Matthew Lloyd

Matthew James Lloyd (born 16 April 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

For other people with the same name, see Matthew Lloyd (disambiguation).

Matthew Lloyd
Lloyd in 2005
Personal information
Full name Matthew James Lloyd
Nickname(s) Lloydy, Velvet Sledgehammer,[1] Lordo[2]
Date of birth (1978-04-16) 16 April 1978
Place of birth Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s) Western Jets (TAC Cup)
Draft 1995 Pre-Season Draft
Height 192 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 92 kg (203 lb)
Position(s) Full-forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1995–2009 Essendon 270 (926)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
1997–1999 Victoria 3 (8)
International team honours
2001 Australia 2 (4)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2009.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

A highly decorated full-forward, Lloyd's AFL's honours include being the eighth all-time leading goalkicker in the history of AFL/VFL, with three Coleman Medals as leading goalkicker in the league, AFL life membership, as well as winning both the Mark of the Year and Goal of the Year awards.[3][4][5] Among his representative honours are five All-Australian selections, three times representing the Victoria State of Origin team, as well as twice representing Australia in International rules football.

Lloyd has kicked over 100 goals in a season—twice.[6] He also belongs to the relatively small group of players whose first kick in the AFL resulted in a goal. With 926 goals from 270 games, he holds the record for the most career goals at Essendon, including winning the leading goalkicker award 12 times—five more times than any other Bomber. Upon his retirement, the award was renamed the Matthew Lloyd Medal in his honour.[7][8]

Early life

Matthew Lloyd was born in Melbourne in 1978 to parents John (a former VFL footballer who played 29 games for the Carlton Football Club from 1965–1967) and Bev Lloyd. The Lloyds moved to Scotland for three years because of John's work, and it was there that Matthew picked up rugby and soccer playing for his Currie club.

Lloyd attended St Martin De Porres Parish Primary School in Avondale Heights before moving to St. Bernard's College, Melbourne.[9]

He supported the Fitzroy Football Club when he was young because in the first game he attended, Fitzroy player Bernie Quinlan kicked nine goals.[10]

Career

AFL

Lloyd was drafted into the AFL as a 16-year-old in the 1995 Pre-season Draft as a "compensatory selection" that was awarded to Essendon by the AFL in return for losing Todd Ridley to the newly formed Fremantle Football Club. The Bombers picked up what would be one of their all-time greats for a relative pittance in the draft. Lloyd was heralded as a future football star after his AFL debut in Round 14, 1995, where he scored a goal with his first kick in league football and three for the match.

The key features of Lloyd's game were his powerful marks on the lead (particularly overhead), his use of his body in a defensive capacity and accurate goal kicking, particularly from set shots on his left foot. He converted a large majority of set shots inside the 50-metre arc and kicked further than 50 metres on a regular basis.

Lloyd was known for his ritual when taking set shots at goal. Almost every time, he took time to go far back on the mark, pull both his socks up, and then grab some grass and throw it into the air to measure the wind and take a very long run-up before kicking; this was his method of following advice given to him by coaches to bring down his heart rate in order to focus better. In 2006, the AFL introduced a "shot clock" to limit the amount of time that players had to take set shots; although Lloyd's ritual was not the longest in the league, its quirks made it so well known that the rule became commonly known as the "Lloyd Rule".[11] Lloyd adjusted his ritual to fit into the new rule, and he still retained the most famous aspect (throwing grass) until the end of his career.

Lloyd's goal-scoring ability enabled him to top the Essendon goal scoring every year from 1997 to 2009, except for 2006 when he only played three games due to a serious hamstring injury.

Lloyd in the 2007 AFL season

Lloyd was selected in the All-Australian team on five occasions (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003), won the Coleman Medal for kicking the most goals in the regular season three times (2000, 2001 and 2003)[12] and twice kicked more than 100 goals in a completed season (109 in 2000 and 105 in 2001; on both occasions he reached the milestone during the finals).

