Matthew Knights (born 5 October 1970) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Geelong Football Club.[1] Knights played in the midfield for the Richmond Football Club from 1988 to 2002, before going on to forge a coaching career, most notably as head coach of the Essendon Football Club from 2008 to 2010. He later became the head coach of the Geelong VFL Football Club from 2012–14, guiding the Cats to the 2012 VFL Premiership and the 2013 VFL Grand Final.
Knights wore the number 33 guernsey in 279 games between 1988-2002 for the Tigers whom he captained between 1997-2000. Playing in Richmond's midfield for the majority of his career, Knights was known for his ball winning ability if not his athleticism. Gifted with excellent "vision" or spatial awareness, and consistently reliable delivery from his left boot, given time and space Knights was one of the most damaging midfielders in the AFL throughout the 90s.
Though rewarded with numerous individual honors playing in a mediocre team, Knights made only two appearances with the Tigers in the AFL Finals Series in 1995 and 2001. He was placed top four in the team's annual best and fairest vote seven times between 1990 and 2000, and tied for fourth place in the Brownlow Medal count of 1995.
Knights' career was interrupted by a serious ankle injury in Round 2 of 1996 and a knee injury in the pre-season Ansett Cup competition in 1997. Late in 1998 he became one of the first high-profile AFL players to be diagnosed with the debilitating groin condition osteitis pubis, which dogged him through much of the remainder of his career. His courage in leading his team despite these set-backs made him much admired by his team's supporters and his removal as captain just before the beginning of the 2001 season caused much controversy (despite this, Richmond went on to finish the season as preliminary finalists). In Round 2 he was the centre of a further public controversy when struck behind play by Western Bulldogs player Tony Liberatore, who was suspended for five matches as a result. Inability to maintain high expectations saw Knights' retirement as a player towards the end of the 2002 season.
Coaching career
Early career
Knights was quickly recruited as assistant coach for the SANFLPort Adelaide Magpies and replaced Stephen Williams as senior coach the following year. Having played a major role in restructuring the club's playing list, but without having reached the finals, he resigned at the end of 2004 by mutual consent to become the senior coach the Bendigo Bombers in the VFL, while also acting as an assistant coach with the Essendon Football Club in the AFL for the 2007 season.[2]
Essendon Football Club senior coach
In July 2007, Essendon announced that long-standing senior coach Kevin Sheedy would be replaced at the end of the 2007 AFL season[3] and in September 2007, Knights was appointed as the club's new senior coach.[4][5][6]
In 2009, Knights coached Essendon to its first finals series since 2004, but the team was soundly beaten by Adelaide in the elimination final.[7]
In the 2010 season, Essendon won seven games and failed to make the finals.[8] Criticism of Knights coaching performance increased during the season.[9] On 12 August 2010, Essendon's CEO Ian Robson stated that Knights would continue as senior coach in 2011,[10] but he was, nonetheless, sacked two weeks later on the day after Essendon's final round loss to the Western Bulldogs.[11] He had two years remaining on his contract. Essendon won 25, drew one and lost 41 matches under Knights, during which they enjoyed three consecutive victories against Alastair Clarkson and the Hawthorn Football Club.[7][12] Knights was replaced by James Hird as Essendon Football Club senior coach.
other coaching roles
For the 2011 season, Knights worked with the Xavier College football team in Kew.
During the 2012 season Knights was coach of the Geelong VFL Football Club. He coached the team to the 2012 VFL premiership.[13]
^"AFL Tables - Matthew Knights - Coaching Record". afltables.com.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matthew Knights.
