Matthew “Skinny” Lappin talks all things football in the Bulletin Q&A
“They should be getting a priority pick but they should be forced to trade it, not get another 18-year-old.” Former Suns assistant Matthew Lappin weighs in on Gold Coast’s plea for help to the AFL in a Q&A where he reflects on his career as a player and coach.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Matthew “Skinny” Lappin spent 25 years playing and coaching in the AFL, reaching two grand finals as the former before eventually going on to help coach the Southport Sharks to a NEAFL premiership. Today he talks about the highs and lows of his career.
Take us back to the start and how you found footy in the small Victorian town of Chiltern?
I had the perfect upbringing for sport. It is a tiny town and there were a lot of like-minded kids in town, including my cousin Nigel who ended up at Brisbane. I have one older brother and a younger sister. My brother (and former Western Bulldogs rookie, Jason) was sporty as well and only two years older than me.
AMAZING OFFER: GET A SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB A 8.0 WITH THIS BULLETIN SUBSCRIPTION (T & Cs apply)
We were very competitive growing up and it was always basketball, cricket of Aussie rules. I was ok at both (cricket and basketball) but I wasn’t big enough to be a basketballer so AFL was my go.
You were picked up by St Kilda ahead of the 1994 season, what were those early times like at the Saints?
It was a club that had no success for a long time. It was a club full of great guys but we didn’t really know how to be a successful club. I was only 17, turning 18, and I was very raw. I’d virtually never made a meal or washed a piece of clothing.
SIGN UP NOW FOR OUR FULL ON FOOTY GOLD COAST NEWSLETTERS
You got to a grand final in 1997 but you couldn’t win it. What was that experience like?
If there had of been anyone in that club who had of experienced grand finals or premierships we would have been so much better placed. Nobody knew how to handle the week and it didn’t feel like a grand final, put it that way. We just got caught up in everything. There were 20,000 people at training and people asking you to do media and get tickets. It was a learning experience and the worst game I had ever played. I said to myself I wouldn’t let it go that way again if I ever found myself in a big game like that again. Every time the ball came in it bounced to my opponent.
You got your chance to redeem yourself in 1999 when you made it to the grand final with Carlton. Did you get your wish?
I was much better in that game. I kicked a couple and had (19 disposals) and kicked a couple of goals. Because it was Carlton, we had Craig Bradley, Brett Ratton, Anthony Koutoufides. All these guys who had been there and done that. It was just a much better week. It was smoother and we were more settled. Unfortunately we weren’t good enough. Our best game of the year was the week before against Essendon in the preliminary final but it was a great experience.
Were you ever told by coaches, recruiters or clubs you were too small to make it?
No. There wasn’t a lot of dialogue between player and recruiters back then. They just watched you and if they liked you they picked you. I don’t think I spoke to a recruiter until my draft. My expectations weren’t that high going into the draft. I went at no. 40 and my cousin Nigel went at two.
You moved to Carlton at the end of the 1998 season. How did that come about?
That’s a story. I was sitting at home on the couch with my housemate Joel Smith watching the news. It came up on the news that I was getting traded to Carlton. It was done. I looked at Joel and he asked what was going on. My phone rang about five minutes later and my manager said, ‘Carlton are really keen and want to meet you at 6am in the morning and do a trade’. There was no conversations or anything but in hindsight it was the best thing that could have happened.
What kind of season had you had in 1998 at St Kilda leading into the trade?
I played 16 games and wasn’t as good as the year before. We dropped off a bit as a club and the club got a good offer (pick 22 and 53 for Lappin and pick 58). They got me at 40 and traded for 22 so it wasn’t bad. I was out of contract that year. I had a circle of friends and we were tight. We played hard and had a good time off the field too. They were keen to break us up a bit.
Did it all come as a surprise. Were you expecting to stay at the Saints?
It was a surprise. Noone had ever said anything to me. There was no speculation or conversations.
How different was it walking into Carlton for the next season?
There was more culture, heritage and tradition (at the Blues). You could just tell when you were in there that success was expected so standards were higher, particularly from the senior players. There were such great players in the game there who never got success.
