Matthew Kreuzer (born 13 May 1989) is a retired professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played for the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). He was selected first overall pick in the 2007 AFL Draft. He announced his retirement in September 2020.

Junior career

Kreuzer played for St Mary's Greensborough Junior Football Club, part of the

Yarra Junior Football League The Yarra Junior Football League is the largest junior Australian rules football league in Australia. The league has a total of 32 clubs, who are based around northern, eastern and north-eastern Melbourne. There is a total of 66 divisions througho ...

, in Melbourne's north as a junior, before moving to the

Northern Knights The Northern Knights is an Australian rules football club playing in the NAB League, the top statewide under-18 competition in Victoria, Australia. They are based in Preston, representing the northern suburban area of Melbourne. The Knights a ...

to play under-18s football in the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

in 2006 and 2007. Kreuzer established himself as both the team's No. 1 ruckman and as a key forward during that time, scoring 51 goals in his 33 games with the Knights. In 2007, he won the

Morrish Medal The Morrish Medal is an Australian rules football award. Formerly awarded to the best and fairest player in the VFL Under-19 competition (known as the Thirds prior to 1959), since 1992 the award has been given to the best player in the Victori ...

and the Knights' best and fairest, and he was selected in the Victorian Metropolitan and All-Australian under-18s teams, and in the TAC Cup Teams of the Year in both 2006 and 2007. Noted for possessing a level of agility and endurance unusual for a player of his size, Kreuzer was widely expected to be selected early in the 2007 AFL Draft. He was selected by Carlton with its

priority draft pick The priority draft pick is a type of draft selection in the Australian Football League's AFL Draft. Priority draft picks are additional draft picks, located at or near the start of the draft, which are given only to the poorest performing teams, ...

(No. 1 overall) in the draft; Carlton received that draft pick only after losing its final round match against in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, a controversial match which became known as the Kreuzer Cup.

Professional career

Kreuzer made his AFL debut in Round 3 of the 2008 season against

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 ...

at the

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

on 5 April 2008, impressing on debut and scoring a goal with his first kick. He played largely as the second ruckman through the early part of the season. He earned a

NAB Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

nomination in his ninth game (against

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

), after moving into the forward-line in the final quarter and scoring three goals, which helped Carlton overcome a 30-point deficit in wet conditions; he would ultimately poll eleven votes to finish fourth for the award. Towards the end of the season, Kreuzer was playing both ruck and forward roles. He was noted for his accuracy in front of goal, scoring 13 goals and only one behind in his debut season. Kreuzer played all twenty-three games in his second season, again sharing ruck duties and spending some time in the forward-line, again scoring thirteen goals. He finished fifth in the

John Nicholls Medal The John Nicholls Medal (formerly the Robert Reynolds Trophy from 1934 to 2003) is an Australian rules football award given to the player(s) adjudged best and fairest for the Carlton Football Club for the season. The voting system as of the 2017 A ...

. Kreuzer continued as one of the club's top two ruckmen in 2010, and he played his 50th AFL game in Round 7. In Round 13, 2010, after 56 consecutive games from debut, Kreuzer ruptured his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

after landing awkwardly in a marking contest. He had a conventional knee reconstruction, and missed eleven months of football, returning to VFL football in May 2011 and to Carlton in Round 12, 2011. He played every game for the rest of the 2011 home-and-away season, but after 12 months out of the game was well below his best, polling best-and-fairest votes only once. In 2017, Kreuzer had a career best season only missing one game. He was selected in the initial 40-man All Australian squad and finished third in Carlton's best and fairest. Before the beginning of the 2018 season it was announced that Kreuzer would be part of Carlton's new leadership group for the first time in his career. At the end of the 2018 season, Kreuzer had relinquished his position in the leadership group, along with

Alex Silvagni Alex Silvagni (born 29 September 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle and Carlton Football Clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early career Silvagni did not play in the TAC Cup ...

and Lachlan Plowman. In the opening round of the

2020 AFL season The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season feature ...

against Richmond, Kreuzer suffered a foot injury which initially ruled him out for three to four months, but he did not play again and announced his retirement, with immediate effect, on 10 September 2020. Following his retirement, Kreuzer was appointed ruck coach at Carlton in December 2020.

Personal life

His father is of Dutch heritage. Outside of football, Kreuzer is a civil engineer.

Statistics

:''Statistics are correct to the end of round 1, 2020'' , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, , 8 , , 20 , , 13 , , 1 , , 96 , , 99 , , 195 , , 59 , , 45 , , 183 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 4.8 , , 5.0 , , 9.8 , , 3.0 , , 2.3 , , 9.2 , , 1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, , 8 , , 23 , , 13 , , 11 , , 123 , , 197 , , 320 , , 73 , , 71 , , 394 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 5.3 , , 8.6 , , 13.9 , , 3.2 , , 3.1 , , 17.1 , , 1 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , 8 , , 13 , , 5 , , 4 , , 65 , , 94 , , 159 , , 29 , , 62 , , 239 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 5.0 , , 7.2 , , 12.2 , , 2.2 , , 4.8 , , 18.4 , , 1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , 8 , , 12 , , 7 , , 7 , , 66 , , 74 , , 140 , , 27 , , 44 , , 148 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 5.5 , , 6.2 , , 11.7 , , 2.3 , , 3.7 , , 12.3 , , 3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , 8 , , 20 , , 10 , , 8 , , 146 , , 97 , , 243 , , 60 , , 66 , , 450 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 7.3 , , 4.9 , , 12.2 , , 3.0 , , 3.3 , , 22.5 , , 3 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, , 8 , , 17 , , 8 , , 11 , , 116 , , 79 , , 195 , , 56 , , 71 , , 428 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 6.8 , , 4.6 , , 11.5 , , 3.3 , , 4.2 , , 25.2 , , 6 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , 8 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 9 , , 5 , , 14 , , 3 , , 0 , , 13 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.0 , , 5.0 , , 14.0 , , 3.0 , , 0.0 , , 13.0 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , 8 , , 13 , , 9 , , 5 , , 91 , , 75 , , 166 , , 40 , , 55 , , 276 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 7.0 , , 5.8 , , 12.8 , , 3.1 , , 4.2 , , 21.2 , , 3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , 8 , , 21 , , 7 , , 8 , , 136 , , 95 , , 231 , , 46 , , 84 , , 429 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 6.5 , , 4.5 , , 11.0 , , 2.2 , , 4.0 , , 20.4 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, , 8 , , 21 , , 12 , , 12 , , 206 , , 115 , , 321 , , 69 , , 107 , , 665 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 9.8 , , 5.5 , , 15.3 , , 3.3 , , 5.1 , , 31.7 , , 5 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, , 8 , , 12 , , 5 , , 5 , , 99 , , 60 , , 159 , , 24 , , 41 , , 276 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 8.3 , , 5.0 , , 13.3 , , 2.0 , , 3.4 , , 23.0 , , 1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , 8 , , 15 , , 5 , , 5 , , 127 , , 69 , , 196 , , 30 , , 34 , , 467 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 8.5 , , 4.6 , , 13.1 , , 2.0 , , 2.3 , , 31.1 , , 3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, , 8 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1 , , 1 , , 1 , , 1 , , 7 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 7.0 , , , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 189 ! 94 ! 77 ! 1280 ! 1060 ! 2340 ! 517 ! 681 ! 3975 ! 0.5 ! 0.4 ! 6.8 ! 5.6 ! 12.4 ! 2.7 ! 3.6 ! 21.0 ! 27

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kreuzer, Matthew Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Carlton Football Club players Preston Football Club (VFA) players Living people 1989 births Australian people of Dutch descent Northern Knights players