scarcely a word of criticism. Akermanis, on the other hand, was a much more inviting target. Aka, of course, has form. Lots of people think he has shot his mouth off more than once too often. If there's an issue in which he becomes embroiled, it is now customary for the majority to assume he is wrong. So it was this week over his entanglement with Robert Harvey.
What happened was that Akermanis complained, as he lay on the ground amid a pack that Harvey had taken the opportunity to apply pressure to his most sensitive spot. His comments were audible through the umpire's microphone.
It was the sort of angry response to an opponent that must occur many times in every game. That was the sum total of Akermanis' active involvement.
The incident was highlighted the next night on Channel Seven's news and was also given an airing on Channel Ten where Akermanis was a guest on Before the Game. He was surprised when the incident was shown but joked along with the panel about it.
Akermanis, like Campbell Brown last year when he was asked whether Chris Judd had eye-gouged him, played down the incident and ensured the reputation of one of the game's icons wasn't sullied.
Yet, presumably because the complainant was Akermanis, the accused Harvey, Aka was again the bad guy. Sometimes it doesn't pay to have white hair, a black beard, and an opinion.
In the end, Lethal and Aka could co-exist in one place no longer.
Now they express their respective views from different points of the compass.
Those views are often provocative and invite opinion. It shouldn't be assumed, though, that either one is always right and the other wrong.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8752/leigh6xw8.jpg

Grimreepah

17 Apr 2008, 02:51

Link (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/afl/story/0,27046,23551890-5016181,00.html)

Lethal's shame over behind-play hit
Article from:http://www.news.com.au/images/sources/h14_heraldsun.gif (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/)
Andrew Hamilton and Jon Anderson
April 17, 2008 12:00am

BRISBANE Lions coach Leigh Matthews is still haunted by his own violent moment of shame. The Brisbane coach and former great says Sydney's Barry Hall will suffer for his brutal knock-out punch long after his seven-week AFL suspension is over.
Hall's vicious left hook left Eagle Brent Staker out cold and forced Matthews to brace himself for the inevitable comparisons to his own darkest moment in 1985 when he broke the jaw of Geelong's Neville Bruns with a behind-the-play hit.
"Brent Staker's jaw will feel better in a week. Barry Hall's heart will be heavy for the rest of his life," Matthews said.
"I still live with the guilt."
With debate raging over whether the AFL needs a red-card system, Matthews said Hall's act warranted a send-off but suggested the incidents were too rare to demand immediate change to the system.
"Saturday was probably logical, an opposition player was put out of the game so it was logical to say the person who did that should be put out of the game as well," he said.
"In the last 20 years of football that's the only other incident since mine probably in 1985 where you could have argued that was necessary."
Twenty-three years into retirement as a player, Matthews is still known as "Lethal" and Hall is likely to be forever remembered as "Big Bad Barry" - and according to the four-time premiership coach the guilt both men feel will never fade.
Matthews was deregistered by the VFL for four weeks following a league investigation and became the first footballer to be charged with assault for an on-field incident.
"I was involved with that kind of thing and all of a sudden you do something and you think 'oh s--t'," he said.
"It was 23 years ago but I can visualise the five seconds because this particular opponent had been sniping a few of our blokes early in the game.
"It was an ugly game and when the game turned ugly, I turned the ugliest.
"He kind of walked past and I walked up belted him one and I thought 'Oh s--t, what did I do that for?' And then I thought 'They'll be coming' and they were coming.
"I lost consciousness because my nose got smashed across my face and so then I was out of the game, too.
"It all happened in the spur of the moment but it doesn't go away."
Bruns yesterday warned Staker to prepare himself for a lifetime of recognition as the "bloke who Barry Hall punched".
He told Staker to expect weekly questions long after he retired.
"I still get it every week and it's just something you have to learn to live with," said Bruns, who works with Melbourne sports company Sportsco.
"Staker will end up with as much scarring as Hall. I hope for his sake it dies a quick death but my experience would suggest it won't.
"The incident (between myself and Matthews) became such a huge part of the year but at least it led to trial by video being introduced."
Bruns and Matthews have only met twice since, the last occasion being 22 years ago. The red-headed Geelong rover/wingman would be happy to meet again and ask one question.
"The question I would like to ask Leigh is why did he call me a squealer in his book? Did he think I was behind the legal action, which I had nothing to do with?
"Or was it because I described him as 'the pits' when interviewed a few days after by Herald journalist Bill Cannon? At the time I had my jaw wired and it had been caused by a man who was my hero as a kid.
"At one stage I had two CIB detectives interview me at home, that's how hot it became. I think part of the problems were caused by the VFL not acting decisively enough."
Bruns missed five matches, returning against St Kilda at Waverley. Before the game started, fiery St Kilda player Robert Mace told Bruns he was planning to re-injure his jaw.
"That was probably the one time where I thought 'hang on'. Mace was testing me as players do. But I'd like to think I maintained my attack on the ball afterwards."

