66 Facts About Leigh Matthews

Leigh Raymond Matthews was born on 1 March 1952 and is a former Australian rules footballer and coach.

Leigh Matthews played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League and coached Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions in the VFL and renamed Australian Football League.

Squat, short-legged and barrel-chested, Matthews earned the iconic nickname "Lethal Leigh" due to his physical as well as skillful style of play.

Leigh Matthews is officially recognised as the "best player of the 20th century" according to the AFL, is a 'Legend' in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, named in the Hawthorn and AFL teams of the century, and is one of the most successful AFL coaches of all time.

Leigh Matthews played his junior football at the Chelsea Football Club.

Leigh Matthews was part of a footballing family: Matthews' brother Kelvin played 155 games at Hawthorn and Geelong.

Leigh Matthews was married and had his first child at 18.

Leigh Matthews joined Hawthorn in January 1969, aged sixteen and having already played senior suburban football.

Leigh Matthews made his senior debut for the Hawks in Round 16 of the 1969 season against Melbourne as a forward pocket, crumbing around the feet of Hawthorn's champion full forward, Peter Hudson.

Leigh Matthews kicked a goal with his first kick and went on to kick at least one goal in each of his five games that year, winning the club's Best First Year Player award.

Leigh Matthews was immediately impressive, kicking 20 goals from 16 games for the season.

Leigh Matthews developed an uncanny ability to win contests, especially near the goals.

Leigh Matthews kicked 43 goals at an average of 1.9 in 1971 and earned his first of fourteen Victorian guernseys, his first of eight Hawthorn best and fairest awards, and his first of four playing premiership medallions.

On 17 July 1971, Leigh Matthews notoriously felled one of the game's fairest and best rovers, Barry Cable, with an elbow to the head.

In Round 2 of 1972, Leigh Matthews destroyed North Melbourne for the first of what would end up being many times during his playing career.

Leigh Matthews kicked 8 goals in the absence of Hudson.

Leigh Matthews made his presence felt early again in 1973 with an amazing 11-goal haul against Essendon in Round 3, amassing 42 possessions in the same game.

Strong, quick and almost impossible to tackle, Leigh Matthews regularly turned matches with brilliant solo efforts.

Against Collingwood in a semi-final, Leigh Matthews proved the difference with 7 goals from 24 disposals.

Leigh Matthews went on to win his third best and fairest, averaging 21.8 disposals and kicking 52 goals for the season.

Leigh Matthews started the season brilliantly with 47 goals in the first 12 games, including five bags of 5 or more.

Leigh Matthews's 6 goals from 28 kicks in Round 9 against Footscray was a highlight.

Leigh Matthews was unable to maintain this pace in the second half of the season and could manage only 21 goals in his last 11 appearances.

Hawthorn made the grand final; however, they fell to North Melbourne, with Leigh Matthews going goalless on the day.

Leigh Matthews kicked more goals than most full-forwards, while being one of the most effective ball-winners in the game.

Hawthorn again played North in the grand final, and although Leigh Matthews was not amongst the best this time, his second premiership medal was just reward for a brilliant season.

Leigh Matthews posted career highs in kicks, marks, handballs and goals, averaging 27.1 disposals per game and kicking 91 goals at 3.8 per game.

Leigh Matthews had 41 disposals in Round 10 against Melbourne, but the peak of Matthews' form came during the last eight games of the home-and-away season, during which he averaged 29.8 disposals and 5.1 goals.

Leigh Matthews kicked 7 goals and had 30-plus disposals three times in seven weeks and finished the season with another 30 disposals and 6 goals against Essendon in Round 22.

Leigh Matthews won Hawthorn's best and fairest for the fifth time.

Leigh Matthews' 91 goals that year was a record for goals kicked by a non-full-forward until it was broken in 1990 by Collingwood's Peter Daicos.

The Hawks again played North Melbourne in the 1978 VFL Grand Final, but this time a best-afield display of 28 disposals and 4 goals by Leigh Matthews ensured the win for Hawthorn.

Leigh Matthews was on track for another stellar season in 1979 before injury forced him out of all but two of the last 10 games of the year.

In 1980, Leigh Matthews became the captain of Hawthorn, a position he held until his retirement in 1985.

