Gippslander Tom Matthews was a bolter early on the second night of the AFL Draft, taken with Pick 30 by Melbourne.
The Gippsland captain played just four games of Coates League in 2025 due to a persistent knee injury, and got a Vic Country trial game where he kicked four goals in just over a half before succumbing to that injury.
He also managed seven goals in four games for Gippsland Power as a crumbing forward who was occasionally injected into the midfield.
Staggeringly, Matthews did not train at all during the first month of the season when he was making waves, as his weeks were focused on recovery for match-day, highlighting his resilient character.
The Moe local was set to represent Vic Country at the U18s National Championships, named in the initial squad, before he was sidelined.
There was optimism that with rest, he would be able to play games at full fitness late in 2025, so he opted against surgery, but the knee injury persisted.
Matthews played just a half of a game of talent pathway footy after May 4, but in those two quarters laid four forward 50 tackles which underlined his manic pressure.
He was the second small forward the Dees took after selecting Latrelle Pickett with Pick 12 on night, who has a raw skillset with significant upside given his ability to kick goals in different ways.
“His point-of-difference is that he's so dynamic,” Recruiting Manager Jason Taylor said.
“His speed to get after opposition and provide pressure and tackle is outstanding really.
“He can sit on heads, he can kick goals, he's creative, so he's got a fair bit to his game.
“He's a really dynamic athlete, his testing is off the charts, his speed and endurance is really good.
“He's going to take some time though, recovering from that knee, and he's got time on his side.
“We'll get that right, and we're really excited by what he can be down the track.
“He does add a dimension to the forward line that's different to Kade Chandler, potentially Latrelle (Pickett) and Bailey Laurie.
Matthews is close friends with Bailey Humphrey, hailing from the same junior club.
Melbourne picking up a close mate of Bailey Humphrey 👀 #AFLDraft pic.twitter.com/GUPMMvLedo
— Jonty Ralphsmith (@JontyRalphsmith) November 20, 2025
The pair both attended Gippsland Sports Academy Lowanna College and have trained extensively together.
Lowanna Sports Academy has also produced Sam Skinner, Sam Flanders, Brock Smith, Leo Connolly, Harry Pepper, Jacob Konstanty, Ricky Mentha, and Alix Tauru in recent years
“We grew up together and he taught me how to do my first backflip actually,” Matthews said of Humphrey earlier in 2025.
“He's been a huge source for me since bottom-aged U16s about how to deal with things.
“He's always giving me tips and different ways to handle situations and relieve the stress a little bit.
“It's really good to talk to him because I've been in similar shoes to him and he just always makes me feel like everything's good.”
Matthews was highly touted around the Power program for his strong pre-season, consensually viewed as the most impressive trainer across that period - even more so than Pick 1 Willem Duursma.
He trained alongside Riley Baldi, who had a standout season for Casey's VFL side, with the Dees nominating him as a Fothergill-Round-Mitchell-Medal candidate and has since crossed to the SANFL.
“I had to improve my fitness a fair bit over the break, so I definitely just upped the intensity of my gym and running.
“It was a head down, bum-up attitude in pre-season.
“I felt a lot more physically and mentally prepared and I was a lot more confident that I could showcase what I could do this year.”
That work came after he kicked 18 goals through 13 games last year to put himself on the Dees' radar entering 2025.
“We went into the year pretty bullish on him after some of the stuff he showed last year,” Taylor added.
“Talking to people at the Power and (Casey VFL coach and 2025 Gippsland Power coach) Rhett McLennan, who is obviously with us now, knowing how he was going in pre-season and he has exciting attributes to develop.”
Matthews also shares a tight friendship with Willem Duursma, with the pair growing up playing representative basketball and footy together, with Duursma pushing his fellow Gippslander's name throughout recent months.
“He will just give 110 per cent effort, determination and dedication,” Duursma told Craft of the Draft.
“His pressure and goal kicking is unbelievable.”
Speaking earlier in 2025, then Power coach McLennan offered an insight into what makes Matthews such an attractive prospect.
“Tom's ability to lead and provide energy to the group has been great,” McLennan said.
“We've given him midfield time to show he's more than just a small forward and his want and ability to defend, just as much as he likes to attack, is his point-of-difference at Coates Talent League level.”
On night one, Melbourne also added top-end defender Xavier Taylor and Pickett.
In Taylor, they get a bold and creative modern footballer who is set to bring swagger and Pickett is an unknown quantity who the Dees have tracked for some time given he is the cousin of Kysaiah, and his improved professionalism has married up with marked growth in 2025.