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/3153/leigh53dn9.jpg
Television footage of Hawthorn captain Leigh Matthews breaking Neville Bruns's jaw in 1985.

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/5792/matthewsmf4.jpg
Geelong's Neville Bruns walks off after being struck by Leigh Matthews behind pay in an incident in 1985 that is still talked about today.

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/690/leigh52wb9.jpg
Matthews leaves Melbourne's Magistrates court

Link (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/the-day-that-still-makes-lethal-wince/2008/04/16/1208025287874.html)

The day that still makes Lethal wince
Andrew Stafford, Brisbane
April 17, 2008

IF ANYONE is qualified to comment on Barry Hall's latest crimes and misdemeanours then it's Leigh Matthews. The Brisbane Lions coach was involved in his fair share of controversy during his playing career and spoke with remarkable candour yesterday about his own infamous strike on Geelong's Neville Bruns at Princes Park in June, 1985.

Matthews was convicted of assault and fined $1000 after king-hitting Bruns behind play, breaking the Geelong rover's jaw and triggering one of the nastiest brawls in football memory.

"I tell you what — Brent Staker's jaw will feel better in a week. Barry Hall's heart will be heavy for the rest of his life," Matthews said.

"I still live with the guilt … it all happened in the spur of the moment, but it doesn't go away."

With the incident missed by the sole field umpire at the time, no report laid and no mechanism then in place to suspend Matthews on the strength of video evidence, he was instead deregistered by the league for four weeks for "conduct unbecoming".

"I was involved with that kind of thing. All of a sudden you do something and you think, 'Oh shit'," he said.

Matthews brought up the incident himself, having been asked whether a send-off rule should be introduced by the AFL in the wake of the Hall-Staker incident.

"Saturday was probably logical — an opposition player was put out of the game, so it's logical to say the person who did that should be put out of the game as well," he said.

"In the last 20 years of football that's the only incident since mine, probably, where you could have argued that was necessary.

"It was 23 years ago, but I can visualise the five seconds, because this particular opponent (Bruns) had been sniping a few of our blokes earlier in the game. It was an ugly game and when the game turned ugly, I turned the ugliest."

What happened can still be viewed on footage of the incident, footage that Matthews half-joked he had been trying to buy with the intention of destroying "but it keeps popping up".

"(Bruns) kind of walked past and I belted him one and I thought, 'Oh shit, what did I do that for', and then I thought 'They'll be coming', and they were coming."

Matthews' opponent on the day, a then 20-year-old Steven Hocking, was the first to arrive. His retaliation was swift and decisive: he broke Matthews' nose.

"Then I lost consciousness because my nose got smashed across my face and I was out of the game, too," Matthews said.

According to Age columnist Peter Hanlon, writing about the incident in 2002, Matthews next saw Bruns and Hocking when he stepped into a lift at the old VFL house in Jolimont. The two Geelong players and their solicitors were already inside, on their way up from an underground car park. With Bruns muttering imprecations through his wired-up jaw, Matthews leaned over to Hocking, whispering to him, "You're just along for the ride tonight" — implying that while the Hawthorn legend would take the rap for his crime, Hocking would be protected by the players' code of honour not to dob in their opponents at the tribunal.

