{"id":202588,"date":"2025-09-11T15:26:52","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T05:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=202588"},"modified":"2025-09-11T15:26:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T05:26:53","slug":"afl-sydney-player-focus-ethan-matthews-south-west-sydney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2025\/09\/11\/afl-sydney-player-focus-ethan-matthews-south-west-sydney\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL Sydney Player Focus: Ethan Matthews (South West Sydney)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>GREATER Western Sydney (GWS) Giants Academy member <a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"181672\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/ethan-matthews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ethan Matthews<\/a> has made waves throughout his bottom-age campaign. The smooth moving utility already has VFL experience under his belt and broke through for an Allies debut at this year&#8217;s Under 18 National Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A left-footer with terrific skills and poise, Matthews has more recently been turning out for South West Sydney in the AFL Sydney Men&#8217;s Premier Division. He starred in the Blues&#8217; semi final loss to the UNSW-ES Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon, rounding out his season with a typically efficient outing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>We put Matthews&#8217; performance under the Player Focus microscope.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div>    <div class='t1_footy-regular player-detail_card rmc-block'>\n    <div class='player-detail_img'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1860\" height=\"1076\" src=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ALL-Ethan-Matthews.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ALL-Ethan-Matthews.jpg 1860w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ALL-Ethan-Matthews-300x174.jpg 300w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ALL-Ethan-Matthews-1024x592.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ALL-Ethan-Matthews-768x444.jpg 768w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ALL-Ethan-Matthews-1536x889.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ALL-Ethan-Matthews-128x74.jpg 128w, https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ALL-Ethan-Matthews-32x19.jpg 32w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1860px) 100vw, 1860px\" \/><\/div><div class='player-detail_data'><div class='player-detail_team'><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"team-img\" src=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Allies.gif\" alt=\"Allies-logo\" title=\"Allies-logo\" \/><a class=\"team-link\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/team\/allies-2\/\">Allies<\/a>, <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"team-img\" src=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/gws.png\" alt=\"GIANTS Academy-logo\" title=\"GIANTS Academy-logo\" \/><a class=\"team-link\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/team\/giants-academy\/\">GIANTS Academy<\/a><span class='player-position'>Defender\/Wing<\/span><\/div><h3 class='heading title h3'>Ethan Matthews<\/h4><div class='details-wrap'><p class='cmpt-copy'><span class='cmpt-head'>Height: <\/span>185cm<\/p><p class='cmpt-copy'><span class='cmpt-head'>Weight: <\/span> - <\/p><p class='cmpt-copy'><span class='cmpt-head'>DOB: <\/span>04-09-2008<\/p><\/div><\/div>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>STRENGTHS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>+ Agility<br>+ Clean hands<br>+ Decision making<br>+ Efficiency<br>+ Poise<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SEASON AVERAGES:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>2025 Coates Talent League (3 games):<\/em><\/strong><br>21.0 disposals, 3.7 marks, 3.0 tackles, 4.0 rebound 50s<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>2025 Victorian Football League (5 games):<\/em><\/strong><br>14.4 disposals, 75.8 disposal efficiency, 2.6 marks, 3.6 intercepts<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DNrx9z54kk-\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DNrx9z54kk-\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DNrx9z54kk-\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by GIANTS VFL (@giantsvfl)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-player-focus\">PLAYER FOCUS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AFL Sydney Men\u2019s Premier Division: Finals Round 2<\/strong><br><strong>UNSW-ES Bulldogs 17.10 (112) def. South West Sydney Blues 9.10 (64)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>#4 <\/strong><a data-type=\"player\" data-id=\"181672\" class=\"_dc_spo\" href=\"\/afl\/player\/ethan-matthews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ethan Matthews<\/a><strong> (South West Sydney Blues)<\/strong><br><strong>Stats:<\/strong> 32 disposals, 7 marks, 2 tackles, 3 inside 50s<br>+ 24 uncontested possessions, 87.5% disposal efficiency<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>FIRST QUARTER:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matthews started out in defence and watched as Giants Academy teammates <strong>Bailey-Dean Latanis<\/strong> and <strong>Kohan Prenter<\/strong> combined for the game\u2019s opening goal. The young gun would then directly assist the Blues\u2019 second major, delivering a long kick inside 50 on the end of a flowing counterattack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was the kind of play Matthews looked to emulate all day, reacting