Lloyd was a member of Essendon's 2000 premiership team and was captain of Essendon from 2006 to 2009. He was recognised for his achievements at Essendon in 2002 when he was ranked the 22nd-greatest player ever to play for the club in the "Champions of Essendon" list.[13]

Lloyd was appointed Essendon captain ahead of the 2006 season after James Hird elected to stand down following the side's disappointing 2005 season.[14] Lloyd's first match as Essendon captain resulted in a 27-point win over the defending premiers Sydney, where he kicked eight goals (six of them in the first quarter alone). It would be the only win that Essendon would enjoy under Lloyd's captaincy until exactly a year later.[15]

In addition to serving as captain and earning life membership at Essendon,[16][17] Lloyd is also the team's all-time-highest goal scorer.[18]

In 2013, Lloyd was inducted as a member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame[19] and as a Legend in the Essendon Football Club Hall of Fame.[20]

State of Origin

Lloyd had a successful State of Origin career, kicking 8 goals in 3 games. He first played for Victoria in 1997, against South Australia, kicking 3 goals, including a snap kick along the ground from near the boundary line, which went one way and then curved back another.[21] In 1998, Lloyd kicked two goals against The Allies, in Brisbane. Lloyd last played for Victoria in 1999 against South Australia in the second-last-ever State of Origin game, kicking 3 goals and being named in the best players.[22]

Career highlights

In Round 20, 2007, Lloyd kicked a backheel goal whilst surrounded by opponents and was awarded the 2007 Goal of the Year.[23]

In Round 18 against the Melbourne Demons, Lloyd took a spectacular mark above five players to win the 2008 Mark of the Year. Immediately after the mark, Lloyd recalled in a 2022 episode of The Sunday Footy Show that he roasted his opponent Matthew Warnock afterwards:[24]

"You've always wanted to be on a footy card; now you'll probably be on one."

A haul of eight goals in that match gave Lloyd his best return since Round 1, 2006.

Performances against the Sydney Swans

In Round 3, 1999, Lloyd, aged just 21 at the time, kicked a record 13 goals against the Sydney Swans at the MCG, kicking the first goal of the game and breaking John Coleman's record for most goals kicked by an Essendon player against the Swans.[25]

In his first game as Essendon captain, also playing against the Sydney Swans, Lloyd kicked eight goals (six in the first quarter against his opponent, Leo Barry)[15][25] He kicked a total of 69 goals playing against the Swans throughout his career.[26]

Injuries

During Essendon's 1996 preliminary final against the Sydney Swans in Sydney, Lloyd ruptured his spleen in the second quarter. He suffered a large amount of blood loss and spent 10 days in intensive care in a Sydney hospital.[27][28]

In Round 6, 2002, against Fremantle, Lloyd ruptured a tendon in his right ring finger when it was caught in his opponent's guernsey. It required surgery to be reattached, and he was out for eight weeks.

Lloyd returned in Round 14 against the Western Bulldogs when Steven Kretiuk controversially targeted his injured hand.[29]

Midway through the third quarter of the Essendon vs. Western Bulldogs match on 16 April 2006 (which happened to be Lloyd's 28th birthday), opponent Brian Harris accidentally fell on Lloyd as he tried to mark the ball. Lloyd walked off the ground with the aid of trainers and did not return for the rest of the match. Following scans, a week later it was revealed that the hamstring tendon had been snapped off the bone. Surgery to repair the career-threatening injury took place, which ruled him out for the rest of the season.[30][31] Lloyd's absence from the team was felt hard, as the Bombers, despite high expectations, finished 15th on the ladder at season's end with a final win-loss record of 3–1–18.[32] As Lloyd was captain of Essendon and was unable to play for the remainder of the season (his first year of captaincy, in fact), David Hille was promoted to team captain in Lloyd's absence.

Lloyd made a successful comeback against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in Round 1, 2007. He kicked two goals while working further up the ground, putting to rest any concerns about his injured hamstring. Essendon beat Adelaide by 31 points.

