GWW wrote:I couldn't believe what i read Matthews being quoted as saying in today's paper. Basically apologising for the Bruns incident. Yet it wasn't his only incident, so to apologise for this one matter so as to imply it was a one off just didn't sit right with me. I realise footy was a different game 20/30 years ago, but Matthews as good a footballer as he obviously was, had form as a sniper, dating back to the Robran incident, and i believe quite a few other less documented incidents.
So Leigh why not apologise for ALL the incidents!!
Maybe because he was asked about the Bruns incident and not all the others. Yes, Matthews was a hard man and took out a few players but he also copped a fair bit as well .. and never grizzled about it.
He has always apologised for the Bruns incident because it wasn't in play. If you saw the game, there was a lot of tension sparked by Mark Jackson's special brand of insanity and the game got out of hand. There were smaller incidents all over the park with people picking each other off. The game was truly ugly.
Matthews saw Bruns out the corner of his eye and assumed he was running in to hit him. He wasn't, he was just running past, and Matthews clobbered him. Realising what he did, he just stood there while 4-5 Geelong players ran in and belted the hell out him.
Matthews wasn't perfect, he was of his time.