When you look back on your career, what year do you think you hit your peak? Was it when you made the All-Australian side in 2004?
I classify 2001 as my best season. I kicked 49 goals and averaged about 20 possessions as a high forward. The 2000 Carlton team was probably the best group I played with. We won 12 games in a row. That was the year Essendon won 19 in a row. Our average winning margin was 50 points. But we lost a few players to injury in the first final and lost our rhythm and our way. We fell over at the wrong time. I still think we should have won in 1997 at St Kilda but we didn’t have a ruckman because Spida Everitt was injured.
Do you measure your success as a player any differently because you weren’t able to win a premiership?
No. If you had of seen me when I walked in at St Kilda, I was 63kg. I walked out of the AFL with 251 games and 10 years of coaching. I have no complaints. I got to experience grand final week twice, which is amazing. To do it once and learn from it and do it a lot better the second time is really personally pleasing. It’s disappointing not to have won one but there are guys who played five games who have won a premiership. They would probably trade their career for 251 games. You would have to ask those guys that but I can say honestly I have no regrets.
You got to within four games of playing 200 matches for Carlton. How much did you want to stay on and reach that milestone before retiring?
I wanted to. That grates me a bit. I was lean and durable and hardly missed a match so I felt like I had a lot more good footy in me. But at that stage Brett Ratten had just come on board as coach and he was trying to go down a different path. He wanted to get some young players in. He was good enough to give me a coaching job at Carlton and that softened the blow a bit but I felt like I could play for another two or three years. Brett fired me three years later. There is no grudge there, though.
Was coaching ever on your radar as a player and when did it start to manifest in your mind?
It was more when you are sitting in meetings talking footy. When coaches ask questions the guys always answering them are the ones who will end up going into coaching. I was one of those pretty much throughout my career. I still talk to the kids about it. If you are built like me then you have to have a good brain otherwise you will never get to where I got to because you’re not physically strong enough to compete. I had to use my brain to avoid contact and be able to get ahead of the game. I wasn’t overly quick but I had some agility. I was able to get a step or two ahead of the game with my mind and that helped me with coaching. Playing will always be the pinnacle for me between the two. Coaching is satisfying but you don’t get the same rush.
What was it like coaching at an expansion club in Gold Coast after Collingwood and Carlton?
It was different. They have a number of challenges and they are still going through those now. It will take time. I look back at it and I really enjoyed my role there and working with the younger players. We were preaching it when I was there, if they can just commit to each other for four or five years then they will get to where they need to get to. But if they start to fragment again and leave and go home then that is when they will fall apart again. The young Suns I hear talk are making the right noises.
Do you believe the AFL should provide assistance to the club this year?
They need more assistance. GWS got so much more than they did. They should be getting a priority pick but they should be forced to trade it, not get another 18-year-old. They need to use priority pick one to get one or two good players from another club but if they get bring in a kid the same thing will happen if they don’t get success in the next four years.
PLAYER BIO:
Name: Matthew Lappin
Nickname: Skinny
From: Chiltern, Victoria
Age: 43
Lives: Gold Coast
AFL career
Height: 184cm Weight: 78kg
Position: Defender
Drafted: Pick 40 in 1993
Games: 251 with St Kilda (55 games) and Carlton (196)
Grand finals: 1997 (with St Kilda) and 1999 (Carlton)
Individual playing success:
■ All-Australian 2004
■ AFL Mark of the Year 1999
■ Represented Australia in International Rules series in 2001, 2005, 2006
■ Carlton leading goalkicker 2001
Coaching career
■ Carlton assistant (2008-2010)
■ Collingwood assistant (2011-2014)
■ Gold Coast assistant (2015-2017)
■ Southport Sharks NEAFL assistant 2018-current
‘Everyone gets cut up’: Cats star’s message to critics after Rowell link
Gold Coast bull Matt Rowell has been linked to Geelong, and Gryan Miers has a message for those criticising the Cats’ approach.
‘Lit something in me’: The spark that inspired Shaw’s coaching return
Incoming Gold Coast Suns AFLW coach Rhyce Shaw has revealed what inspired his senior coaching comeback four years after parting ways with North Melbourne.