Australian rules footballer
Australian rules footballer
Mathew Stokes
(born 22 November 1984) is a former professional
Australian rules footballer
who played with the
Geelong Football Club
and the
Essendon Football Club
in the
Australian Football League
(AFL).
Early life
[
edit
]
Mathew Stokes grew up in
Darwin, Australia
, with his parents John and Jennifer, and three sisters Jaylene, Anne-Maree and Amy.
[2]
Stokes' ancestors were
Indigenous Australian
(
Larrakia
), Filipino and Spanish.
[3]
[4]
His father is a life member of the
Palmerston Magpies
, having played 148 games for them in the
Northern Territory Football League
(NTFL).
[2]
Growing up, Stokes played basketball,
cricket
and
rugby league
,
[2]
but age restrictions limited his involvement in
Australian rules football
until he was 11 years old.
[2]
Stokes' main sporting passion was for basketball, where he played at every junior level growing up and won an under-14s best and fairest award whilst still only seven years of age.
[2]
[5]
When he was finally eligible to play football as an under-14, Stokes forced his way into the
Palmerston Magpies
senior team
[2]
at only 14 years of age.
[6]
In 2002, he was a member of Palmerston's premiership-winning side,
[2]
and it was then that he began to switch his focus from basketball to football.
[2]
Stokes' achievements in the local junior leagues saw him selected to represent Australia in the under-17's national team,
[6]
alongside future AFL players
Luke Hodge
,
Luke Ball
and
Nick Dal Santo
.
Stokes was overlooked in the
2002 AFL Draft
though, and moved to
Adelaide
to begin playing in the
South Australian National Football League
(SANFL) for
Woodville-West Torrens
.
[6]
Taking up a part-time job as a zookeeper off the field,
[6]
Stokes continued to establish himself in the SANFL over the next three years. His persistence paid off when he was selected with the 61st pick in the
2005 AFL Draft
by the
Geelong Football Club
.
[6]
AFL career
[
edit
]
It was not until his seventh game, making his mark against
Port Adelaide
in Round 15,
2006
, that he kicked two final-term goals to lift Geelong's finals chances, one of which he marked and kicked from 40m out under pressure. For the rest of the year Stokes was inconsistent and as a result was in and out of the team.
In 2006, Stokes played in Geelong's
VFL
grand final side, losing to the
Sandringham Zebras
.
Stokes cemented his spot in Geelong's best 22 players. His best game in the
2007 home-and-away season
was against
Fremantle
, in round 17, when he kicked a career best 5 goals. He was a member of Geelong's
2007 AFL Premiership
side, overcoming a dislocated kneecap in the first quarter to make a solid contribution to the team's record 119-point win over
Port Adelaide
.
Stokes escaped severe head injuries in a
2008
pre-season practice match against the
Brisbane Lions
,
[7]
when in the last quarter he suffered a blow to the head after being tackled by Brisbane midfielder
Albert Proud
.
[7]
He was declared OK after being stretchered from the ground, and despite having a sore head, didn't need to be taken to hospital.
[7]
Stokes was
reported
in Geelong's Round 7 clash against the
Brisbane Lions
, after striking Brisbane's
Michael Rischitelli
in the match's first quarter.
[8]
Stokes went on to garner two goals and 12 disposals for the game.
[9]
At the
AFL Tribunal
, he accepted a one match suspension for the incident,
[8]
but due to his poor tribunal record, which includes a four match suspension for an incident in the 2007 pre-season, his ban could not be reduced with an early plea.
[8]
Stokes went on to play 22 games for 2008 including the loss in the
2008 AFL Grand Final
against
Hawthorn
. He had a career high 31 disposals (22 kicks, 9 handballs, 13 marks and 2 goals) in the round 2, 99-point win against
Essendon
.
Stokes played 19 games in total for 2009, including the second qualifying final against the
Western Bulldogs
. He withdrew from the preliminary final against
Collingwood
due to groin soreness, and as a result of
Geelong
winning the preliminary final by a large margin and all players performing well, he could not force his selection back into the team for the grand final against
St Kilda
.
Stokes later revealed that the decision to withdraw from the preliminary final was driven by "letting down his teammates" in the 2008 Grand Final loss by playing unfit,
[10]
and stated that:
"Someone had to miss out and the boys played well last week, so I didn't really expect to come back in. I've moved on from the fact I'm not playing and I've dealt with it and I'm quite happy with the decision because I knew the consequences of me not playing in the prelim(inary) final."
[10]
His best games of 2009 came against
Brisbane
in round 5 (13 kicks, 11 handballs, 4 marks and 3 goals); Sydney in round 7 (13 kicks, 8 handballs, 6 marks, 6 tackles and 3 goals) and against Adelaide in round 4 (12 kicks, 11 handballs, 6 marks, 4 tackles and 2 goals). He kicked a season high 4 goals against the
Western Bulldogs
in round 9. Stokes was ranked 18th in the
AFL
for goal assists per game in 2009.
Despite interest from the
West Coast Eagles
to secure Stokes,
[11]
Geelong re-signed Stokes to a two-year contract extension at the conclusion of the 2009 season.
[12]
The Geelong Football Club imposed sanctions against Stokes for his 2010 drug arrest including being banned from playing for Geelong's AFL team until round eight. Stokes was an automatic inclusion to the team in round eight and played a total of 18 games for the season. His best games came in the round 11 win against West Coast at Subiaco (24 disposals, 16 kicks 8 handballs, 5 marks and a goal); the round 14 win over North Melbourne at Skilled Stadium (28 disposals, 10 kicks 18 handballs and 9 marks); the round 15 win against Hawthorn at the MCG (22 disposals, 12 kicks, 10 handballs, 3 marks and 4 goals) and in the Semi Final victory over Fremantle at the MCG, (22 disposals, 10 kicks, 12 handballs, 6 marks and 3 goals). Stokes was ranked 12th in the AFL for goal assists per game.
