Matthew Lloyd
| Matthew Lloyd | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Nickname(s) | Lloydy, Velvet Sledgehammer,The Chef | ||
| Original team(s) | Avondale Heights/Western U18 | ||
| Debut | Round 14, 8 July 1995, Essendon vs. Adelaide, at Melbourne Cricket Ground | ||
| Height / weight | 192 cm / 93 kg | ||
| Position(s) | Full Forward | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
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270 games, 926 goals | |||
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1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Round 22, 2009. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
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| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Matthew James Lloyd (born 16 April 1978), is an Australian rules footballer who plays for and is captain of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League. He is the leading goal scorer of all time for Essendon and the seventh highest in the league's history.
Early Life
Matthew Lloyd was born in Melbourne in 1978 to parents John (a former Australian footballer who played 29 games for the Carlton Football Club from 1965-1967) and Bev Lloyd. The Lloyds moved to Scotland for 3 years because of John's work, and it was there that Matthew picked up rugby and soccer playing for his Currie club.
Lloyd attended St Martin De Porres Parish Primary School in Avondale Heights before moving on St Bernards College, Essendon.
He supported the Fitzroy Football Club when he was young because in the first game he attended, Fitzroy player Bernie Quinlan kicked 9 goals.
Football career
Lloyd was drafted into the AFL as a 16 year old in the 1995 Pre-season Draft as a "compensatory selection" that was awarded to Essendon by the AFL in return for losing Todd Ridley to the newly formed Fremantle Football Club. The Bombers picked up what would be one of their all-time greats for a relative pittance in the draft. Lloyd was heralded as a future football star after his AFL debut in 1995, where he scored a goal with his first kick in league football.
The key features of Matthew Lloyd's game are his powerful marks on the lead (particularly overhead), his use of his body in a defensive capacity and deadly accurate goal kicking, particularly from set shots, on his left foot. He converts a vast majority of set shots inside the 50-metre arc, and kicks further than 50 metres on a regular basis. Lloyd is known for his ritual when taking set shots at goal. Almost every time he takes the time to go far back on the mark, pull both his socks up, then grab some grass and throw it into the air to measure the wind and take a very long run up before kicking. He was the subject of some controversy when the AFL introduced the "shot clock" to limit the amount of time that players had to take set shots, which was labelled by many opposition supporters as being the "Lloyd rule", this is despite the fact that others, such as Brendan Fevola, on average took longer when having a shot on goal.
This goalscoring ability has enabled him to top the Essendon goal scoring every year since 1997, except for 2006 when he only played three games due to a serious hamstring injury.
Lloyd has been selected in the All Australian Team on five occasions (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003), has won the Coleman Medal for kicking the most goals in the regular season three times, (2000, 2001 and 2003), and has twice kicked more than 100 goals in a season (109 in 2000 and 105 in 2001).
Lloyd was a member of Essendon's 2000 premiership team, and has been Captain of Essendon since 2006. He was recognised for his achievements at Essendon in 2002 when he was ranked the 22nd greatest player ever to play for the club in the "Champions of Essendon" list.
In 2005 Lloyd played his 200th game for Essendon in round 13. against St Kilda.
2006 injury
Round One, 2006 the Bombers played the Sydney at Telstra Dome, Lloyd kicked eight goals in a Bombers victory.
Midway through the third quarter of the Essendon vs. Bulldogs match on 16 April (which happened to be Lloyd's 28th birthday), opponent Brian Harris accidentally fell on Lloyd as he tried to mark the ball. Lloyd walked off the ground with the aid of trainers and did not return for the rest of the match. Following scans, a week later it was revealed that there was a tear in the hamstring tendon which consequently ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Lloyd made a successful comeback against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in Round One, 2007. He kicked two goals while working further up the ground, putting to rest any concerns about his injured hamstring. Essendon beat Adelaide by 31 points.
Mark of the year 2008
In round 18 against the Melbourne Demons, Lloyd took a mark above several players to win the 2008 Mark of the Year.
End of the Velvet Sledgehammer
Round 22, 2009 saw the career of Matthew Lloyd come to an end. He will forever be remembered as a 'sniper' after a weak attack to the head of Brad Sewell. Good riddance.
Outside interests
Television/Media
Lloyd co-hosted children's AFL show Auskick'n Around on Fox Footy Channel with Brad Johnson from the Western Bulldogs Football Club before it was cancelled at the end of 2005.
In 2005, Lloyd and his wife Lisa were contestants on AFL Lovematch - a gameshow that was on Fox Footy Channel where AFL couples are tested on how well they know each other. They won, defeating Luke Livingston and his partner.
In 2006 Lloyd had a weekly spot as a panelist on Fox Footy's "White Line Fever" and after being forced to spend an extended time off the field because of injury, has become recognised for his informative views on all things football - his roles included being a special comments commentator on Triple M's football coverage as well as more regular appearances on The AFL Footy Show as a panelist.
In 2009 Lloyd will appear as a regular panelist on a new show, One Week At A Time, on Channel 10's sports HD channel as well as doing special comments on Channel 10 and writing a regular column for The Age newspaper.
Family
His parents are John and Bev Lloyd. John played 29 games for the Carlton from 1965-1967 and was also a diplomat. The Lloyds moved to Scotland for 3 years because of John's work, and it was there that Lloyd picked up rugby and soccer by playing for his Currie club.
Lloyd has 2 older brothers, Simon, who is the High Performance Manager at the Collingwood, and Brad, who is the former captain of the Williamstown Football Club (and former Hawthorn player) and now national recruiting manager for the Fremantle Football Club , as well as one older sister, Kylie, who is the Unit Manager at The Footy Show.
On 9 November 2002 Lloyd married his childhood sweetheart Lisa-Marie Caparello, known as Lisa, at Xavier College Chapel. They were first introduced by a mutual friend at a party when they were in Year 12 and have been together ever since. Their lavish wedding was covered by New Idea magazine and a documentary of the day titled One Day In November was also aired on Fox Footy Channel. Lloyd wore a suit by Pino Ciano while Lisa wore a gown by Armadale designer Jane Hill.
Lisa appeared on The Footy Show's singing competition, Screamers and was also a regular presenter on Fox Footy's Living With Footballers before the show was cancelled at the end of 2004. She has studied singing, taught herself piano, worked for Ricky Nixon's sports management company "Flying Start" and now works as a Hyperbaric Technician. Lisa was also listed in Scot Palmers "Most Powerful Women In Football".
On 20 June 2006 it was announced that they were expecting their first child in December. At 7:20pm on 15 December 2006 Lisa gave birth to a baby girl, Jaeda Ruby, who weighed in at 9 pounds, 4 ounces. In his 2007 Player Profile, Lloyd listed Jaeda as being both the best gift he's ever received and one of the highlights of his life. Also, in an interview with Alpha Magazine in May 2007, Lloyd declared that Jaeda was his "pride and joy".
On 19 March 2009 it was announced that Lloyd and Lisa are expecting their second child in September 2009.
External links
- Matthew Lloyd's profile on the official website of the Essendon Football Club
- Matthew Lloyd's playing statistics from AFL Tables