Australian Football

An industrious, energetic and influential midfielder, Matthew Knights was one of the most important members of the Richmond team for more than a decade. Between 1988 and 2002 he played a total of 279 V/AFL games, kicking 141 goals, and was club best and fairest twice. He represented Victoria on half a dozen occasions, and made the AFL All Australian team in 1998. When the Tigers made a rare major round appearance in 1995, Knights was a major driving force behind the team's roller-coaster ride to the Preliminary Final. Skipper of the club from 1997 to 2000, he was selected on the interchange bench in Richmond's official 'Team of the Twentieth Century'.

In 2004, Matthew Knights was appointed non-playing coach of the Port Adelaide Magpies, but after failing to get the team into the finals, he stood down. The following season saw him taking over as coach of Essendon-aligned VFL club the Bendigo Bombers. After three years in the role, Knights beat off strong opposition to become senior coach at Essendon in succession to Kevin Sheedy. Limited success in his 2008-10 coaching stint saw him replaced by James Hird. Knights became coach of Geelong's VFL side in 2012.

Author - John Devaney, with updates by Andrew Gigacz