Interview With Matthew Croft

[The Coon Dog]

Matthew Croft
1991 – 2003
183 games
66 goals



TCD: Hi Matthew & thanks for your time.

MC: You’re welcome.

Where did you grow up?

On a wheat farm in a little place called Morkalla, which is about 100kms west of Mildura.

Who did you play your junior football with?

Mildura Imperials.

What jumper did they wear?

Green with a white trim & an IFC monogram on the front, like Carlton.

So how did you get to training & games?

I was fortunate that my older brother played at the club & he had a car, so he’d pick me up after school & drive me.

Who did you barrack for?

Again, my brother’s influence there. He followed Hawthorn, so I did. The rest of the family were all Carlton. Dad played a practice match for them against John Nicholls in the ruck & signed to play for them but stayed on the farm.

So how did you come to the notice of AFL talent scouts?

When I started year 10, I moved to Mildura & lived with my Grandfather while I complete my schooling. During that time I played with the seniors at Imps.

These days the draft is huge & we know so much about players long before they are selected. It was a lot different I would imagine when you were drafted.

Yes, Richmond had the first pick & there was speculation that they may draft me. I would have been happy to end up there as their zone was the Sunraysia region. I had trained during 1989 a bit with Hawthorn through a friend of a friend but knew I wouldn’t go there as they won the Premiership that year & had last pick.

Footscray were one of only 2 clubs that didn’t speak with me so I was surprised when they took me with pick 2 (Richmond drafted Anthony Banik with pick 1).

How did you find out?

One of my PE teachers at school heard it on the news & told me.

You stayed in Mildura to complete your schooling & came to Melbourne in 1991. Was it a culture shock for a boy from the farm?

It wasn’t as bad as I thought it may have been. I actually found it harder moving from the farm to Mildura.

So how did 1991 pan out for you?

I started off in the under 19’s under Neil Clarke and played the first 2 games there along with Rohan Smith. I then played Reserves under Trevor Fletcher until round 19 when I played my first senior game.

Can you remember much of it?

Yes, it was against Fitzroy at the Whitten Oval. I started off the bench & we won comfortably (WB 16.12.108 d Fitz 7.9.51). It was a freezing cold day which my family who came down from Mildura didn’t appreciate.

Funny, I remember my second game more. We played Hawthorn at Waverly & there I was on the wing lining up against Ray Jenke when all hell broke out in Hawthorn’s forward line. Dermott Brereton & Peter Foster were into it & I remember thinking to myself, ‘what the hell am I doing out here’? When it settled down I kicked my first AFL goal, a mongrel off the left foot. I did my hamstring after that & missed the following week.

Speaking of hamstrings, they were a real problem for you weren’t they?

Yes it was something that affected both myself & Steven Kretiuk. We spent a lot of time together in rehab.

So, who turned you into a fullback?

Alan Joyce. We were playing Sydney out at Waverley & Plugger was cutting us to pieces. At half time Joycey shifted Ben Sexton off him & I was silly enough to do well & kept him to only 1 or 2 goals after half time. We didn’t have a lot of size in defence with myself, Kritter & Daniel Southern, so I got the gig by default.

Was Plugger the best you played on?

It’s hard to split it actually. The best 4 I played on were:

• Tony Lockett – He was more mobile than he looked & when he got in front he was just impossible to shift.
• Wayne Carey – Had athleticism, ability & importantly agility so he could go in any direction. You could never relax. Just when you thought it might go out of bounds Carey would launch himself & didn’t worry if he collided with the point post.
• Jason Dunstall – I was very fortunate that Scott Wynd used to fill in the hole. If you gave Dunstall an unguarded forward line to work in he would cut you to ribbons. His timing was exemplary; it was amazing how often he timed his dive to perfection to mark on the lead.
• Gary Ablett Snr. – He had everything, strength, skill, agility, hand – eye co ordination & was quick back to his feet. The complete package.

What about some of your team mates?

• Chris Grant – Fantastic skill & all round ability. Could play in all the key posts.
• Scott West – Funny, I think I rate Westy now more than when I was playing. I didn’t always appreciate what he did & took him a little for granted.
• Scott Wynd – A great leader & the troops were more than happy to follow. Great for me when he filled in the hole.
• Doug Hawkins – I only saw the tail end of Hawk & he was all class.
• Brad Johnson – Pound for pound he was just so strong. Great overhead too.
• Tony Liberatore – Libba was one of the gentlest nicest blokes you could ever wish to meet off the field, but suffered from white line fever & did whatever it took to win.

What were the circumstances that led to your & Simon Garlick’s much publicized ‘farewell’ game?

I was in the final year of my contract & after round 5 or 6; Peter Rohde approached me & told me that he wouldn’t play me in the seniors, regardless of form. I think he wanted me to pull the pin there & then. I didn’t want to walk away from my team mates & was determined to play out the year. We reached an agreement that I could be selected in the seniors provided my form warranted it. Unfortunately that agreement wasn’t honoured as my form was very good at Werribee.

Myself & Simon Garlick requested a farewell game & Smorgo to his credit was happy to oblige, hoping we might draw a decent crowd against North. As it turned out both Simon & I played well, he kicked a couple & I managed by career equal best with 5 goals.

Who coached you at the club & what are your memories of them?

