Matt Spangher

Matthew "Matt" Spangher (born 23 April 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for West Coast Eagles, Sydney Swans and Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Spangher is a key position player that can play as a forward or a defender. His career has been hampered by injuries.

Matthew Spangher
Personal information
Full name Matthew Spangher
Date of birth (1987-04-23) 23 April 1987
Original team(s) Eastern Ranges (TAC Cup)/Xavier College
Draft No. 34, 2005 national draft
No. 73, 2010 national draft
Height 195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 96 kg (212 lb)
Position(s) Defender / Forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2006–2010 West Coast 26 0(3)
2011–2012 Sydney 06 0(8)
2013–2016 Hawthorn 24 0(2)
Total 56 (13)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2016.
Career highlights
  • AFL Premiership player (2014)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Career

Spangher was recruited by West Coast as the number 34 draft pick in the 2005 AFL Draft from Eastern Ranges. In 2006, he only played one WAFL reserves game for East Fremantle, before sustaining a groin injury which kept him out for the rest of the season.

In 2007, he played the season with East Fremantle in the WAFL, as a defender. After his WAFL performances in the first 3 rounds of 2008, he made his AFL debut for the West Coast Eagles in the round 4, who had a 62-point loss to Sydney at ANZ Stadium, picking up 12 disposals and 7 marks.

Spangher flagged his intentions to move home to Victoria at the end of 2009 but the club convinced him to sign a one-year deal for 2010. Had some success being the club’s third tall defender and played eight games in season 2010 before getting delisted.[1] Hawthorn had asked him to attend preseason training in the hope of drafting him.[2] He was taken by the Sydney Swans in the 2010 Draft.

His first game for the Swans was against the Gold Coast in Round 16, 2011. The result was a 70-point win to the Swans.

After playing the last five games for Sydney in 2011, he was unable to get a game in 2012. He was traded to Hawthorn for pick 66 in the 2012 AFL draft.

He made his debut for Hawthorn in the round 8, 2013 clash against Greater Western Sydney in Launceston, Tasmania.[3]

Spangher then played against St Kilda and Sydney in the home and away rounds before playing against Sydney again in the first week of the finals.

Spangher played his first game for 2014 in round 3 against Fremantle, before suffering a major ankle injury in round 4 against Gold Coast.[4] He returned against his old club West Coast in round 12, being one of Hawthon's best players, with 22 disposals including 7 contested marks.[5] Spangher again put in a strong performance the next week against Carlton, and continued his form against Collingwood. In the 2014 Grand Final, after witnessing premierships at West Coast in 2006, Sydney in 2012, and being an emergency in the Hawks 2013 win, Spangher was finally picked in his first Grand Final, and won his first premiership. During the medal ceremony, MC Craig Willis made reference to his incredible journey.

At the conclusion of the 2016 season, he was delisted by Hawthorn.[6]

Cult hero

Spangher's move to the Hawks has been greeted with "cult hero" status. In mid 2013, a Facebook fan page titled "Sir Matthew Spangher" was created, that as of September 2015 has over 14,000 followers.[7] Spangher's popularity amongst players and fans was shown with overwhelming applause and chants whenever he went near the ball during the VFL Grand Final for Box Hill. "It's interesting isn't it. It's nice, but I don't think it's deserved," he said of the attention.[8] With Spangher's appearances in the 2014 season, members of the media began to draw more attention to the fans growing affection, with members of the media also happy to play into the image. Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph wrote "Let’s face it, when you look half rock god and half Jesus, men want to be you and women want to be with you."[9] Spangher has gained the nickname "Fabio" from 3AW due to his long hair.[10] After finally claiming his first premiership in 2014, Hawthorn fans chanted his name, and demanded he speak to the fans at the premiership party, before fan favourite Cyril Rioli.

Statistics
[11]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2006 West Coast 300——————————————
2007 West Coast 300——————————————
2008 West Coast 307123922612480.10.35.63.18.73.41.1
2009 West Coast 301121747915341250.20.16.77.213.93.72.3
2010 West Coast 30801673610327190.00.18.44.512.93.42.4
2011 Sydney 2768646156122131.31.07.72.510.23.72.2
2012 Sydney 270——————————————
2013 Hawthorn 274243222541990.51.08.05.513.54.82.3
2014 Hawthorn 2715021327620872330.00.18.85.113.94.82.2
2015 Hawthorn 274003015452320.00.07.53.811.35.80.5
2016 Hawthorn 27100101000.00.01.00.01.00.00.0
Career 56 13 16 421 265 686 228 109 0.2 0.3 7.5 4.7 12.3 4.1 2.0

References
  1. Eagles delist houlihan Spangher Archived 29 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Spangher to train with Hawthorn
  3. http://www.hawthornfc.com.au/news/2013-05-16/spangher-to-debut
  4. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-04-15/blow-for-saints-hawks
  5. http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2014/12/haw-v-wce
  6. Browne, Ashley; Ryan, Peter (28 October 2016). "Axe falls at Hawthorn with cult hero among seven cut". AFL.com.au. BigPond. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  7. "Sir Matthew Spangher". Facebook. Facebook. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  8. Ryan, Conor. "Box Hill's Matt Spangher a crowd favourite during win over Geelong in the VFL". Leader Community Newspapers. News Corporation. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  9. Ralph, Jon. "Hawthorn utility Matt Spangher relishing greater opportunities after stints with Sydney and West Coast". Herald Sun. News Corporation. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  10. "Matt Spangher on 3AW Sports Today". hawthornfc.com.au. Hawthorn Football Club. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  11. "Matthew Spangher". AFL Tables. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
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