The ensuing court case, however, bucked the argument that criminal acts committed on the field of play should stay there.

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/1530/leighyo6.jpg

POBT

17 Apr 2008, 10:20

Grimreepah

10 May 2008, 00:11

http://www.realfooty.com.au/ffximage/2008/05/08/wbAFLmatthews_gallery__470x388,0.jpg

Victorian captain Leigh Matthews kicks a goal at VFL Park. WA ruckman Ron Alexander is too late to spoil the kick. Vics Tim Watson and Kelvin Templeton look on.

royboy2

12 May 2008, 19:07

http://www.realfooty.com.au/ffximage/2008/05/08/wbAFLmatthews_gallery__470x388,0.jpg

Alongside another Lion Great Ron Alexander

campbell

12 May 2008, 19:12

Alongside another Lion Great Ron Alexander

Is he the Ron Alexander who was a Freo board member and has something to do with the WAFC?
If so, I have met him at a Freo function in Brisbane a fw years ago, a top bloke.

royboy2

12 May 2008, 19:20

Certainly is, played 133 games for the Lions 1976-81 captain 79,80 & inaugral West Coast coach aswell

campbell

12 May 2008, 19:21

Certainly is, coached West Coast aswell

I remember talking to him for ages, he knew an awful lot about football. friendly to boot.

xplo

13 May 2008, 14:38

My avatar too ;)

xplo

13 May 2008, 14:50

The Bruns thing is such a major blight on his career and reputation. But I reckon Lethal is over that aspect of it. It just seems like genuine guilt now - a real sense of wrongdoing that can't be wound back. I was amazed he spoke about it that day - unlike press conferences and other interviews, it just seemed his comments were unguarded and without calculation. A real insight into the real Leigh Matthews.

While I don't condone smashing blokes jaws, it doesn't surprise me in the least that it was Bruns that triggered his snap. Dad was mixed up with Fitzroy U19s in the 70's and as a primary school-aged kid I knew Brunsy's rep before he's even graduated from the thirds -- and it wasn't as a 'young champ and all round good guy'.

Can't say anything similar about anyone else from that period.

Grimreepah

17 May 2008, 00:52

Link (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/queenslands-lethal-injection/2008/05/16/1210765185924.html)

Queensland's Lethal injection
Robert Walls
May 17, 2008

TONIGHT at Telstra Dome, Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Matthews will coach game No. 447. It's a job he's been doing for 20 years.
Four times, he has triumphed as a premiership coach. He is obviously hoping and believing it will happen again. Why else, at the age of 56, would you continue to push yourself to the limits, as Matthews does, when you have achieved everything the game has to offer? Malcolm Blight is a dual premiership coach who is not much older than Leigh, but he relaxes and enjoys life in far north Queensland, as he has for several years.
Matthews could be doing that, too. After steering the Lions to their third consecutive premiership (2001-2003), the coach could have basked in the glorious northern sun and shone as the King of Queensland.
I believe Matthews, as the face of the AFL in Queensland, realised that despite the three premierships, much work needed to be done to consolidate Australian football in the northern outpost. He knew he had a special team led by a special captain in Michael Voss, and the redevelopment of the Gabba and the increase in members and sponsorship were all pluses, but this was a team riding the crest of a wave. When the wave crashed, which it ultimately did, it was crucial to rebuild positively to keep the crowds coming and the interest bubbling in a city long dominated by other football codes.
So Matthews rolled his sleeves up and got to work. Ageing, injured champions were thanked for their contributions and moved on.
In tonight's game, only seven members of Brisbane's team are premiership players. In the past three seasons (2005-2007), Matthews has introduced 26 young players to senior football. This is way and above all other teams in the competition. And all these youngsters are expected to play the Matthews way. That the body must be kept in line with the ball and the eyes fixed on — and the head over — the leather are non-negotiable. In other words, if you don't play with courage, you don't play. You have to have a fierce appetite for the contest, must be able to win your own contested ball and must be able to tackle with ferocity and intent. Kicking long and running hard to crumb are also highly valued, as is the ability to play tight, accountable football.
Six years ago, the Lions were in their prime. They were the best football team that I had seen. The back line — led by Justin Leppitsch, the Scott twins, Chris Johnson and Marcus Ashcroft — was the most experienced defence ever fielded, with the average games played being around the 200 mark. Now they are all gone.
Matthews' back half now averages 40 games each and is led by Daniel Merrett, Joel Macdonald and Joel Patfull — hardly household names but perhaps one day they will be. That is the plan.
The coach is into his 10th year at the helm. He won't coach elsewhere. His no-nonsense, commonsense, honest approach makes him the elder statesman of the AFL. Many thought that Michael Voss would replace him, perhaps even Vossy himself thought as much. But with a new team to start up on the Gold Coast and with the veteran coach still having the fire in the belly, why should it change?
Matthews gives the Lions enormous credibility and pulling power with sponsors, supporters and media. His teams are always competitive. He is smart enough to keep changing the coaching assistants to bring in fresh blood and ideas.

