Australian Football

With pace, determination and precise use of the ball Peter Matera has been one of the most eye-catching performers in the modern game since making his debut for South Fremantle in 1987. After a somewhat inconsistent debut season he began to blossom in 1988 when he was the only non-VFL player to be selected the Western Australian state of origin team which played Victoria.

In 1989 Matera joined West Coast, and it would be hard to contend with the observation that he has since become one of the half a dozen greatest players in the short history of a great club. In a sport which, during the 1990s, was becoming increasingly the province of athletic speedsters Matera was admirably fitted to succeed; however, the fact that he combined these attributes with a wide range of the more traditional football skills - kicking, tackling, marking and so forth - transformed him from a merely good player into a champion.

Like all champions, in whatever sport, Peter Matera was often at his best in important games, most notable of which was the 1992 AFL Grand Final, in which he won the Norm Smith Medal after booting five goals in an exhilarating exhibition of attacking wing play. Later in his career he held down a half back flank with equal efficacy.

Matera was much more than just a big game player, however. His consistency is evidenced by his selection in no fewer than five AFL All Australian teams, the first three as a wingman, and the last two on a half back flank. In some ways, his name - along with those of certain of his more illustrious team mates, such as Hart, Heady, Mainwaring, McIntosh and Worsfold - will always be synonymous with the first genuinely auspicious era in the history of the West Coast Eagles Football Club.

Author - John Devaney