Matthew Whelan (born 13 November 1979) is a former professional
Australian rules football player.
Wearing the number 45 jersey, Whelan, recruited from the Northern Territory was reliable defender/
back pocket known by Demons fans as "Wheels". He also earned the nickname "Wrecker" (after
Whelan the Wrecker
Whelan the Wrecker was a family owned and operated demolition company that operated from 1892 until 1992, based in Brunswick in the city of Melbourne. The company became well known through the 1950s and 1970s when signs stating that "Whelan the ...
) for his big hits (often on big name players) and tough and uncompromisingly defensive style of play. His tackling style, to drop the shoulder, resulted in spectacular, almost
spear tackle like throws of opponents.
Early life
Matthew has
Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
heritage and his ancestry can be traced to the
Ngalakan language speaking peoples of the
Arnhem Land.
He grew up in
Darwin, the capital of the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
, where he played
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
at junior levels before concentrating on Australian football at the age of 15.
Before heading to Victoria in 2000, Whelan played in both the Northern Territory and South Australian leagues. From October to March he would play for Darwin before heading to
Woodville-West Torrens for the winter.
AFL career
2000 debut season
Whelan made his debut in round four of season 2000 and played every game until round 20 when an injured neck cost him his place and he missed the finals, including Melbourne's grand final appearance. This was a major blow to the Demons who missed his toughness against a more physical Essendon.
History repeats
History repeated itself in 2002 when Whelan played every game but was forced out in round 22 with a calf injury, and another finals series went begging.
2003 & Shane Crawford incident
In a rare report for rough play in 2003 for what appeared to be a dangerous throw on
Shane Crawford
Shane Barry Crawford (born 9 September 1974) is a former Australian rules football player, television media personality and author. He played 305 senior games for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) and won the ...
he was later cleared by the tribunal of any infringement.
2004 & James Hird incident
During the 2004
Elimination Final, Melbourne were drawn to play rivals
Essendon Essendon may refer to:
Australia
*Electoral district of Essendon
*Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington
* Essendon, Victoria
**Essendon railway station
**Essendon Airport
* Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League
United Ki ...
. With about five minutes to go in the first half, Whelan knocked
James Hird
James Albert Hird (born 4 February 1973) is a former professional Australian rules football player and past senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Hird played as a midfielder and half-forward, but ...
unconscious with a strong
shirtfront, re-gathered the ball and fed it off to
Travis Johnstone
Travis Johnstone (born 17 July 1980) is an Australian rules footballer who has played for the Melbourne Football Club and Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the grandson of former Fitzroy Lions player, Norm Johnst ...
who finished off the play with a goal to bring up double figures for the Demons. Whelan, playing his first final, was one of Melbourne's best, picking up 22 possessions and a match high five tackles.
2005 & Nathan Brown incident
During the final quarter of the Melbourne v Richmond game on 27 May 2005, Richmond attacked in their 50 when Whelan came from nowhere to smother
Nathan Brown's kick. Because Brown was kicking with his left boot Whelan landed on his right foot, and, in front of horrified ''
Friday Night Football'' viewers, broke his leg. Replays were constantly played on the news, including ''
Sports Tonight'' and
Fox Sports News. Whelan said that he had felt guilty, given the seriousness of Brown's injury. Brown sat out the rest of the season, and has had re-occurring leg-related injuries ever since.
2006 AFL Season
Whelan had a stellar season in 2006, marred only by minor injuries to his
calf
Calf most often refers to:
* Calf (animal), the young of domestic cattle.
* Calf (leg), in humans (and other primates), the back portion of the lower leg
Calf or calves may also refer to:
Biology and animal byproducts
* Veal, meat from calves
* ...
and
hamstring
In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury.
In quadrupe ...
.he kicked a career high four goals in round-five
2007 & Luke Ball incident
During the
2007 season opener against
St Kilda, while shepherding a teammate, Whelan turned his back, colliding solidly with
Luke Ball
Luke Patrick Ball (born 25 May 1984) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the and football clubs in the Australian Football League. From 2003 to 2009 he played 142 games for the St Kilda Football Club whe ...
. The severe collision injured both players, resulting in both coming off the ground, with the back of Whelan's head lacerating Ball's forehead. Ball was carried off the ground with a laceration to his head, although both players later returned to play out the game. Whelan was charged for rough play based on the video. The charge, however, was later dropped as the high contact was ruled as an accidental clash of heads, while Ball continued a slow recovery from the injury.
Ball plans for Round 4 , Herald Sun
/ref>
His 2007 season saw him play just a handful of games due to injury.
2008 & Brendan Fevola incident
In round-five of the 2008 season, Whelan was reported for striking Carlton's full-forward Brendan Fevola. He was offered a two-week suspension by the AFL. But an early-guilty plea reduced this to just one week.
Retirement
In August 2009 Whelan announced his retirement from the AFL alongside team mate Paul Wheatley, effective after Round 22, as part of the Melbourne Football Club's youth policy. His career has been plagued by injury, but is leaving on a good note and was happy to play an important role mentoring the MFC's young Aboriginal players.[afl.com.au](_blank)
Whelan, Wheatley to call it a day.
In February 2010, Whelan was awarded life membership of the Melbourne Football club at the club's annual general meeting.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Matthew
Indigenous Australian players of Australian rules football
Living people
1979 births
Melbourne Football Club players
Woodville-West Torrens Football Club players
Darwin Football Club players
Sportspeople from Darwin, Northern Territory
Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory
Casey Demons players