[13]
[14]
On 1 September 2015, Stokes announced the final round clash against
Adelaide
would be his last for Geelong and he was subsequently delisted,
[15]
he announced his official retirement from the AFL on 6 November.
[16]
In January 2016, he came out of retirement to sign with the Essendon Football Club as a top-up player due to the club's
supplements controversy
.
[17]
He announced in August he would retire after his 200th game in round 22 against
Western Bulldogs
at
Etihad Stadium
.
[18]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Stokes interests outside of football include feral pig shooting, and fishing.
[19]
Stokes grew up supporting the
Collingwood Football Club
.
[19]
His football hero was
Nathan Buckley
of
Collingwood
.
[19]
His overall sporting hero is American basketball player,
Josh Howard
of the
Dallas Mavericks
in the
NBA
,
[19]
Growing up, Stokes was close friends with other future AFL players, including
Trent Hentschel
,
Aaron Davey
and
Alwyn Davey
.
[6]
Whilst playing in the SANFL, Stokes worked part-time as a zookeeper, and hopes to return to the profession after his football career.
[2]
As a result, he studies
zoology
via correspondence.
[5]
On 3 February 2010, Stokes was arrested on charges of possession and trafficking of cocaine.
[20]
On 27 April 2010, Stokes pleaded guilty to the possession charge in the Geelong Magistrates' Court after a deal between prosecutors and Stokes' lawyers to drop the trafficking charge. Stokes was placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond and ordered to pay $3000 to the court fund. A conviction was not recorded by the magistrate.
[21]
After retiring as a player, Stokes was employed by the AFL as its Indigenous engagement and programs manager.
[22]
He remained in this role until December 2018, when he returned to the Geelong Football Club as its people and engagement manager.
[22]
Statistics
[
edit
]
- [23]
Honours and achievements
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Stokes proud of major milestone"
.
Geelong Advertiser
. 17 June 2011
. Retrieved
9 July
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Begg, Peter (18 April 2008).
"Home truths set Stokes on right path"
.
Herald Sun
. Australia
. Retrieved
31 July
2009
.
- ^
Cat's father caught up in Power play, The Australian, 29 Sep 2007
- ^
AFL Record. Round 9,2009. Slattery Publishing. p. 74.
- ^
a
b
Reed, David (1 June 2010).
"Late starter"
. geelongcats.com.au. Archived from
the original
on 5 October 2011
. Retrieved
9 July
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Gullan, Scott Gullan (6 June 2008).
"I said I'd never make it: Mathew Stokes"
.
Herald Sun
. Australia
. Retrieved
31 July
2009
.
- ^
a
b
c
Green, Bradley (1 March 2008).
"Stokes escapes serious injury as Cats win on the Gold Coast"
.
Geelong Advertiser
. Retrieved
31 July
2009
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Cat Matthew Stokes to miss a match, Bombers in strife at tribunal"
.
Geelong Advertiser
. 7 May 2008
. Retrieved
31 July
2009
.
- ^
"Geelong vs Brisbane Lions"
.
Herald Sun
. Australia. 3 May 2008
. Retrieved
31 July
2009
.
- ^
a
b
Walsh, Courtney (4 February 2010).
"Popular Geelong Cat Mathew Stokes driven by loyalty to family"
.
The Australian
. Retrieved
9 July
2011
.
- ^
Denham, Greg (1 October 2009).
"Eagles eyeing unlucky Stokes"
.
The Australian
. Retrieved
9 July
2011
.
- ^
Gullan, Scott (9 February 2010).
"Get a life, Mathew Stokes"
.
Herald Sun
. Australia
. Retrieved
9 July
2011
.
- ^
"Geelong Cats ban Mathew Stokes until Round 8 | Herald Sun"
. Archived from
the original
on 14 June 2011.
- ^
"Cat leaders keep pressure on | Herald Sun"
. Archived from
the original
on 14 June 2011.
- ^
Ryan, Peter (1 September 2015).
"Two-time premiership player Stokes calls time at Geelong"
.
AFL.com.au
.
Bigpond
. Retrieved
6 November
2015
.
- ^
Murnane, Matt (6 November 2015).
"Geelong premiership hero Mathew Stokes officially calls an end to career"
.
The Age
.
Fairfax Media
. Retrieved
6 November
2015
.
- ^
Guthrie, Ben (29 January 2016).
"James Polkinghorne and Mathew Stokes the latest to top up at Essendon"
.
AFL.com.au
.
Bigpond
. Retrieved
29 January
2016
.
- ^
Navaratnam, Dinny (18 August 2016).
"Bomber out for 200: Mathew Stokes to retire after Dogs clash"
.
AFL.com.au
.
Bigpond
. Retrieved
18 August
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
AFL Record
? Round 9 2008, Collingwood V Geelong 23 May 2008
- ^
Buttler, Mark (3 February 2010).
"Geelong premiership player Mathew Stokes questioned in drug investigation"
.
Geelong Advertiser
. Retrieved
3 February
2010
.
- ^
Bice, Katie (27 April 2010).
"Cats star Mathew Stokes gets 12-month good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to possessing cocaine after trafficking charge dropped"
.
Adelaide Now
. Retrieved
27 April
2010
.
- ^
a
b
McWilliams, Phoebe
(6 December 2018).
"Premiership Cat returns home"
.
geelongcats.com.au
. Telstra Media.
Archived
from the original on 28 March 2019
. Retrieved
19 May
2019
.
- ^
Mathew Stokes' player profile at AFL Tables
External links
[
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]
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