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/6447/leigh19op1.jpg

Grimreepah

27 May 2008, 12:53

Link (http://lions.com.au/tabid/5085/Default.aspx?newsid=60303)

Senior Coach Leigh Matthews will become the longest serving coach in the Club’s merged history when he coaches his 225th match for the Lions this Saturday night against North Melbourne at the Gabba. Matthews, who is currently in his tenth year at the Lions’ Football Department helm, will surpass Robert Walls who coached a total of 224 games with both Fitzroy (1981-1985) and the Brisbane Bears (1991-1995). Former Fitzroy coach Bill Stephen is ranked third with 214 matches coached.

Matthews is also set to coach his 449th VFL/AFL match this Saturday night against North Melbourne, drawing him level with Norm Smith in eighth spot on the all-time list for most games coached.

The ten leading coaches in history are:
1. Jock McHale (714 games with Collingwood)
2. Kevin Sheedy (635 games with Essendon)
3. Allan Jeans (575 games with St Kilda, Hawthorn and Richmond)
4. Mick Malthouse (573 games with Footscray, West Coast and Collingwood)
5. Tom Hafey (522 games with Richmond, Collingwood, Geelong and Sydney)
6. David Parkin (518 games with Hawthorn, Carlton and Fitzroy)
7. Ron Barassi (514 games with Melbourne, Carlton, North Melbourne and Sydney)
8. Norm Smith (449 games with Fitzroy, Melbourne and South Melbourne)
9. Leigh Matthews (448 games with Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions)
10. Dick Reynolds (415 games with Essendon).

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/8868/leigh5ce3.jpg

Grimreepah

31 May 2008, 09:55

Link (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23785801-19742,00.html)

The legend of Lethal Leigh Matthews
Article from:http://www.news.com.au/images/sources/h14_heraldsun.gif (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/)Mike Sheahan
May 31, 2008 12:00am

NORM Smith was football's greatest coach, arguably the pre-eminent figure in the game, when a young Leigh Matthews started his journey. The year was 1969, Smith was in his first year at South Melbourne after 16 years and six premierships at Melbourne.
Matthews was just 17 when he first appeared in Hawthorn colours, wearing the No. 32 guernsey.
Tonight, when the Brisbane Lions host North Melbourne at the Gabba, the Matthews odyssey will see him join Smith as the eighth-longest serving coach in VFL-AFL history.
It will be his 449th game as coach, the figure amassed by Smith at Fitzroy, Melbourne and South Melbourne from 1949-72.
It also will be the 780th game for Matthews as an AFL player and coach.
That's equivalent to a game a week for 15 years straight. Games for premiership points, in cut-throat finals, in all or nothing grand finals.
Then there's representative games, the old night series and pre-season games and practice games. Not that Leigh had much inclination to involve himself in games other than those for premiership points.
The Matthews record tells us at least three things about the man: he has been extraordinarily lucky, resilient and successful.
Staggering to think the man regarded by many as the greatest player ever may end up with a record to match as a coach.
Much as Ron Barassi did. Barassi played in six premiership teams at Melbourne and coached Carlton and North Melbourne to two premierships each. The grand total: 10.
Matthews has four as a player and four as a coach, and is on record as saying he would love to emulate Barassi.
Smith departed football with 10 flags to his name: four as a player and six as a coach.
Collingwood's Jock McHale, the game's longest-serving coach, won eight premierships from 1912-49.