Brad Sewell incident

In Round 22, 2009, Lloyd hit Hawthorn player Brad Sewell with a heavy bump that left him unconscious and with facial injuries, and it led to a brawl between the two teams.[33][34] The Essendon–Hawthorn rivalry is fierce, first reaching a flashpoint in the 1980s and peaking in the infamous Line in the Sand Match in 2004. In the bitter aftermath of the 2009 match in which four players were suspended for a total of seven matches and $27,000 in fines were handed out, Hawthorn's Campbell Brown called Lloyd "one of the biggest snipers in the game" and said that "his time is coming".[35] Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson threatened Lloyd and abused an interchange steward and had to be restrained by Hawthorn football manager Mark Evans as the teams left the field.[36] AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou defended Lloyd's reputation;[37] Clarkson was fined for his comments[38] and later apologised for the outburst.[39]

Essendon went on to win the match by 17 points after trailing by 22 points at the time of the incident, and in the week after the match, Lloyd was given a six-match suspension by the match review panel for the hit on Sewell. This was reduced to four matches after he decided not to appeal the sanction.[40] Lloyd only served one match of his suspension, missing Essendon's 96-point elimination final loss to Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, before announcing his retirement on 23 September 2009.

Statistics
[41]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Led the league for the season only
Led the league after finals only
Led the league after season and finals
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1995 Essendon 185763117482211.41.26.23.49.64.40.2
1996 Essendon 1811187783411246111.60.67.13.110.24.21.0
1997 Essendon 18206333212125272125173.21.710.63.013.66.30.9
1998 Essendon 1823703824977326156243.01.710.83.314.26.81.0
1999 Essendon 1822874023954293142224.01.810.92.513.36.51.0
2000 Essendon 18251096032368391186214.42.412.92.715.67.40.8
2001 Essendon 18211053624449293158235.01.711.62.314.07.51.1
2002 Essendon 181647291434018396112.91.88.92.511.46.00.7
2003 Essendon 1822933020466270140214.21.49.33.012.36.41.0
2004 Essendon 1824963922849277134354.01.69.52.011.55.61.5
2005 Essendon 1820592918151232104233.01.59.12.611.65.21.2
2006 Essendon 1831333417512314.31.011.25.717.07.70.3
2007 Essendon 1819623121459273124333.31.611.33.114.46.51.7
2008 Essendon 1821621619983282144353.00.89.54.013.46.91.7
2009 Essendon 1818352713188219104261.91.57.34.912.25.81.4
Career 270 926 424 2710 812 3522 1704 304 3.4 1.6 10.0 3.0 13.0 6.3 1.1

Honours and achievements
Brownlow Medal votes
Season Votes
1995 0
1996 3
1997 7
1998 5
1999 9
2000 14
2001 15
2002 6
2003 14
2004 10
2005 3
2006 3
2007 0
2008 5
2009 3
Total 97

Retirement

On 23 September 2009, Lloyd announced his retirement to a packed media conference at the Essendon Football Club Hall of Fame. Although he had been offered another contract,[42] Lloyd said that "now is my time from a physical and mental point of view" and that he would "...prefer to go a year too early than a year too late."[43]

To celebrate Lloyd's career, the Coventry End of Docklands Stadium is renamed the Lloyd End for Essendon home games.[44]

In 2009, Lloyd was appointed assistant coach at the AIS-AFL Academy;[45] however, he ruled out applying for an AFL coaching position.[46]

Media work

Lloyd co-hosted children's AFL show Auskick'n Around on Fox Footy Channel with Brad Johnson from the Western Bulldogs from 2003 until it was cancelled at the end of 2005.

In 2006, Lloyd had a weekly spot as a panelist on Fox Footy's White Line Fever and, after being forced to spend extended time off the field because of injury, he became recognised for his informative views on all things football – his roles included being a special comments commentator on Triple M's football coverage as well as more regular appearances on The AFL Footy Show as a panelist.

In 2009, Lloyd appeared as a regular panelist on a new show, One Week at a Time, as well as doing special comments on Network Ten and writing a regular column for The Age newspaper. Following his retirement, Lloyd has been heavily involved in the media.

