Australian Football

After failing to make the grade at Richmond, Carlton and Essendon Paul Dimattina persisted in his quest to play football at the top level, and was ultimately rewarded. In 1993 he displayed impressive form for Sandringham in the VFA, on the strength of which he was drafted by Footscray.

Dimattina did not play at senior level in 1994 but after making his AFL debut the following year gradually developed into hard working, highly effective, in-your-face midfielder. His combination with fellow on-ballers Jose Romero and Tony Liberatore was a prime factor in the Bulldogs’ rise to pre-eminence in 1997-8. However, in a cruel twist Dimattina did not get to play finals in either of those years. In 1997 he was suspended, while the following season he surprisingly fell out of favour on the eve of the major round. Thereafter, he recovered to produce more football of high quality over the next five seasons, and when he was de-listed in 2003 it was something of a surprise as he had been a regular member of the team.

After not playing in 2004 Dimattina joined Southport in 2005 and was best afield in that year’s grand final as the Sharks downed Morningside.

Author - John Devaney