• Terry Wheeler – I think Wheels was the best coach I had. Probably because he was my first coach & I was young & impressionable, but he was ahead of his time with professionalism & list management.
• Alan Joyce – Joycey seemed to struggle to impart his message & just didn’t seem to be able to adapt to differing circumstances.
• Terry Wallace – I took Plough’s number when he retired & saw him evolve from team mate to reserves coach to senior coach. Tactically he was very good.
• Peter Rohde – He was tremendous as our fitness & assistant coach. I think he doubted his own ability somewhat & started to look towards the senior players for guidance.

What do you do with yourself now?

Whilst I played I studies for 6 years, obtaining my degree & an MBA in Geometrics, which is the study of measurement of earth including cartography, surveying, mapping & navigation. I work for Geomatic Technologies in this field.

Do you still follow the progress of the club?

Yes, perhaps not as much as I would like. I have 3 young children so I like to spend as much time as possible with them on weekends. I go to about 5 or 6 games a year & watch what I can on TV.

Congratulations on your career with the Bulldogs & your young family. What are their names?

Thanks, my wife Elisa & I studied together. We have a 6 year old daughter Taylah & twin boys Mitchell & Jordan who are 3½.

Matthew, once again, thank you so much for your time, it’s very much appreciated.

You’re welcome.

[vho]

Thanks TCD for the insightful interview, sounded like Crofty was a gentle giant. Peter Rhode again >.>

[LostDoggy]

I always loved watching crofty play. it was a shame how his last year with us panned out though.

[FrediKanoute]

So we may have a couple more father son picks in 2022....great stuff TCD. Crofty was definitely a bulldog great and sometimes I wonder whether had he not suffered so badly with his hamstrings and had we not asked him to play outside of his weight whether he could have been an even better player for the dogs.

[GVGjr]

Croft was a rock and clearly, hamstrings aside, he was a very talented player capable of playing either end of the ground very well.

From memory, I think his first game was on a wing for the Dogs.

[bornadog]

Matty Croft is a fantastic bloke, I got to know him a bit through the company he works for.

I think he was treated badly by Rhode in that last year when we were struggling to win games and needed his experience.

[Mantis]

Terry Wheeler – I think Wheels was the best coach I had. Probably because he was my first coach & I was young & impressionable, but he was ahead of his time with professionalism & list management.

Throughout the interview's in this thread this comment is a very common theme.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Matty Croft is a fantastic bloke, I got to know him a bit through the company he works for.

I think he was treated badly by Rhode in that last year when we were struggling to win games and needed his experience.

I don't. I didn't think he deserved his final year. We gave him an extra year out of loyalty but he was done.

When he got the runaround by Anthony Rocca the previous year you knew then it was time.

[strebla]

I recall watching him play on a wing in the magoos pouring rain he he was killing it. I don't think Ihave seen better ball handling in the wet well done Coon Dog

[LostDoggy]

Crofty was always one of my favourite players. One of my favourite games of all time was when we played Geelong at SS either 2002 or 2003.

It was the first time I had made the trek from the North East of Victoria all the way to Geelong taking along a couple of my kids who were just starting to go to the games.

When we got there, I was shocked at how expensive the ground was, I had to buy seats so the kids could see rather than standing room which most people seemed to do back then (cost me $90.00) Anyway after finally finding our seats, we started to get flogged by about 40 points, and the Geelong fans were giving it to us.

Half time or three quarter time I can't quite remember, Wallace put Granty and Crofty in the backline and that was it, nothing got past those two and we ended up winning by a couple of goals - great memory.

Thanks for the interview.

[bornadog]

I don't. I didn't think he deserved his final year. We gave him an extra year out of loyalty but he was done.

When he got the runaround by Anthony Rocca the previous year you knew then it was time.

Can't agree, he was in form at Werribee and should have been picked on merit, yet Rhode told him he was not wanted and in the meantime, we were getting flogged by teams. He managed five goals in his fairwell game, so he was still up to it , at least that year. (but probably was his last year anyway)

[craigsahibee]

Crofty was and is a star.

In '98 he was super competitive against Carey yet no one in the media talked about him in the same breath as the likes of Jakovich.

Can anyone ever remember Crofty being pinned in a tackle? Very strong body and a humble champion.

Well done TCD.

[GetDimmaBack]

I remember Crofty outmarking Carey in the last minute of a game at Telstra Dome in about 2000-1. Dogs were 4 points in front after being about 40 down, and Carey threatened to take it off us. Huge effort against a champion renowned for winning games off his own boot.
Very underrated was M.Croft. IIRC, never even got a mention on the underrated lists that appeared from time to time in the media.

Another good one, TCD.

[The Dogs Bollocks]

Great job again TCD.

Another interview bites the dust. l will get thru these.

[merantau]

Agree with GetDimmaback: Matthew Croft was a very under rated player. He was always in the contest, hard to shift, strong mark with good skil[s both hand and foot and both sides of body. Good decision maker who was rarely caught with the ball. In all the years I've watched football, he's the only player I've ever seen manage to run while he pinned the ball to the middle of his back with his right hand. How the hell it got there, I don't know (and neither probably does he) but he did manage to retrieve it somehow. However, sadly after a great effort under great pressure, he went on to snap a behind. Make no mistake, Matthew Croft was a top footballer and we always be remembered fondly by supporters who were fortunate enough to see him play.