quickly to find the space when South West Sydney won the ball, and linking up to move efficiently in transition. He showed great poise to baulk opponents and identified targets quickly before hitting passes by hand and foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From the get-go, Matthews exhibited his ability to both contribute to slow kick-mark play, or flick the switch to turn defence into attack. He was a constant outlet and made great supporting runs on the overlap, seemingly knowing his role well and showing high IQ with his off-ball movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SECOND QUARTER:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For all his productivity in the attacking phase, Matthews needed a kickstart on the defensive end. His chase to shut down an early shot could perhaps have been better, along with some of his marking as UNSW-ES began to get a run on. In a good sign of his resilience, he quickly fixed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matthews applied an important lock-up tackle inside defensive 50, then caught an opponent holding the ball at half-back to prove he could impact going both ways. Along with that, he continued to be a key accumulator for the Blues, distributing the ball just as neatly as he handled it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>THIRD QUARTER:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The third term was a shootout, with the Bulldogs piling on six goals to South West Sydney\u2019s four. The free-flowing style of the game suited Matthews, as he continued to track well on the outside to be an outlet for teammates either when exiting packs or looking for a switch kick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 17-year-old was a weapon in transition, covering good ground to get ahead of the ball and rack up uncontested possessions. His disposal execution was continually on point and he even added an intercept element to his game, marking strongly in the defensive 50 hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In each instance, Matthews looked to move the ball on quickly \u2013 a method he would have leant on during his VFL experience. He had the skills to back it up, too, fanning the ball wide with long kicks or playing the percentages with shorter options. Either way, his ball retention was excellent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>FOURTH QUARTER:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It may not have shown on the scoreboard, but Matthews and the Blues ran out the game strongly. His running capacity was a highlight in the closing stages, racking up bulk possessions in end-to-end passages and hardly wasting a touch. It was a massive quarter from the youngster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He showed great intent with an early gather and cut through traffic, going on to bring the play forward with similar urgency. Matthews ensured there was nothing left in the tank by following up each of his disposals, dictating the play with poise and creativity beyond his years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He continued to get into all the right spots in a riotous period of play, making himself an option on the attack and sparking countless forays as the ball often found its way back to his area. His positive instincts and connectivity were easy on the eye in what ended up being a heavy loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-dc-block-dc-mention _dc_mention\"><div class=\"section-heading_wrap\"><span class=\"section-heading is-small\">Mentions<\/span><span class=\"hor-border\"><\/span><\/div><ul class=\"js-overflow-list overflow-list\"><li class=\"object-mention_single\"><div class=\"tag tag--is-clickable\"><a class=\"tag-text _dc_mention_p\" href=\"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/player\/ethan-matthews\/\">Ethan Matthews<\/a><\/div><\/li><li class=\"js-dropdown dropdown overflowed\"><button class=\"btn btn-icon-only\"><span class=\"icon btn-icon\">\n                    <!-- icon - plus circle - 20px-->\n                    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 20 20\">\n                        <path d=\"M15,9.28h-4.3V5h0A.72.72,0,1,0,9.28,5h0V9.28H5a.72.72,0,0,0,0,1.43H9.28V15a.72.72,0,0,0,1.43,0h0V10.71H15a.72.72,0,0,0,0-1.43Z\"\/>\n                        <path d=\"M10,0A10,10,0,1,0,20,10,10,10,0,0,0,10,0Zm0,18.57A8.57,8.57,0,0,1,10,1.43h0a8.57,8.57,0,0,1,0,17.14Z\"\/>\n                    <\/svg>\n                <\/span><\/button><div class=\"popover\"><div class=\"popover-content\"><ul class=\"popover-menu\"><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GREATER Western Sydney (GWS) Giants Academy member Ethan Matthews has made waves throughout his bottom-age campaign. The smooth moving utility already has VFL experience under his belt and broke through for an Allies debut at this year&#8217;s Under 18 National Championships. A left-footer with terrific skills and poise, Matthews has more recently been turning out [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":202589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18050,22176,8,3129,2177,22184,15],"tags":[22238],"class_list":["post-202588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-afl-draft","category-afl-sydney","category-news","category-nsw-act","category-player-focus","category-south-west-sydney-afl-sydney","category-state-leagues","tag-ethan-matthews"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202588"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202606,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202588\/revisions\/202606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}