tomthabuddah
Team Captain
Egan finds his mark as a team player
Peter Lalor April 15, 2006
IF Geelong's Matthew Egan had any doubts about the difference between elite football and tennis, they were laid to rest, as indeed he almost was, in his debut match against Richmond in round one last year.
The 999th player to take the field for the Cats found himself between Matthew Richardson and a hard place as the ball floated forward in the third quarter.
Egan ran to fill the gap, and like a man lying on a railway track, waited for the inevitable collision.
In those awful moments the former tennis player learned his first lesson: football requires more courage and generally involves a lot more pain than your average tennis match.
Egan was eventually helped from the ground with a corked buttock, but was pushed into the centre of the huddle at the end of the match while the victorious Cats sang the club song.
And that was the other lesson. Football is a team sport, and Egan, after just three years in the game, found himself part of a team.
That effort on Richardson in his first senior game saw the novice marked for bigger things.
A little over 12 months later, he is a regular starter at centre half-back and an integral part of a back line that might be miserly enough to win this year's flag.
Egan, 22, was an aspiring tennis player, testing himself on the satellite circuit until a few years back.
"I travelled a bit as a junior, to Thailand and Vietnam and New Zealand, but I didn't really get a senior ranking," he said. "I was on the satellite circuit a bit when I was 18, but quit half-way through the year to take up footy.
"It's a very expensive sport and I was running out of cash. My parents were going to support me, but I'd hit the stage where I wasn't enjoying it that much, so I took up footy for a bit of fun."
At first he ran around in the Essendon district league with no thought of aiming higher, but then Geelong began to take notice of the 100kg backman.
Egan suspects it was schoolfriend James Kelly who tipped the club off, but he was happy to move from the family home at Sunbury and now shares a house with Will Slade.
Picked up at 62 in the 2004 draft, he managed 15 games in 2005 and was voted best first-year player at the club.
Egan loves the company of football. In tennis there's nobody to sing a club song with, just yourself and your coach and the empty locker-room.
"I've enjoyed footy so much because it's a team sport," he said.
"My first two years playing in the Essendon district league I won flags, so that's just showed me how good the sport is, and I've loved it.
"It hurts, but it's very rewarding at the end of the game when you know you've done something good or done a good tackle. It hurts, but you can talk about it after the game."
Egan enjoys sharing the changeroom with team-mates after a good game. And as the Cats bandwagon starts to lurch forward in 2006, he is enjoying the idea of representing a whole community.
"In tennis, it's yourself and your coach and family - with footy, you've got the whole of Geelong," he said.
"Anyway I'm a hundred kilos - my body wasn't made for tennis, it was made for footy."
But Egan says his time spent at tennis was not wasted.
"There's a lot of things I learned from playing tennis, like the dedication," he said. "Tennis is one of the most dedicated sports. You travel by yourself, you train every day with whoever is around, and you need to motivate yourself."
He grew up trading shots with Davis Cup player and Geelong fan Chris Guccione.
"He had the wood on me," Egan says. "I beat him a few times but he's a good player." The pair remain friends and Guccione is coming to Skilled Stadium today to watch his mate hit out against Hawthorn.
Egan has had to tread on a few toes, literally, to get a break.
The rookie stood on defender Tom Harley in a training mishap before round one last year and the veteran defender rolled an ankle, ruling himself out for the first game against Richmond, which gave Egan a chance to play his first senior game.
After his heroic debut he was dropped back to the reserves but more injuries to Harley saw him back in the firsts for the last 13 games of the year, and found himself standing Jonathan Brown in round 13.
"He was pretty tough - I learned a lot from playing on him that day," Egan said. "He kicked three in two quarters on me and pushed me around pretty easily. "
Egan has learned a lot from more experienced defenders, and looks up to Matthew Scarlett for advice.
"Last year I started with Brenton Sanderson and Darren Milburn on the flanks, Scarlett at full-back and Tom Harley as well, so it was a pretty experienced back line," he said. "Scarlett rarely gets beaten one on one, and I learn something from him every week. Tom Harley's been great showing me things, but on the field definitely Matthew is the man."
