Sport
12 September, 2025
Smith eyes grand send off in 300th game
Talbot stalwart Matthew Smith is hoping to have a fairytale ending to his stellar football career, as he gears up for his 300th, and final game for the Hawks in Saturday’s reserves grand final versus Carisbrook.
No matter the result, Smith will join a very exclusive club of Talbot legends who have reached 300 games, joining Gary Barras, Chris Duffin and Roger Davies as the players to achieve this feat.
“It’s something that I’m incredibly proud of — being one of the few people who have been able to reach the 300 game milestone means a lot to me personally and a lot to my family,” Smith said.
“I’m obviously incredibly excited to be in a position to play off in a grand final this weekend.
“It’s fortunate and unfortunate, I guess at the same time, in recent seasons I’ve been off the park more than I have been on the park, that’s for sure, so I was hoping to get to this milestone a little bit sooner.
“I’m really looking forward to doing what I’ve always tried to do, which is play the best game I can for Talbot and help the team.”
Following in the footsteps of his father and 1975 Berry Powell medallist Laurie Smith, as well as his older brothers, Matthew Smith quickly cemented himself as a standout junior, making his senior debut at just 15 against Royal Park and a member of the losing 2002 senior grand final team.
Smith has collected almost every individual accolade you can think of, five-time senior club best and fairest, 2015 Berry Powell medallist alongside Michael Dalrymple and Hayden Kelly and six-time interleague player to name a few.
Despite his individual success, team accolades haven’t followed, with only the 2003 reserves premiership to his name.
“There’s no doubt that I have been chasing team success at Talbot — I grew up as a young kid pretty much in the era where we were a dominant force playing 11 grand finals in a row,” Smith said.
“I had so much admiration for the football players at Talbot and just idolised them growing up. Winning a senior premiership with Talbot was something that I wanted to experience.
“I guess that’s why I hung around for so long and why I coached the club for four years as well to try and bring about that change.”
That change started to occur in 2025. While the Hawks’ rise up the senior ladder was ended in the semi-final, they are heavily favoured in the reserves grand final after going undefeated in the regular season and finals.
While he is motivated to earn another premiership medal, Smith said he’s more excited about the current state of the club.
“It’s wonderful to see the club be successful at the moment, not just from a seniors and reserves point of view but also to see that we have got a full complement of junior teams,” he said.
“That was something I was really proud of, as well as helping that under 17s team get back up and running again with some close friends.
“The joy that it brings to the Talbot community, as well as knowing what you do on a Saturday can have a big impact on them is very rewarding.”
After putting so much effort on and off the field to try and help the Hawks reclaim the MCDFNL summit, Smith won’t be around to reap the rewards as a player, not anticipating putting on his beloved brown and gold jersey after Saturday’s grand final.
As he reflects on his career, which began over two decades ago, Smith is thankful for the continued support from his friends, family and peers.
“I don’t anticipate playing any longer than this, so I will be looking to hopefully retire on Saturday with 300 games behind me and hopefully a premiership medallion,” he said.
“There were a lot of sacrifices that needed to be made and a lot of time spent away from the house over the years, so I would like to thank my wife and my family for being so supportive.
“I would like to thank Talbot for giving me all the opportunities they have to represent them and to succeed along the way.
“The club is in a great space at the moment on and off the field, so I would like to think I have left the club in a better place with my actions as a player and supporter of the club.”