Lloyd signed with the Network Ten[47] AFL team as an expert commentator for the 2010 and 2011 AFL seasons on Channel Ten and One HD (he had already provided special commentary during various matches of the 2009 AFL season for the network), until Ten Sport lost the rights at the end of the 2011 AFL season. He also worked for radio station SEN, was a co-host of The Game Plan on One HD during 2011, and continued working for The Age.[48]

Lloyd's autobiography (co-authored with Andrew Clarke), Straight Shooter, was released in July 2011.[49][50]

After Network Ten lost the AFL broadcasting rights, Lloyd joined the Nine Network for 2012 to be a panelist on The Footy Show and The Sunday Footy Show.[51] He also left SEN to join 3AW's AFL special comments team.

In 2013, he joined Footy Classified as a panelist alongside Gary Lyon, Craig Hutchison and Caroline Wilson; as well as continuing his regular roles on The Sunday Footy Show and 3AW Football. Lloyd is also a recurring panelist on The Footy Show and on occasion appears on Nine News Melbourne to provide insights into the weekly round of matches.[52]

In March 2022, Lloyd announced on Footy Classified that he had Bell's palsy, a form of facial paralysis.[53][54][55]

Coaching career

On 14 November 2014, it was announced that Lloyd would return to the Essendon Football Club as a part-time forwards coach, working closely with the club's forwards.[56]

Personal life

Lloyd's parents are John and Bev Lloyd. John Lloyd played 29 games for Carlton from 1965–1967 and coached the Braybrook Football Club to three premierships. The family moved to Scotland for three years because of John Lloyd's work and it was there that Lloyd played rugby and soccer for his Currie club.

Lloyd has two older brothers, Simon, who is an assistant coach at the Geelong Football Club,[57] and Brad, who is a former Hawthorn player (and former captain of the Williamstown Football Club) and now head of football at the Carlton Football Club,[58] as well as one older sister, Kylie, who is the Finance Manager at Nine Network Australia.

On 9 November 2002, Lloyd married his childhood sweetheart, Lisa-Marie Caparello, usually known as "Lisa", at Xavier College Chapel. Their wedding was covered by New Idea magazine, and a documentary of the day, titled One Day in November, was also aired on Fox Footy Channel. Lisa Lloyd appeared on The Footy Show's singing competition, Screamers, in 2005[59] and was also a regular presenter on Fox Footy's Living With Footballers.[60]

The Lloyds have three children: Jaeda Ruby (born December 2006),[61] Kira Grace (born September 2009)[62] and Jacob Matthew (born November 2012).[63]

