After a decade with the Club that delivered three consecutive premierships and four Grand Final appearances, Matthews felt the timing was right to finally depart his beloved Lions.
Brisbane Lions Chairman Mr Tony Kelly accepted the Senior Coach's resignation with great disappointment and regret yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.
Leigh Matthews departs the Club after guiding the Lions to the equal best single-season turnaround in AFL history - taking the team from 16th in 1998 to 4th in his first season as Senior Coach in 1999.
During his tenth season at the helm, the 56 year-old Matthews also became the longest serving coach in the history of Fitzroy, the Bears and the merged Lions with 237 games.
He surpassed former Fitzroy coach Bill Stephen's 214 matches in Round 22 last season before passing Robert Walls who coached a total of 224 games with both Fitzroy (1981-1985) and the Brisbane Bears (1991-1995).
In all, Matthews was involved in a total of 793 VFL/AFL games - 332 as a player and 461 as Coach. His 461 games coached rank him 8th for most games coached in VFL/AFL history.
However, he will be best remembered as the first coach to bring the premiership cup to the AFL's newest northern frontier when he led the Lions to a hat-trick of premierships from 2001-03 and the 2004 Grand Final.
Matthews has remarkably led each of the three AFL Clubs he has been involved with to the ultimate success of a premiership flag. In fact, he has been involved in a total of eight premierships - four as a player and four as a coach and is an AFL Hall of Fame sporting legend.
Such is his football legacy and prestige, that the AFL Players Association annually award the coveted Leigh Matthews Trophy to the player voted by his peers as the League's Most Valuable Player.
Matthews will remain with the Club for the immediate future to help complete their full post-season review and list management process.
LEIGH MATTHEWS CAREER SUMMARY
AT HAWTHORN (1969-85)
- He captained the Hawks for five years and won eight Best & Fairest awards with the club.
- He played 332 matches including 29 finals and won 4 premierships with the Hawks.
- He kicked 915 goals and was their six-time leading goal-kicker for the season playing predominantly as a rover / forward.
- He was also Hawthorn's Best First Year Player in 1969.
- Meanwhile, he represented Victoria 14 times and captained the ‘Big V' in 1980.
AT COLLINGWOOD (1986-95)
- He coached them for 10 seasons over 224 matches and in 1990, he famously led the Magpies to their first premiership in 32 years.
AT THE BRISBANE LIONS (1999 - 2008)
- He coached the Lions to the equal best single-season turnaround in AFL history - taking the team from 16th in 1998 to 4th in his first season as Senior Coach.
- He then became the first coach to bring the premiership cup to the AFL's newest frontier when he led the Lions to a hat-trick of premierships from 2001 to 2003.
- He is the longest serving coach in the history of Fitzroy, the Bears and the merged Lions with 237 games as Senior Coach.
PERSONAL SUCCESS
- He was named the AFL's Player of the Century in a Herald Sun poll in 1999.
- In 2007 he became only the third person in AFL history to be involved in 750 matches as a player and coach.
- His 461 games coached rank him 8th for most games coached in VFL/AFL history.
TEAM SUCCESS
- Leigh has remarkably led each of the three AFL clubs he has been involved with to the ultimate success of a premiership flag.
- He has been involved in a total of eight premiership teams - four as a player and four as a coach.
- Leigh is an AFL Hall of Fame sporting legend.
- The AFL Players Association annually award the coveted Leigh Matthews Trophy to the player voted by his peers as the League's Most Valuable Player.
