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Key Facts

Full name
Matthew Dent

Known as
Matthew Dent

Born
17 January 1972 (age 53)

Age at first & last AFL game
First game: 22y 125d
Last game: 29y 221d

Height and weight
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 86 kg

Senior clubs
Fitzroy; Western Bulldogs; Hawthorn

Jumper numbers
Fitzroy: 31
Western Bulldogs: 21
Hawthorn: 36

Recruited from
Fitzroy (1997); Western Bulldogs (2001)

Matthew Dent

Advanced stats
Club
League
Career span
Games
Goals
Avg
Win %
AKI
AHB
AMK
BV
FitzroyAFL1994-19964790.199%10.136.063.720
Western BulldogsAFL1997-200063100.1663%9.035.103.080
HawthornAFL2001800.0063%7.504.635.130
AFL1994-2001118190.1642%9.365.453.470
Total1994-2001118190.1642%9.365.453.470

AFL: 10,509th player to appear, 2,003rd most games played, 3,860th most goals kickedFitzroy: 1,129th player to appear, 270th most games played, 374th most goals kickedWestern Bulldogs: 865th player to appear, 220th most games played, 397th most goals kickedHawthorn: 803rd player to appear, 651st most games played, 950th most goals kicked

A tough, no frills defender who was sometimes overly aggressive, as attested to by his rather frequent visits to the Tribunal, Matthew Dent commenced his senior playing career with Sturt in 1991 before being picked up by Fitzroy at the 1993 National Draft. He gave solid service to the Lions in what proved to be their last three seasons as a standalone club, playing 47 AFL games and kicking nine goals before crossing to Footscray. It was a similar story at the Bulldogs where his almost fanatical devotion to the team cause made him extremely popular with the club’s fans.

After 63 games and 10 goals for Footscray/Western Bulldogs Dent was somewhat surprisingly traded to Hawthorn ahead of the 2001 season. He struggled somewhat to establish himself with the Hawks, managing just eight games and no goals for the year.

Matthew Dent returned to Sturt in 2002 and rounded off his career in style as a member of the Double Blues team which accounted for Central District in that year’s grand final.

Author - John Devaney

Sources

Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers by Russell Holmesby & Jim Main; Wikipedia article

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.