Collingwood premiership star Mick McGuane’s key role in helping Keighton Matofai-Forbes get drafted to Geelong

Keighton Matofai-Forbes had got by on his power and lethal left boot, but some strong feedback from a Collingwood premiership player helped steer him in the right direction.

No U-turns.

That is the message still ringing in Geelong draftee Keighton Matofai-Forbes’ ears from former Collingwood premiership star and Herald Sun footy analyst Mick McGuane.

A powerful forward of Samoan and Maori descent, Matofai-Forbes was encouraged to use his lethal left boot at all costs as junior level.

It had served him well at Burnside and Hillside as a junior, but it was a different story when he arrived at McGuane’s Keilor in 2023 hoping to crack into the seniors.

Keighton Matofai-Forbes was drafted by the Cats last month. Picture: Mike Dugdale

“I coached against him at junior level and knew he had talent but probably a bit of a one-wood. That was his legs and that was his weapon, he was probably played to it too often,” McGuane said.

“As much as the cake was baked, we had to fill it with a bit of cream and a bit of icing to make him more rounded, and challenged him strongly on we are going to eliminate U-turns in his game for example.

“It’s not always that your kicking that is going to get you out of trouble. Blazing away in junior footy can be a positive, but we had to get some creativity into his make-up and make sure he saw best option. It isn’t all about getting depth and yards, sometimes he’d miss options with his vision.

“Your strength can become an Achilles heel. Keep it and use it when it is available, but don’t ignore other aspects of the game, especially when it’s a team-first approach.”

McGuane also advised the youngster to watch Sydney key forward Logan McDonald and other hardworking goalkickers live at the ground to improve his leading patterns and footy IQ.

The dual Collingwood best and fairest winner’s strong feedback helped Matofai-Forbes progress from the Western Jets to the big league, taken with the third last pick in last month’s national draft.

Keilor coach Mick McGuane speaks to his troops. Picture: Valeriu Campan

“No U-turns in footy. I’m sure most of the Keilor boys will relate to that one, no U-turns at all,” Matofai-Forbes said.

“I have had plenty to do with Mick McGuane, he was the one who actually gave me my senior debut.

“He has been absolutely unreal for my footy, just the amount of knowledge he has.”

Matofai-Forbes cleaned up those U-turns, but he certainly didn’t put on the brakes in his senior debut for Keilor on the Good Friday stage.

Just 16, the goalkicker slotted four majors and produced a moment of brilliance that will stick long in McGuane’s memory.

“He was involved in one passage of play that really stood out, was a bit of a wow-factor play,” McGuane explained.

“He marked the ball up on centre wing and he rolled onto his left leg and we had (a player) going into the forward 50 and he saw him and penetrated a ball probably 60 metres flat, went through the air.

“Obviously the coaching staff looked at each other and said, ‘wow, that’s a special talent’.”

Matofai-Forbes in action for the Western Jets. Picture: Scott Sidley/AFL Photos

Even with that talent, there was only one club in the mix to take Matofai-Forbes after a draft year interrupted by a hamstring injury.

The 188 centimetre forward played a game for Vic Metro, where he hit the scoreboard but couldn’t convert as he managed four behinds.

He thought his hopes were dashed when the Cats selected Jay Polkinghorne, a similar type of player, with their first selection.

Instead, Matofai-Forbes and his family, including his step dad Christos and mother Irene – who represented Samoa at the 1999 Netball World Cup – had a night to remember as he joined an AFL club just an hour up the road.

“I was aware they had interest in me and they were probably going to be the only club to take me if it was a possibility, but as it got later in the night I wasn’t really expecting it as they’d already taken Jay, a tall forward like myself,” Matofai-Forbes said.

“Absolutely surreal moment (when I heard my name). Wasn’t expecting it at all so I think it made it 100 times better. It has been crazy.”

McGuane messaged Matofai-Forbes straight away when he became a Cat and Christos got on the phone to thank the dual Collingwood best-and-fairest winner.

“Humility is a big thing in life and also sport, and he is a humble boy,” McGuane said.

“He’s grounded and that’s a by-product of his parents and his school system and his football clubs he’s been involved in. He’s never got ahead of himself even though he had an ambition, it was just a matter of getting to work.”

McGuane feels Matofai-Forbes will relish the system at Geelong and is confident he will leave no stone unturned.

“Such a power forward, such a powerful athlete, he will take time to build his fitness levels and base when it comes to an endurance but I think he will soak up the meetings and the education that comes with the territory,” McGuane said.

“I reckon he has got the motivation to succeed. Now that he has been given the chance I don’t reckon he will waste it.”

Originally published as Collingwood premiership star Mick McGuane’s key role in helping Keighton Matofai-Forbes get drafted to Geelong