The Entrance Tigers stars Matt Nelson and Matt Killick to play final games for the club
After close to 50 years of service, a slew of premierships and loads of wins between them, two Tigers legends will play their final games for their beloved club this Sunday.
Central Coast
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The Entrance will bid farewell to two club legends this weekend when Tigers stalwarts Matt Nelson and Matt Killick play their final games in orange and black.
The pair will lace up their boots for the final time when the team takes on Kincumber at MacKillop Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The occasion will mark an end of an era for the club, with the pair putting in close to 50 years’ of combined service to The Entrance.
“It’ll be a big loss for our club experience-wise and they’re both top guys as well,” said Tigers coach Kyle Whiteford. “But they’ve both decided to call it a day – they’ve done their time. I don’t think the bodies are recovering as quick as they used to.”
Both Nelson, 34, and Killick, 31, have had similar trajectories, with the pair first joining the club at a young age in what would be a decades-long relationship.
“I started in the under-7s and I haven’t played for another club, really,” said Killick, who first joined as a little blond-haired kid in the late 1990s.
“I went to play tennis at 10 or 11 for a few years and then came back in the under-13s. I also played SG Ball and Harold-Matts (for the Central Coast rep side) but the majority of my career has been at the Tigers.”
It is a similar story for Nelson, who very much walked in his family’s footsteps to become a young Tiger.
“I think I was five or six years old, so I’ve been at the club for the better part of my life,” said Nelson, whose father previously captained the club’s first grade side.
“He played there when we were still at Taylor Park at The Entrance.”
And although he spent a few years at other clubs, including winning a premiership with Kincumber in 2012, Nelson returned to the Tigers and is in no doubt about his connection to the club.
“The Entrance was always home for me,” he said.
Given his history with and introduction to the club, it’s easy to see why that’s the case.
“Dad coached both me and my younger brother Grant in the under-7s way back then, so I’ve obviously got fond memories of that,” Nelson said.
“One earlier memory for me was the last game in under-7s, the first year I got to play with Grant. Grant was only tiny, and I remember playing out at St Edwards and it was the first time that he scored a try, so that’s something that’s always stuck with me.”
Greatest memories
After starting as Tiger cubs in the early junior age groups, both Nelson and Killick developed into talented teenage prospects before making their way into senior football.
“The transition into the seniors is where we really started to enjoy our footy because we started to win a lot of games,” said Killick.
“And from there I transitioned into first grade, where I was lucky enough to come through in the era with the Jim Beam Cup (now known as the Ron Massey Cup).
“Forbesy (current Tigers’ Denton Cup coach Jamy Forbes) was with us at that time. Myself and a few others got pulled up when we were 18 or 19, so we got to experience that at a pretty early age, which was really good.”
Playing in what was the third-tier of rugby league in NSW was a great learning curve for the youngster, who was coming up against former NRL players almost weekly.
“It’s hard to pinpoint players now, but it was absolutely littered with them (former NRL players),” he said.
“We were pretty competitive at the time, and to get pulled in among those senior players is always something I’ll always remember. That was something I wanted to drive as I’ve become a senior player in my older years, because that was something that stood out.”
Once the pair broke into the top grade, it didn’t take them long to make an impact, with Nelson striking success in his first year in the top grade.
“In 2009, my first full year of first grade, I was lucky that we went through and won the first grade premiership,” he said Nelson.
“I ended up with top pointscorer for first grade, but being able to play with the likes of Alex Moore when he was young and scored five tries in a grand final was a big memory as well.”
Indeed, when it comes their most cherished recollections, the pair agree that their string of premiership victories, which include 2009, 2015 and then the back-to-back titles of 2018 and 2019, really stick out.
“I played in one Ron Massey grand final when we got beat by Wentworthville, and I was lucky enough to captain our first grade side when came back to the Coast comp and beat Wyong two years in a row,” said Killick.
“They were definitely the best memories that I could ever have had with the club.”
It’s a sentiment Nelson wholeheartedly agrees with.
“Being able to play grand finals with my brother and some of my mates I grew up playing footy with is a pretty fond memory,” he said.
“Matty Killick and I have both been pretty lucky in the way that we’ve both been able to win a few first grade premierships. Winning grand finals with Grant in 2018 and 2019 was also special.”
An emotional farewell
However with their playing careers coming to an end this Sunday out at Kincumber, there are mixed emotions for the pair as they look forward to their last game for the club.
“It is a weird one,” said Nelson. “Even last week, being the last home game, was a bit emotional – being out on the field, looking back at the stands seeing mum, dad and a couple of mates there – and I’m sure there’ll be a couple more this week at Kincumber.
“It definitely will be emotional, last week was emotional enough, but it’s a weird one for me personally. My body is telling me that it’s definitely time to go and I’m happy with the decision, but it’s still definitely going to be an emotional day knowing that it’s the last time that I go out there with the boys.”
Killick added: “It was a bit weird on the weekend, there were some mixed emotions with the last home game.
“But to be honest it hasn’t really sunk in that this’ll be it, so I think after this year’s over and the pre-season for next year kicks off and I’m not actually out there and amongst it all is when it’ll really sink in.”
As for any last wishes for their final game, Nelson says it’s pretty simple.
“A win would be good. For me personally it’s just about enjoying the day and hopefully a good win with the boys.
“As for the personal stuff, I’ve been lucky enough to get highest pointscorer awards and scored tries, but it’s more about just enjoying the final game with the boys and hopefully going out with a win against an old club that I’ve won a comp with at Kincumber,” he said.
And while finishing up playing will be bitter sweet, both can see the silver linings.
“I’m looking forward to not waking up on Monday, Tuesday and even Wednesday sore. It seems pretty good to me,” Nelson laughed.
It’s a similar motivation behind Killick’s decision to hang up the boots after more than two decades with the club.
“Recovery’s getting longer and I’ve got a pretty full-on job,” he said. “Getting flogged at training is never really fun. But I found myself just pondering in my own mind this year so I thought: ‘That’s it, time to wind it up.’”
He added: “Matty’s got three years on me, but enough is enough. I’m actually looking forward to watching the boys on the hill next year instead of running out.”
And given that they’ll run out in the orange and black one last time, both players have had the chance to reflect on just how important a role the club has played in their lives.
“It’s meant a lot. It’s literally been a part of my life since I was seven years old,” said Killick.
“I’ve made lifelong friends there, people that I’ll consider close to me forever. My life has never not had footy in it, so it’ll be interesting over the next year to see how it goes. But I can’t thank the club enough for what they’ve done for me and I look forward to showing them the support back over the coming years.”
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