Matthew Scarlett

Matthew Scarlett (born 5 June 1979) is a former Australian rules footballer, who formerly played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A fullback, who is tall and weighing , Scarlett is the eldest son of former Geelong footballer John Scarlett.

Scarlett was selected by Geelong with the 45th overall pick in the 1997 AFL Draft under the father–son rule, and made his senior debut for the club in the final round of the 1998 AFL season. Scarlett played predominantly as a fullback, and has garnered a long list of individual accolades. He is a triple premiership player from Geelong's premiership-winning teams of 2007, 2009 and 2011, has won a Carji Greeves Medal and been selected to six All-Australian sides, the most selections for a Geelong player. As well as this, Scarlett has been inducted into the Geelong Football Club Hall of Fame, represented the Victorian state team in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match and represented Australia in International rules football.

Scarlett is currently serving as a development coach with the Geelong Football Club.

Early life

Matthew Scarlett grew up in Geelong, Victoria, the son of former Geelong Football Club player John Scarlett. Despite this, Scarlett supported Essendon as a child, citing Michael Long and Matthew Lloyd as his favourite players. He was educated at St Joseph's College—the same school as his father—where he played junior football alongside future Geelong teammate Cameron Ling. Scarlett entered the next phase of his junior career when he was selected to play for the Geelong Falcons in the under 18 TAC Cup competition in 1997. His achievements with the Falcons were recognised when he was chosen to play for the Victorian Country representative side at the AFL Under 18 Championships, as well as being selected in the full-back position of the TAC Cup's Team of the Year.

AFL career

1998–1999: Debut and early career

Scarlett was drafted by the Geelong Football Club under the father–son rule with their fourth selection in the 1997 AFL Draft, and was the forty-fifth overall draft pick. He was the club's second father–son recruit of the draft, with Marc Woolnough chosen with the club's second selection. In analysing his drafting, media reports identified Scarlett's strong marking and kicking skills whilst noting his potential as a key defender.

Despite playing in the league's pre-season competition as a back pocket, Scarlett did not make his senior-level debut until the final round of the 1998 AFL season where he was matched up against Essendon full-forward Matthew Lloyd. Geelong won this game by ten points, and although Scarlett himself garnered a respectable six disposals and took two marks, he allowed Lloyd to score six goals – a third of the team's total.

Scarlett did not play again until midway through the following season where he was once again matched against Lloyd. Scarlett later credited these match-ups with Lloyd as assisting his long-term development as a player – acknowledging that it was a challenging start to his career. He made a further four senior appearances during the season, including scoring his first goal in round 17. However the majority of the year was spent playing with the reserves team, where he placed third in the best and fairest.

2000–2002: Establishment in the side

Following his limited playing opportunities in his first two seasons, Scarlett established himself in the senior side during the 2000 AFL season, playing in 21 games. This included his finals debut in Geelong's elimination final against , in which they were ultimately defeated by nine points. This capped off a breakthrough season for Scarlett, scoring two goals, achieving his first match in which he gathered at least ten possessions, and earning an AFL Rising Star nomination. Scarlett played a further 20 games and scored another two goals in 2001, a season in which had three games with 20 or more disposals. He was rewarded for his efforts by finishing runner-up