The Matthews / Bruns incident. What was it that caused the aftermath ?

[Partridge]

Yep - Matthews was a coward and the biggest sook to play the game.

He was getting beaten by a first game from Melbourn one time, so king hit him - a 19-year-old kid, and Matthews was a man at his peak physically. He did the same to Steven Smith and Peter Giles. If he was getting beaten, he would king hit people when they had their backs turned. That should be his legacy, but the AFL circle jerk covers it up.

Just a gutless sook.

It's a good thing we didn't have commentators that actually sucked up to him and drooled all over him.

Oh wait.

 

[Catsace]

Not quite. From memory it was two other incidents a couple of years later.

One was Jim Edmond elbowing Russell Morris, and I think what really prompted it was Rod Grinter's roundhouse on Terry Wallace. Grinter's may have been the first instance of video evidence used to report someone.

I recall the Brisbane Bears scoreboard in somewhat bad taste, flashed up the words 'Cop That' after the Edmond hit, think he got about 7-8 weeks from memory.

 

[newcs]

Just found another few bits of that interview, jeez things started to get really personal.
McKenna & Jeans must have had some serious issues with each other.
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[Corn Cobbers]

(just trying to get rid of an inappropriate photo on my app)

On SM-A225F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Corn Cobbers]

Nope didn't work

Edit: worked

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[craffles]

Have heard stories about matthews off field behaviour in his playing days as being fairly sub par too.

Apparently beat the crap out of Nick Cave at a party because he talked to Leigh’s GF at the time.

 

[wagstaff]

An overlooked fact of that match was less than 11.5K were at that Hawks/Cats match that day.

1985 was an awful year for crowds; lowest H&A average since 1969. There were a lot of issues with the game at the time and I reckon thuggish behaviour was seen as one, which partly explains the furore this incident caused.

 

[Jane Doe]

Have heard stories about matthews off field behaviour in his playing days as being fairly sub par too.

Apparently beat the crap out of Nick Cave at a party because he talked to Leigh’s GF at the time.

Would find that very hard to believe to be honest. Leigh was married at 19 and split with his wife in the early 90s which would have made him over 40. Heard he was very quiet around his team mates and didnt socialise with many of them. And that has come from an ex team mate of his.

On another note heard his brother Kelvin was the oppisite

 

[The Made Guy]

Just found another few bits of that interview, jeez things started to get really personal.
McKenna & Jeans must have had some serious issues with each other.
( Facebook login required )

Awesome television.

 

[My Tilly]

Yeah I honestly don't get the esteem he is held in.

I never saw him play. I'm guessing most here didn't either.
But you only have to watch some full match replays on YouTube wherever to get an idea of what he was as a footballer. He rarely took a backward step. Always put his head over the ball knowing he had an almighty big target on his back and was probably the most consistent league footballer the game has ever seen.

It's one thing to be a coward and pick off players when they aren't looking (Byron Pickett) but it takes a different mindset to be a thug and still demand the ball in both state matches and finals/grand finals.

Matthews did that.
I also reckon some of the stuff Ablett Sr did behind the ball was in the same category as Matthews. Appalling and outright thuggery of the highest order but never waned in putting his body in front when going for the mark, or the ball.

 

[craffles]

Would find that very hard to believe to be honest. Leigh was married at 19 and split with his wife in the early 90s which would have made him over 40. Heard he was very quiet around his team mates and didnt socialise with many of them. And that has come from an ex team mate of his.

On another note heard his brother Kelvin was the oppisite

Girlfriend wife same thing. It was at Paul Hester’s 21st (drummer from crowded house) so could work backwards to figure it out.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Yep - Matthews was a coward and the biggest sook to play the game.

He was getting beaten by a first game from Melbourn one time, so king hit him - a 19-year-old kid, and Matthews was a man at his peak physically. He did the same to Steven Smith and Peter Giles. If he was getting beaten, he would king hit people when they had their backs turned. That should be his legacy, but the AFL circle jerk covers it up.

Just a gutless sook.

Certainly wouldn't call him gutless - he was very tough - but he definitely did a lot of gutless things.

He was an absolute thug, there's no doubt about that.

Plenty of cowardly acts, though he wasn't a coward.

All part of the package. He was an incredible player. Does one cancel out the other? It's in the eye of the beholder I guess.

 

[Port 2004]

I never saw him play. I'm guessing most here didn't either.
But you only have to watch some full match replays on YouTube wherever to get an idea of what he was as a footballer. He rarely took a backward step. Always put his head over the ball knowing he had an almighty big target on his back and was probably the most consistent league footballer the game has ever seen.