Matthew Knights's playing statistics from AFL Tables
January 26, 2023
matthew, knights, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, especially, pot. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources Matthew Knights news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Matthew Knights born 5 October 1970 is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Geelong Football Club 1 Knights played in the midfield for the Richmond Football Club from 1988 to 2002 before going on to forge a coaching career most notably as head coach of the Essendon Football Club from 2008 to 2010 He later became the head coach of the Geelong VFL Football Club from 2012 14 guiding the Cats to the 2012 VFL Premiership and the 2013 VFL Grand Final Matthew KnightsKnights with Geelong in April 2019Personal informationFull nameMatthew KnightsDate of birth 1970 10 05 5 October 1970 age 52 Place of birthMildura VictoriaOriginal team s Merbein Mildura ImperialsHeight178 cm 5 ft 10 in Weight79 kg 174 lb Playing career1YearsClubGames Goals 1988 2002Richmond279 141 Coaching careerYearsClubGames W L D 2008 2010Essendon67 25 41 1 2022West Coast1 0 1 0 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2010 Career highlightsRichmond Football Club Best and Fairest 1990 1992 Richmond Football Club Captain 1997 2000 All Australian 1998 Richmond Football Club Team of The Century AFL Life Member Youngest player ever to win Best amp Fairest at the Richmond Richmond Football Club Under 19s Captain 1988 State of Origin Victoria 1993 1998 VFL Premiership Coach 2012Sources AFL Tables AustralianFootball com Contents 1 Playing career 2 Coaching career 2 1 Early career 2 2 Essendon Football Club senior coach 2 3 other coaching roles 3 Statistics 3 1 Playing statistics 3 2 Coaching statistics 4 Honours 5 References 6 External linksPlaying career EditKnights wore the number 33 guernsey in 279 games between 1988 2002 for the Tigers whom he captained between 1997 2000 Playing in Richmond s midfield for the majority of his career Knights was known for his ball winning ability if not his athleticism Gifted with excellent vision or spatial awareness and consistently reliable delivery from his left boot given time and space Knights was one of the most damaging midfielders in the AFL throughout the 90s Though rewarded with numerous individual honors playing in a mediocre team Knights made only two appearances with the Tigers in the AFL Finals Series in 1995 and 2001 He was placed top four in the team s annual best and fairest vote seven times between 1990 and 2000 and tied for fourth place in the Brownlow Medal count of 1995 Knights career was interrupted by a serious ankle injury in Round 2 of 1996 and a knee injury in the pre season Ansett Cup competition in 1997 Late in 1998 he became one of the first high profile AFL players to be diagnosed with the debilitating groin condition osteitis pubis which dogged him through much of the remainder of his career His courage in leading his team despite these set backs made him much admired by his team s supporters and his removal as captain just before the beginning of the 2001 season caused much controversy despite this Richmond went on to finish the season as preliminary finalists In Round 2 he was the centre of a further public controversy when struck behind play by Western Bulldogs player Tony Liberatore who was suspended for five matches as a result Inability to maintain high expectations saw Knights retirement as a player towards the end of the 2002 season Coaching career EditEarly career Edit Knights was quickly recruited as assistant coach for the SANFL Port Adelaide Magpies and replaced Stephen Williams as senior coach the following year Having played a major role in restructuring the club s playing list but without having reached the finals he resigned at the end of 2004 by mutual consent to become the senior coach the Bendigo Bombers in the VFL while also acting as an assistant coach with the Essendon Football Club in the AFL for the 2007 season 2 Essendon Football Club senior coach Edit In July 2007 Essendon announced that long standing senior coach Kevin Sheedy would be replaced at the end of the 2007 AFL season 3 and in September 2007 Knights was appointed as the club s new senior coach 4 5 6 In 2009 Knights coached Essendon to its first finals series since 2004 but the team was soundly beaten by Adelaide in the