He was a premiership player, too, but he is lauded more for his durability - he played 191 games in a row - than his natural ability or brilliance.
The Matthews record continues to build.
If he were to coach for three more years, he would pass, in turn, Barassi, David Parkin and Tom Hafey, elevating him to the top five in terms of service.
He is on track to coach in finals again this year, four years after steering the Lions to four successive Grand Finals and three premierships.
In football terms, he is royalty, as his younger brother, Kelvin, a former Hawthorn and Geelong player, said yesterday.
"In sporting terms, I suppose, he's royalty. There's the Barassis, the Whittens and Leigh, I suppose . . . but I don't feel as though I've got to get down and bow.
"Proud? No doubt. When someone's achieved what he's achieved; he's done a great job."
Kelvin, 54, said he didn't have a lot of contact with his famous brother, but that didn't mean they weren't close.
"It depends on what you call close. I don't think if he had a problem, he'd ring me up, but, then again, he wouldn't keep anything from me, either.
"We don't see a lot of each other, probably a couple of times a year. We probably talk on the phone once a month, once every couple of months.
"Russell (the other brother) and I probably speak more often, but he's down here in Cranbourne.
"Footy is the one thing we talk about other than family. Russell and I have other things we talk about.
"It's what you've got in common. We mix in different circles."
Kelvin, who lives at Eagle Point, near Bairnsdale, and works for a real estate firm, has grown apart from both Leigh and football.
He played 155 games in a different era, and doesn't enjoy the refinements of the modern game.
"I probably go to a game once a year. I saw Brisbane and Hawthorn (the Gabba, Round 5).

"That was good, I enjoyed it, but I certainly wasn't ready to go again the next week.
"You probably couldn't get a better game, the way the game's played these days.
"I probably get a bit more emotional watching Brisbane and I suppose it's to do with Leigh, but I never felt the same when he was at Collingwood.
"I like the way Brisbane play, too."
Matthews the coach is in his 10th season with the Brisbane Lions and is contracted until the end of 2009.
Like Smith and Barassi before him, he is an icon of the game and has played a leading role, perhaps the pivotal role, in the development of Australian football in the north.
He directed an outstanding group of mature young men to a premiership hat-trick in 2001-03 and has since supervised the rebuilding of the Brisbane playing list.
After slumping to 13th with seven wins in 2006, the resurrection started in 2007 and has accelerated this year with a strong start, with five wins from nine outings, including games against Geelong, Hawthorn, Collingwood, Sydney, Port Adelaide and St Kilda.
Matthews seems at the top of his game. Confident and authoritative, in command.

He uses his weekly media conferences to enhance his standing as the elder statesman, the sage, among the coaches, and to occasionally sting the authorities and the odd player, such as Travis Johnstone.
He was always going to make Johnstone a better player because he was going to be more demanding, and it is proving to be so.
There is no compromise on the fundamentals in Brisbane. No exceptions to the rule, either.
Matthews also hasn't been afraid to embrace youth, with 14 players on the 2008 list who have played their first game since 2005.

He is predictable and reliable. His best players play in their best spots, all players keep their head over the ball, they work just as hard to dispossess the opposition as they do when they have the ball.
Yet, he can surprise, too.
Like playing Luke Power virtually as a centre half-forward to upset Cameron Ling's rhythm at Geelong in Round 7.
Inevitably, there have been murmurings at intervals about relations between the coach and his players, even as recently as the early rounds this season, yet things are going swimmingly at the moment.
The body language says it all.
Like Smith of the 1950s and Barassi of the 1960s and '70s, Matthews has that great capacity to meet the challenges and overcome them.
All of a sudden, only a brave man or a fool would say he can't eventually realise his dream of joining Barassi (and Smith) in possession of 10 flags.