References
  1. The End Hit Lloydy With Thud The Courier Mail
  2. Matthew Lloyd [@MatthewLloyd18] (22 April 2013). ""@JakeBourke: @stevesmithffx @crammj @matthewlloyd18 It's actually 'Lordo', folks. No idea why. Billy accidentally called me that, it stuck" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. "Lloyd to be inducted as AFL life Member". Essendonfc.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  4. "Lloyd Awarded Goal of the Year". Essendonfc.com.au. 26 September 2007. Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  5. "Lloyd Wins Mark of the Year". Essendonfc.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  6. "Bomber Matthew Lloyd Recalls Reunions Amid Crush". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  7. "The Collecting Bug". The Collecting Bug. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  8. "Wright claims maiden Crichton Medal". essendonfc.com.au. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  9. St Bernard's Old Collegians Wall of Fame
  10. "Unforgettable time for Lloyd". Afl.com.au. 8 February 2007. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  11. "Lloyd Rule to speed up goalkicking". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 November 2005. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  12. "Coleman Medal - Previous Winners". Afl.com.au. 4 January 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  13. "Champions of Essendon". Essendonfc.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 August 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  14. "Lloyd to lead Bombers". 27 September 2005 – via www.abc.net.au.
  15. "Bombers upset Swans". 1 April 2006 – via www.abc.net.au.
  16. "Lloyd A Life Member". Essendonfc.com.au. 17 December 2004. Archived from the original on 17 July 2005. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  17. Johnson, Len (28 September 2005). "Lloyd tips a new era for Bombers". The Age.
  18. "A Record Breaking Performance". Essendonfc.com.au. 10 August 2003. Archived from the original on 3 January 2005. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  19. "Lloyd joins AFL elite". news.com.au. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  20. "Essendon greats honoured". essendonfc.com.au. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  21. Costa Sports (18 April 2015), That Was the Season That Was 1997 AFL, archived from the original on 22 December 2021, retrieved 31 March 2016
  22. "Digitised Resource Viewer". cedric.slv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  23. "Best goal and mark of the year announced". Theaustralian.com.au. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  24. Llordo reveals his cheeky sledge after taking mark of the year - Sunday Footy Show | Footy on Nine, retrieved 12 April 2023
  25. Seven controversial moments of Essendon champ and Hall of Fame inductee Matthew Lloyd, Herald Sun, 5 June 2013
  26. Matthew Lloyd, AFL Tables
  27. "Caring Dons laud dedicated docs". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  28. Lerner, Ronny (26 March 2020). "'I would've died that night': Lloyd's other 1996 prelim nightmare". The Age. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  29. "Review on Kretiuk incident". Theage.com.au. 8 July 2002. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  30. "Lloyd Injury Shock". Essendonfc.com.au. 22 April 2006. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  31. "Lloyd Shattered By Hamstring Injury". Abc.net.au. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  32. "Bulldogs earn gritty win". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 1 September 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  33. "Matthew Lloyd bump fires up Essendon". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  34. "Matthew Lloyd clashes with Brad Sewell footage". YouTube. 29 August 2009. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  35. Barrett, Damian (30 August 2009). "Brown Slams Lloyd The 'Sniper'". Foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  36. "What Clarkson Said To Lloyd". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  37. "Matthew Lloyd No Sniper". Adelaidenow.com.au. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  38. "Alastair Clarkson fined for Matthew Lloyd comments". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  39. "Clarkson sorry for post-match outburst". Au.news.yahoo.com. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  40. "Lloyd, Bombers accept penalties". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  41. "AFL Tables - Matthew Lloyd - Stats - Statistics".
  42. "Lloyd requests more time". Essendonfc.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  43. "Lloyd quits". Afl.com.au. 23 September 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  44. "Honour a fitting end for Matthew Lloyd". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  45. "Lloyd and O'Loughlin Lend Support To Emerging Talent". Ausport.gov.au. Archived from the original on 30 March 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  46. "Lloyd's coaching aspirations on hold | The Advocate | Burnie, TAS". 24 November 2011.
  47. "OneHD: Matthew Lloyd profile". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011.
  48. "The Age: Matthew Lloyd". Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  49. "Lloyd's Final Stand for the Bombers". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  50. "A fear of failure was my greatest spur from the very start". Theage.com.au. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  51. "Channel 9 signs Matthew Lloyd". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  52. @9NewsMelb (28 September 2018). "Tomorrow's Grand Final tips with @MatthewLloyd18. Who will win? #9News" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  53. "AFL great Matthew Lloyd reveals shock health diagnosis". Fox Sports. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  54. "A footy legend said 'heart issues and Bell's palsy has gone through the roof since the boosters'. Is he correct?". ABC News. 28 April 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  55. "Matthew Lloyd opens up on his Bell's Palsy battle | "The worst part of it is I can't blink or shut my right eye properly, so your eye continually dries out, you have to tape it down to sleep." Matthew... | By Footy on Nine | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  56. Lloyd Back In for 2015, Essendon Football Club official website, 14 November 2014
  57. "Assistant coaching role for Simon Lloyd". Fremantlefc.com.au. 22 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  58. "National Recruiting Manager appointed". Fremantlefc.com.au. 20 February 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  59. "Support our latest Bomber star". Essendonfc.com.au. 28 April 2005. Archived from the original on 19 June 2005. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  60. "Living With Footballers". The Age. 1 April 2004. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  61. "Lloyd Family Grows By One". Essendonfc.com.au. 16 December 2006. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  62. "Another baby girl for Lloyd". Heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  63. "Lloyd family welcomes baby boy". Essendon footy Club. Archived from the original on 30 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.

Further reading
  • Lloyd, Matthew (2011). Matthew Lloyd: Straight Shooter. Random House Australia. ISBN 978-1-86471-293-3.
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