Leigh Matthews was selected as captain of the Victorian State of Origin team for the only time in his career, and he won his seventh club best and fairest.

Leigh Matthews missed five games between Rounds 3 and 8 before returning to his customary role, alternating between the forward line and midfield for the rest of the season.

Leigh Matthews maintained impressive form for most of the year, averaging 23.5 disposals and 3 goals in his 16 games.

Leigh Matthews finished the season as Hawthorn's leading goal kicker and would continue this feat for the next four consecutive years.

Leigh Matthews kicked 7 goals in Round 16 against North Melbourne and two weeks later against Collingwood kicked 8 more and had 25 disposals.

Leigh Matthews averaged 22.5 disposals and 3.4 goals per game for the year and won his eighth Hawthorn best and fairest award.

Leigh Matthews earned the nickname "Lethal" for his reputation for giving very hard bumps, and in 1982 this reputation was enhanced to the point of legend when he famously collided with a behind post at Windy Hill and broke it.

Leigh Matthews averaged 22.3 disposals and 2.9 goals in his first twelve games before, in Round 15, he made the move to full-forward and remained there for the rest of the season.

Leigh Matthews went on to kick at least three goals in each of the last 10 games of the year, including the grand final, in which he kicked 6 goals and 5 behinds in his fourth premiership win.

Leigh Matthews accrued 202 Brownlow Medal votes in his career, currently the tenth-most of all time.

Leigh Matthews's tally is the third most by a player who has not won the award, behind Scott Pendlebury and Joel Selwood.

Leigh Matthews guided Collingwood to finish sixth at the end of the 1986 season, just missing out on the finals with twelve wins and ten losses.

The next season, Leigh Matthews guided Collingwood to finish third on the ladder, but they were eliminated by St Kilda in the elimination final.

In 1993, Collingwood under Leigh Matthews just missed out on the finals, where they finished eighth on the ladder.

Leigh Matthews returned Collingwood to the finals in 1994 after they finished eighth on the ladder, but were eliminated by the eventual premiers West Coast in the qualifying final.

Leigh Matthews was sacked as Collingwood senior coach at the end of the 1995 season, following an unsuccessful year where Collingwood finished tenth on the ladder, thereby missing out on the finals.

Leigh Matthews was replaced by Collingwood premiership captain Tony Shaw as Collingwood senior coach.

Leigh Matthews coached a total of 224 games in ten seasons with 125 wins, 94 losses and 5 draws for a winning percentage of fifty-five percent with the Magpies.

Leigh Matthews supported the planned merger between Hawthorn and Melbourne in 1996.

Leigh Matthews became the senior coach of Brisbane for the 1999 season, when he replaced caretaker senior coach Roger Merrett, who replaced John Northey after Northey was sacked in the middle of the 1998 season.

In 2001, Leigh Matthews famously used the Predator quote, "if it bleeds, we can kill it", to inspire his team for its Round 10 game against Essendon, who sat atop the ladder, was the defending premier, and had lost only two of its previous 34 games.

That year, Leigh Matthews coached his 200th game with the club, making him the first person to play or coach 200 games with three clubs.

Leigh Matthews resigned from his position as Brisbane Lions senior coach on 1 September 2008, at the end of the 2008 season, stating that he "felt the time was right".

Leigh Matthews was then replaced by Michael Voss as Brisbane Lions senior coach.

Leigh Matthews coached Brisbane Lions to a total of 237 games with 142 wins, 92 losses and 3 draws with a winning percentage of 60 percent.

Leigh Matthews' coaching style at the Lions was reportedly incredibly strict, although obviously successful.

Leigh Matthews was named "Player of the Century" and inducted as an inaugural official Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame, the highest individual honour that can be bestowed upon a football personality.

Leigh Matthews was named in both the AFL and Hawthorn teams of the century, in the forward pocket for the AFL and as rover for Hawthorn.

Leigh Matthews is one of only four Australian rules footballers recognised as a Legend of Australian Sport in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, alongside Ron Barassi, Ted Whitten and Bob Skilton.

Leigh Matthews since returned to perform special commentary of AFL matches on the Seven Network.

Leigh Matthews commentated throughout the 2008 finals series as well as in the 2008 grand Final.

Leigh Matthews is a commentator of the game for 3AW and a feature writer and commentator for the Herald Sun.