It's one thing to be a coward and pick off players when they aren't looking (Byron Pickett) but it takes a different mindset to be a thug and still demand the ball in both state matches and finals/grand finals.

Matthews did that.
I also reckon some of the stuff Ablett Sr did behind the ball was in the same category as Matthews. Appalling and outright thuggery of the highest order but never waned in putting his body in front when going for the mark, or the ball.

Pickett was not a coward. What a load of bs.

 

[JimmyBC]

How good was getting a box of hams, laundry detergent & a tub of honey

 

[Gordon Farkas]

I can recall watching footage of a game (perhaps the one where Mike Fitzpatrick has a free reversed for taking too long?) where there is a fight in the crowd. The commentators don't celebrate it or anything, but they are far from admonishing it either. Just blase "that's life"

I remember that one:

Peter Landy: “One of the combatants now being led away by the police. Looks like he’s lost his shirt. And his dignity too.”

Lou Richards: “Well, that’ll happen to you when you get into a fight.”

The general tone (unstated) was one of “Oh well, stiff shit.”

 

[sleep]

Would find that very hard to believe to be honest. Leigh was married at 19 and split with his wife in the early 90s which would have made him over 40. Heard he was very quiet around his team mates and didnt socialise with many of them. And that has come from an ex team mate of his.

On another note heard his brother Kelvin was the oppisite

I heard he was a womaniser throughout his marriage.

 

[Jane Doe]

I heard he was a womaniser throughout his marriage.

Wouldn't surprise me

 

[Jinglebells32]

Mate …he was the very definition of a human battering ram.

Just like Mathews, Gary Snr..Darren Millane..Voss, Archer...Dipper..Merv Neagle …just thick layered men built to run into things and never get hurt as long as you’re going faster than your intended prey.

Laws of physics and all that.

They would line blokes up and send them to Pluto.

Glorious stuff.

I'd put Ricciuto in that bunch too

 

[Back One Out]

Certainly wouldn't call him gutless - he was very tough... He was an absolute thug, there's no doubt about that.
All part of the package. He was an incredible player. Does one cancel out the other? It's in the eye of the beholder I guess.

How does being an on-field thug "cancel out" him being an incredible footballer?
Or vice-versa... How does being an incredible footballer "cancel out" him being an on-field thug?

Both these things are true.

In terms of how Lethal was perceived by the general public, I think these 2 aspects ADD to one another.
People HATED Matthews because he was a ruthless, brutal, nasty footballer who knocked out one of their players
People also HATED him because he was so damn good and regularly tore their team a new arseh*le

 

[Randall Stevens]

How does being an on-field thug "cancel out" him being an incredible footballer?
Or vice-versa... How does being an incredible footballer "cancel out" him being an on-field thug?

Both these things are true.

In terms of how Lethal was perceived by the general public, I think these 2 aspects ADD to one another.
People HATED Matthews because he was a ruthless, brutal, nasty footballer who knocked out one of their players
People also HATED him because he was so damn good and regularly tore their team a new a-hole

Good summary.

Any fair minded Hawk supporter would acknowledge that Matthews played in a brutal fashion and commited some ‘thuggish’ acts even by the standards of his era. The man himself has said as much many times.

However, it is also surely true that even those who have condemned him most strongly and attempted to paint him as only a thug would have loved him to have played for their clubs.

We are after all talking about the player judged the best of the 20th century and still very much in GOAT conversations.

 

[Shane Heard]

Good summary.

Any fair minded Hawk supporter would acknowledge that Matthews played in a brutal fashion and commited some ‘thuggish’ acts even by the standards of his era. The man himself has said as much many times.

However, it is also surely true that even those who have condemned him most strongly and attempted to paint him as only a thug would have loved him to have played for their clubs.

We are after all talking about the player judged the best of the 20th century and still very much in GOAT conversations.

Yeah he’s up there in the top ten for sure.
But he was a ruck rover turned small forward goal kicker. Brilliant balance and poise and never went to ground. Much like Gaz jr and Swan…hard working play makers.

But for sheer value to the team …with their superior marking skills in all conditions along with elite kicking skills from all angles and distances…I rate Coleman, Coventry, Dick Pratt, Carey, Lockett, Dunstall , Lloyd and various many other big forwards more worthy of greatness.

That’s the hardest position to play.always has been.

The media really hammered on about Lethal for decades…because he’s been in the media and a coach for decades.

KB was just as good as a small forward too.

 

[FreddyTwoShoes]

What was it that caused the aftermath ?

Maybe it was the math? or even the beforemath?

I'll see myself out.

 

[craffles]

What was it that caused the aftermath ?

Maybe it was the math? or even the beforemath?

I'll see myself out.

Don’t come back please and thanks.