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/9339/leigh10eo2.jpg

Grimreepah

31 May 2008, 10:10

Link (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23785775-19742,00.html)

Brave face
Article from:http://www.news.com.au/images/sources/h14_heraldsun.gif (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/)
Paul Malone
May 31, 2008 12:00am

HE kept a brave face at the time, but Leigh Matthews admitted he found it hard to be too optimistic about Brisbane Lions' future this time two years ago. After Round 10, 2006, Brisbane had a 4-6 win-loss record. Premiership stars Justin Leppitsch and Chris Scott were injured and skipper Michael Voss was struggling with a sore knee that would eventually force his retirement.
The Lions won seven games for the year, Matthews' worst return in Brisbane. But there was a silver lining - seven players made their debut that year, including four - Rhan Hooper, Jason Roe, Scott Harding and Joel Patfull - who will line up against North Melbourne at the Gabba tonight.
Like a renovation of a Queensland holiday home, the Lions have come up a treat from a project in which Matthews has blooded 28 players since the start of 2005.
Collingwood is the only club to come close to those numbers, with 23 debutants in that time. St Kilda has nine.
Nine of the Lions' 22 tonight, plus all three emergencies, are on that list.
Matthews had the opportunity to leave the Lions, but twice extended his contract, wanting to see the club's regeneration through.
"I was part of what we term the premiership era and I never thought it was fair for a new coach to come in and finish the career of some of these champion players. Plus, it (coaching) is what I do," Matthews said.
"We are pretty optimistic about the future. That's a nice place to be. A couple of years ago it was hard to be very optimistic about the future.
"We had a lot of players out for a lot of weeks (in 2005 and 2006) and we've used a lot of them (youngsters) in curiosity more than anything else."
From rookie-list players ushered in to see what they can do, Joel Macdonald (50 games), Josh Drummond (36), Roe (33) and Harding (29) appear tonight. Emergency Cheynee Stiller (40) and sidelined Irishman Colm Begley (26) started their careers as rookies and Anthony Corrie (42) needed a second chance as a rookie last year.
"It's helped us immeasurably that there has been players who have been overlooked by other clubs or been let go by other clubs and are doing well for us," Matthews said.
"It makes us confident in our development system and in our senior players, who set the standards which has enabled us to do pretty well out of these players."
The strides made by rookie-drafted Queenslanders such as Hooper, Harding, Drummond and Stiller and third-round draft pick Daniel Merrett have changed the way AFL clubs view Queensland hopefuls, Matthews says.
"The rookies are the leftovers. They are only here because other clubs thought they weren't in the top 80 of their year and our people didn't think they were in the top 80 either," he said.
"The fact we've had success with some of the Queensland boys has made the other clubs more confident in recruiting Queenslanders.
"These days, I think they are rated the same as the other kids around Australia."

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/7086/leigh12ef9.jpg

MacMum

11 Jun 2008, 21:08

Hey peops......check out Bay 13, thread "what was Lethal doing in '83?".....it will bring a smile to your face, but start right at 1st post.....it got off track for a little while, but it got back on again...worth a read..

Kochie 16

13 Jun 2008, 21:31

Macmum, could you get a link to it please?

JasRulz63

13 Jun 2008, 21:37

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=453431

Grimreepah

4 Jul 2008, 02:11

Link (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/legend-no2-leigh-matthews/2008/07/03/1214950952648.html)