Peter Lalor April 15, 2006
IF Geelong's Matthew Egan had any doubts about the difference between elite football and tennis, they were laid to rest, as indeed he almost was, in his debut match against Richmond in round one last year.
The 999th player to take the field for the Cats found himself between Matthew Richardson and a hard place as the ball floated forward in the third quarter.
Egan ran to fill the gap, and like a man lying on a railway track, waited for the inevitable collision.
In those awful moments the former tennis player learned his first lesson: football requires more courage and generally involves a lot more pain than your average tennis match.
Egan was eventually helped from the ground with a corked buttock, but was pushed into the centre of the huddle at the end of the match while the victorious Cats sang the club song.
And that was the other lesson. Football is a team sport, and Egan, after just three years in the game, found himself part of a team.
That effort on Richardson in his first senior game saw the novice marked for bigger things.
A little over 12 months later, he is a regular starter at centre half-back and an integral part of a back line that might be miserly enough to win this year's flag.
Egan, 22, was an aspiring tennis player, testing himself on the satellite circuit until a few years back.
"I travelled a bit as a junior, to Thailand and Vietnam and New Zealand, but I didn't really get a senior ranking," he said. "I was on the satellite circuit a bit when I was 18, but quit half-way through the year to take up footy.
"It's a very expensive sport and I was running out of cash. My parents were going to support me, but I'd hit the stage where I wasn't enjoying it that much, so I took up footy for a bit of fun."
At first he ran around in the Essendon district league with no thought of aiming higher, but then Geelong began to take notice of the 100kg backman.
Egan suspects it was schoolfriend James Kelly who tipped the club off, but he was happy to move from the family home at Sunbury and now shares a house with Will Slade.
Picked up at 62 in the 2004 draft, he managed 15 games in 2005 and was voted best first-year player at the club.
Egan loves the company of football. In tennis there's nobody to sing a club song with, just yourself and your coach and the empty locker-room.
"I've enjoyed footy so much because it's a team sport," he said.
"My first two years playing in the Essendon district league I won flags, so that's just showed me how good the sport is, and I've loved it.
"It hurts, but it's very rewarding at the end of the game when you know you've done something good or done a good tackle. It hurts, but you can talk about it after the game."
Egan enjoys sharing the changeroom with team-mates after a good game. And as the Cats bandwagon starts to lurch forward in 2006, he is enjoying the idea of representing a whole community.
"In tennis, it's yourself and your coach and family - with footy, you've got the whole of Geelong," he said.
"Anyway I'm a hundred kilos - my body wasn't made for tennis, it was made for footy."
But Egan says his time spent at tennis was not wasted.
"There's a lot of things I learned from playing tennis, like the dedication," he said. "Tennis is one of the most dedicated sports. You travel by yourself, you train every day with whoever is around, and you need to motivate yourself."
He grew up trading shots with Davis Cup player and Geelong fan Chris Guccione.
"He had the wood on me," Egan says. "I beat him a few times but he's a good player." The pair remain friends and Guccione is coming to Skilled Stadium today to watch his mate hit out against Hawthorn.
Egan has had to tread on a few toes, literally, to get a break.
The rookie stood on defender Tom Harley in a training mishap before round one last year and the veteran defender rolled an ankle, ruling himself out for the first game against Richmond, which gave Egan a chance to play his first senior game.
After his heroic debut he was dropped back to the reserves but more injuries to Harley saw him back in the firsts for the last 13 games of the year, and found himself standing Jonathan Brown in round 13.
"He was pretty tough - I learned a lot from playing on him that day," Egan said. "He kicked three in two quarters on me and pushed me around pretty easily. "
Egan has learned a lot from more experienced defenders, and looks up to Matthew Scarlett for advice.
"Last year I started with Brenton Sanderson and Darren Milburn on the flanks, Scarlett at full-back and Tom Harley as well, so it was a pretty experienced back line," he said. "Scarlett rarely gets beaten one on one, and I learn something from him every week. Tom Harley's been great showing me things, but on the field definitely Matthew is the man."