elimination final 7 In the 2010 season Essendon won seven games and failed to make the finals 8 Criticism of Knights coaching performance increased during the season 9 On 12 August 2010 Essendon s CEO Ian Robson stated that Knights would continue as senior coach in 2011 10 but he was nonetheless sacked two weeks later on the day after Essendon s final round loss to the Western Bulldogs 11 He had two years remaining on his contract Essendon won 25 drew one and lost 41 matches under Knights during which they enjoyed three consecutive victories against Alastair Clarkson and the Hawthorn Football Club 7 12 Knights was replaced by James Hird as Essendon Football Club senior coach other coaching roles Edit For the 2011 season Knights worked with the Xavier College football team in Kew During the 2012 season Knights was coach of the Geelong VFL Football Club He coached the team to the 2012 VFL premiership 13 Statistics EditPlaying statistics Edit 14 Legend G Goals K Kicks D Disposals T Tackles B Behinds H Handballs M MarksSeason Team No Games Totals Averages per game VotesG B K H D M T G B K H D M T1988 Richmond 33 4 3 8 42 21 63 17 4 0 8 2 0 10 5 5 3 15 8 4 3 1 0 01989 Richmond 33 19 9 8 192 147 339 47 32 0 5 0 4 10 1 7 7 17 8 2 5 1 7 41990 Richmond 33 22 19 7 348 203 551 63 52 0 9 0 3 15 8 9 2 25 0 2 9 2 4 31991 Richmond 33 22 16 11 317 218 535 81 34 0 7 0 5 14 4 9 9 24 3 3 7 1 5 171992 Richmond 33 22 16 12 289 225 514 67 34 0 7 0 5 13 1 10 2 23 4 3 0 1 5 51993 Richmond 33 20 11 15 290 216 506 65 44 0 6 0 8 14 5 10 8 25 3 3 3 2 2 131994 Richmond 33 20 14 11 221 162 383 49 42 0 7 0 6 11 1 8 1 19 2 2 5 2 1 81995 Richmond 33 24 12 7 306 222 528 53 72 0 5 0 3 12 8 9 3 22 0 2 2 3 0 161996 Richmond 33 10 1 3 87 66 153 36 24 0 1 0 3 8 7 6 6 15 3 3 6 2 4 01997 Richmond 33 11 2 4 129 87 216 34 22 0 2 0 4 11 7 7 9 19 6 3 1 2 0 81998 Richmond 33 20 6 4 289 229 518 56 61 0 3 0 2 14 5 11 5 25 9 2 8 3 1 181999 Richmond 33 22 5 4 254 210 464 55 44 0 2 0 2 11 5 9 5 21 1 2 5 2 0 62000 Richmond 33 22 11 6 240 212 452 82 52 0 5 0 3 10 9 9 6 20 5 3 7 2 4 92001 Richmond 33 25 12 9 234 230 464 75 65 0 5 0 4 9 4 9 2 18 6 3 0 2 6 72002 Richmond 33 16 4 2 118 134 252 44 31 0 3 0 1 7 4 8 4 15 8 2 8 1 9 0Career 279 141 111 3356 2582 5938 824 613 0 5 0 4 12 0 9 3 21 3 3 0 2 2 114Coaching statistics Edit 15 Legend W Wins L Losses D Draws W Winning percentage LP Ladder position LT League teamsSeason Team Games W L D W LP LT2008 Essendon 22 8 14 0 36 4 12 162009 Essendon 23 10 12 1 45 7 8 162010 Essendon 22 7 15 0 31 8 14 16Career totals 67 25 41 1 38 1 Honours EditRichmond Football Club Best and Fairest 1990 1992 Richmond Football Club Captain 1997 2000 All Australian 1998 Richmond Football Club Team of The Century AFL Life Member VFL Premiership Coach 2012References Edit Coaches presented by Momentum Energy geelongcats com au Geelong Football Club Retrieved 16 August 2015 Matthew Knights named as Essendon coach 26 September 2007 Retrieved 16 February 2022 Baynes Dan 25 July 2007 Essendon Fires Sheedy After Record 27 Years as Coach Bloomberg Retrieved 1 September 2010 Knights to steer Bombers Brisbane Times 27 September 2007 Retrieved 1 September 2010 Knights lands Bombers job 27 September 2007 Retrieved 16 February 2022 Matthew Knights named as Essendon coach 26 September 2007 Retrieved 16 February 2022 a b Brodie Will 30 August 2010 Sacked Bomber coach Knights bites his tongue The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 1 September 2010 Matthews Leigh 1 September 2010 Bombers perfect storm afl com au Archived from the original on 3 September 2010 Retrieved 1 September 2010 Knights unfazed by looming criticism ABC Grandstand 7 August 2010 Retrieved 1 September 2010 Ralph Jon 12 August 2010 Essendon boss Ian Robson vows Matthew Knights will fight on despite changes Herald Sun Retrieved 1 September 2010 Wilson Caroline 29 August 2010 Matthew Knights sacked The Age Retrieved 29 August 2010 Matthew Knights Coaching Record AFL Tables Wojcinski s perfect exit as Cats claim VFL flag AFL com au Matthew Knights player profile at AFL Tables AFL Tables Matthew Knights Coaching Record afltables com External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matthew Knights Matthew Knights s playing statistics from AFL Tables Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Matthew Knights amp oldid 1114540505, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