Legend no.2: Leigh Matthews
Rohan Connolly
July 3, 2008 - 10:01PM

IT WAS Lou Richards, behind the microphone, who aptly surmised the single incident for which Leigh Matthews the player is perhaps best remembered.
With the ball wedged deep in the Windy Hill forward pocket in the final quarter of a critical late-season game against Essendon in 1982, the Hawthorn champion's single-mindedness would let nothing get in the way, least of all a point post, which split in two when met by Matthews' short but very sturdy frame.
"What a he-man!" Richards screamed, overcome with admiration at the display of brute strength. He wasn't the only one impressed. It was Ron Barassi, one of our judging panel for this Age Top 50 series, who ended up buying the splintered post for his collection of football memorabilia.
The barrel-chested Matthews was incredibly strong and tough for his 178 centimetres. It was Richards, too, who dubbed the pocket battleship "Lethal", a nickname that became universal.
But that was as much testament to Matthews' capacity to tear opponents apart with his dazzling skills as his steely-minded, physical demeanour on the field.
While he'd split the post that day against Essendon, what should also be remembered is that it was a dazzling last quarter from the little champ that won the Hawks an important game that helped secure them a double chance.
It was that capacity to take a game by the scruff of the neck that marked Matthews' entire career, as late as the penultimate match of his 332-game career, when he helped lift his team over the top of Footscray and into the third of what would become a string of seven consecutive grand finals.
That day, it was in the small-forward role to which Matthews had gravitated in his latter years. The season before, he'd lined up at full-forward in the premiership play-off, and the year before that in the first of three straight grand finals against Essendon, kicked six goals and led his team to a then-record 83-point win.
In fact, look simply at the raw statistics of Matthews' career, which include 915 goals at 2.76 a game, the 1975 Coleman Medal with a tally of 68, the Hawks' goalkicking award six times, and hauls of 11 twice, and you'd be excused for thinking he'd always done his best work near the goalface.
But Matthews' gifts as a destructive onballer were even more phenomenal, a ball magnet whose evasive skills and disposal by foot or hand were pure class. He was part, along with Don Scott and Michael Tuck, of one of the great ruck-roving combinations of the 1970s.
He loved the physical stuff, but his capacity to wear it as well as dish it out, his prolonged durability through arguably football's toughest era, and his unshakeable focus and concentration made him almost the perfect ground-level player.
Perhaps the loudest statement of Matthews' greatness came with his incredible record of eight best-and-fairest wins with Hawthorn at a time when the Hawks were at their peak, with a galaxy of stars.
Curiously, he never fared as well in the Brownlow Medal, third twice despite favouritism on several occasions. Maybe it reflected his tremendous competitive spirit. He was never one to bite his tongue for the sake of diplomacy.
A devoted football realist and pragmatist, traits which have become even more apparent during Matthews' equally spectacular coaching career with Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions, little fazed him.
Indeed, the one moment that seemed to shake the unshakeable one came right at the twilight of his playing days, an unsavoury off-the-ball incident during a game against Geelong in which Matthews broke the jaw of Cats little man Neville Bruns, retribution swift at the hands of Bruns' teammate Steven Hocking.
There was subsequent public outrage and the involvement of police, Matthews was deregistered for four matches and briefly considered retirement. But he stuck it out to the end of his final season, leading the Hawks into another grand final, at the end of which he was chaired from the field by his defeated but proud teammates.
After their skipper had shouldered so much responsibility for the Hawks over so long a period, it was the very least they could do.

LEIGH MATTHEWS
Born: March 1, 1952
Height: 178cm Weight: 83.5kg
Club: Hawthorn (1969-85)
Recruited from: Chelsea
VFL/AFL debut: Round 16, 1969 v Melbourne at the MCG
Games: 332
Goals: 915
Honours: Four-time premiership player (1971, 1976, 1978, captain in 1983), eight-time Hawthorn best and fairest (1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982), Hawthorn captain 1981-85, Coleman medallist 1975, six-time Hawthorn leading goalkicker (1973, 1975, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984), VFLPA MVP Award 1982, All-Australian 1972, Victorian representative on 14 occasions (captain in 1980), inaugural Legend of Australian Football Hall of Fame, forward pocket in AFL Team of the Century, rover in Hawthorn Team of the Century, four-time premiership coach (Collingwood 1990, Brisbane Lions 2001-03), Collingwood coach 1986-95, Brisbane Lions coach 1999-current.

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/5884/leighdr3.jpg
Leigh Matthews: a ball magnet who was pure class combined with balance and power.