Former AFL great Leigh Matthews says he still feels “guilt” for not spending more time with his family during the early days of his career.
Speaking on the Neil Mitchell Asks Why podcast, Matthews says “I look back on it with some regret.”
“My two daughters, who are both 50 years old now … They’re not really into football in a big way. They would’ve almost regarded football as the enemy,” he said.
“That was the thing that took their dad away from them.”
Matthews claimed four Premiership flags during his 16-year playing career with Hawthorn, and another four as coach at Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions.
But Matthews says it came at a cost.
“I often think about our family … I was a very young father. I was a teenage father,” he said.
Read Related Also: How Taiwan could thwart an invasion by China – with America's help
“But I was so focused on my success and my career that you … look back on it, and you just didn’t spend enough quality time or quality concentration on your family.”
Reflecting on his career, Matthew’s describes himself as a “callously brutal” player, saying he would’ve rather kicked “eight goals in the losing side” over zero goals in a winning side.
“I would say not in finals, but in normal games … Wanting to be the best player on the ground is one of the driving factors for a lot of players once you get to a certain level.”
Daring prison break shattered jail’s ‘escape proof’ reputation
But he says he’s “a very different person now in my 70’s than I was in my 20’s.”
Matthews was inducted to the AFL Hall of Fame in 1965, and is widely recognised as one of the best players of the 20th Century.
He is now an AFL commentator.
Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.
