LLOYD, Matthew

Matthew Lloyd is destined to be remembered as one of the game's greatest full-forwards. Essendon selected him in the 1995 Draft with the compensatory pick that the Club received for losing Tony Delaney,Todd Ridley and Dale Kickett to the newly-established Fremantle Football Club. The Bombers certainly had the best of that deal!

He starred in the Reserves in 1995 before making his debut in Round 14 in a 122-point win over Adelaide at the MCG. His first kick was a goal - a foretaste of what was to come - although it was a scrubby kick off the ground rather than the accurate set shot that Essendon supporters would come to expect.

He played four games early in 1996, missed the middle of the season, then returned in Round 19 in a game against Adelaide, which he dominated, kicking seven goals and winning a Rising Star nomination. He played the next seven games, including the Preliminary Final against Sydney at the SGC in which he ruptured his spleen. He lost a great deal of blood and spent ten days in intensive care in a Sydney hospital.

That serious injury delayed the start of his 1997 season until Round 3 but he then played every game for the rest of the year. His 63 goals in 20 games that year signalled the arrival of a genuine talent.

In 1998 Lloyd kicked 70 goals, the highest individual tally since Sheedy's arrival at Windy Hill in 1981, and he gained his first All-Australian selection.

After another dynamic season in 1999 he stamped himself as one of the stars of the game and was rewarded with All-Australian selection for the second time. His 87 goals was the second-hoghest in the AFL that year.

Lloyd won the John Coleman Medal as the AFL leading goalkicker in 2000 with 109 goals, with a nine goal haul against Fremantle, his best for the year. It was the first time an Essendon player had enjoyed a 100-goal season since Geoff Blethyn in 1972. He was a important member of the winning 2000 Grand Final team finishing with four goals for the day.

He continued his outstanding career in 2001 with All-Australian selection for the fourth year in a row and came runner-up to Jason Johnson in the Crichton Medal. He also won the Coleman Medal for the 2nd year in a row, with 105 goals, averaging 5 goals per match over 21 games.

He missed three games through suspension in 2001, including the Preliminary Final, but he returned for the Grand Final to be one of Essendon's best in the loss to Brisbane.

In 2002 Lloyd was Essendon's leading goalkicker for the sixth time, equalling the legendary John Coleman's record. His total of 47 goals for the year was well down on the previous seasons and came as a result of a serious finger injury in Round 6 causing him to miss seven weeks. After his return he looked set for a great finals series but he was knocked out in the early minutes of the Elimination Final and missed the remainder of the game and the following week's Qualifying Final

Lloyd fought back in 2003 and recovered his status as the competition's premier full-forward, finishing with 93 goals to secure his third Coleman Medal and also his seventh leading goalkicking award at Essendon. Lloyd also passed the Club's all-time leading goalkicking record in Round 19 against Western Bulldogs, surpassing Simon Madden's record of 575 goals. He finished fourth in the Club's 2003 Best and Fairest .

In 2004 Lloyd continued to be one of the most potent forwards in the game to finish runner-up in the Coleman Medal with 96 goals and sixth in the Club's Best and Fairest award.

Matthew's achievements for 2005 included celebrating his 200th game in Round 13 against St Kilda and he also topped Essendon's goal-kicking tally again with 59 goals. This was a massive effort as he had struggled early in the season to be the goal kicking target. His confidence restored with a massive bag of eight goals in the Collingwood game in Round 16. This was also the game he showed he was inspirational, leading from the front, as acting captain in the absence of James Hird. He became Essendon captain on the 27th of September 2005 when Hird chose to stand down.

His 2006 season was shaping up to be vintage Lloyd when he kicked eight goals and four goals in the opening two rounds. But he tore his hamstring from the bone in round three requiring surgery and he missed the remainer of the season. He had a very fine 2008 season roaming up the ground, kicking 62 goals and winning the AFL mark of the year in a game against Melbourne when he kicked eight goals.

In 2009 Lloyd was played further up the ground in a role not entirely familiar to him allowing others to gain some experience at full-forward. Essendon went into the final game of the season against Hawthorn needing a win to play finals. After trailing at half-time by 22 points Lloyd came out and with a bump on Hawthorn player Brad Sewell indicated he was going to go down fighting. This seemed to energise his team and the Bombers fought back to win by 17 points and reach the finals for the first time since 2004.

Unfortunately Lloyd received a four match ban for his bump on Sewell and the Bombers were well beaten by Adelaide in their only finals appearance.

On 23rd September 2009, after 270 games and a club record 926 goals, Lloyd announced his retirement from football in front of a packed press conference. On 30 September at the 2009 Essendon Best & Fairest awards night, outgoing CEO Peter Jackson announced that Essendon's leading goalkicker medal would be named the Matthew Lloyd Medal in his honour.

The key features of his game were his quick leads, his strong and often spectacular marking, and his accurate left-foot kicking. His goal kicking ritual from a set shot rarely changed - going well back from the mark, pulling up his socks and, most famously, throwing a few pieces of grass into the air.

After being criticised early in his career for not being hard enough at the ball, he become much more physical, using his body to great effect. This earned him several suspensions and the nickname of the "Velvet Sledgehammer".

He also suffered some serious injuries during his long career. The most serious was the ruptured spleen although he did not miss many games because of it because it happened in the 1996 Preliminary Final against Sydney which Essendon lost. He later missed eight games in 2002 when he caught his ring finger in an opponent's jumper and ruptured the tendon. In Round 3, 2006, an opponent fell on him as he was going for a mark. Although the injury didn't seem serious at first, scans revealed that his hamstring had been torn from the bone. It required surgery and he missed the rest of the season.

He played many memorable games and kicked "bags" many times but two of his most memorable were against Sydney and the Kangaroos. In Round 3, 1999, he kicked a career-high 13 goals against Sydney in an 81-point win. But his greatest was probably the famous "Comeback Game" in Round 16, 2001, against the Kangaroos. Essendon was 69 points down in the second quarter but stormed back to win by 12 points, the greatest comeback in VFL/AFL history. Lloyd kicked nine goals straight to help secure this famous victory.

Following retirement, he became a well-respected radio and TV commentator.

The Lloyds are a strong football family. His father, John, played 29 games for Carlton and his brother, Brad, played 11 games for Hawthorn and later became an adminstrator at Fremantle and Carlton. His other brother, Simon, has had a number of roles at Fremantle, Collingwood, Hawthorn and Geelong.

Matthew Lloyd was named at number 22 in the Champions of Essendon and his place is secure as one of the game's best-ever players. He was awarded AFL Life membership in 2009.