| Matthew Egan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Matt Egan playing for Geelong. | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Matthew Egan | ||
| Born | (1983-07-10)10 July 1983 (age 42) | ||
| Original team | Geelong (VFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 62,2004 National Draft | ||
| Height | 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) | ||
| Weight | 101 kg (223 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre half-back | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2005–2007 | Geelong | 59 (1) | |
| Coaching career3 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 2015 | Essendon | 3 (1–2–0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2007. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2015. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Matthew Egan (born 10 July 1983) is a formerAustralian rules footballer who played for theGeelong Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL). He served as interim senior coach at theEssendon Football Club after the resignation ofJames Hird for the final three rounds of the2015 season.[1] He served as head of development at theMelbourne Football Club from September 2016 until 2020.[2]
Egan took up football in his late teens after having been a promising juniortennis player, having once been ranked fifth for juniors inVictoria. As a sentiment to this he is known for his trademark "Forehand punch" as he swings it like a tennisForehand. Geelong drafted him with their final pick in the2004 National Draft, after he had played in theVFL with the reserves and was named Geelong's best first-year player for2005.
He was a tallcentre half-back, who often shut down some of the opposition's top forwards, includingNick Riewoldt,Barry Hall,Matthew Lloyd,Fraser Gehrig,Jonathan Brown,Matthew Pavlich andQuinten Lynch amongst others.
Egan had a spectacular third season in the AFL, playing 22 matches, with 257 disposals, achieving several honours such asAll-Australian selection, and celebrated his 50th AFL game with a win over theSydney Swans, even though he did only manage nine disposals.
Round 14 saw a 50-point win overEssendon, with 12 disposals, and receiving anArmy Award nomination for a courageous goal-saving, diving smother. He was declared the round's winner with 44% of the public vote, but ultimately lost out in the selection of the final shortlist of the year's weekly winners.
Against theBrisbane Lions in Round 22, Egan fractured thenavicular bone in his right foot during a marking contest with Jonathan Brown, requiring emergency surgery to insert screws into his foot. This injury saw Egan forced out of the finals, missing both the AFL and VFL's victorious premiership sides.
Egan capped off an excellent season with selection in the2007 All-Australian Team as thecentre half-back in a squad that contained nine Geelong players. He was also named Geelong's Best Clubman for2007.[3]
In November 2008, Geelong admitted it was unlikely that Egan would play AFL again, as a result of the foot injury he sustained in 2007.[4]
On 26 August 2009, Geelong announced that they would delist Egan, but that they remained hopeful he would play again in the AFL and they also retired the number 19 for season 2010 in honour of Egan. He worked that year as an assistant coach at the Cats VFL team and continued to work for the club as an assistant in 2010.[5]
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | ||||
| 2005 | Geelong | 19 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 67 | 65 | 132 | 49 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 8.8 | 3.3 | 0.5 |
| 2006 | Geelong | 19 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 102 | 130 | 232 | 82 | 31 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 5.9 | 10.5 | 3.7 | 1.4 |
| 2007 | Geelong | 19 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 115 | 142 | 257 | 80 | 29 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 11.7 | 3.6 | 1.3 |
| 2008 | Geelong | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009 | Geelong | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 59 | 1 | 1 | 284 | 337 | 621 | 211 | 68 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 10.5 | 3.6 | 1.2 | ||
