Each year in June the Melbourne Cricket Club’s football community gathers for one of its most prestigious events, the Norm Smith Oration.
The coveted function is held in celebration of the great game of AFL and pays tribute to football icon, Norm Smith.In 2024, host Tim Lane was joined by all-time AFL great Leigh Matthews and three-time Brisbane Lions premiership player and current Carlton coach, Michael Voss, who delivered the toast and response to Australian Rules Football respectively.
The combination of Matthews and Voss and their familiarity with each other provided attendees with a special insight not only into their respective careers but also the inner workings of the Brisbane Lions in the early 2000’s.
In his entertaining toast to AFL, Matthews reflected on the impact and importance of football in his family life as a young boy to the heights of his dazzling playing career and his days playing alongside other greats of the game.
“I was born very luckily into a football family,” Matthews said. “When people say to me, when did I fall in love with football, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t. Footy was a bonding thing within our household.
“It’s interesting how things happen, there’s sliding door moments going on all the time. You learn along the way, you’re always learning.
“I had a will to win that frightened me, when I think back on it. As a man in his 20’s I had a fearsome will to win and a kind of brutal, callous attitude to it all. I kind of felt like Roman Gladiators out in the Colosseum and that meant I attacked the contest.
“I figured I’m about 178cm, I had no particular athletic skills, I’ve got pretty good balance but I wasn’t a great athlete, I figured I could be the most aggressive player on the field and that’s what I tried to do.”
Though acknowledging that in his younger years he did not consider coaching, Matthews shared details of the start of his coaching career at Collingwood, and the phone call that would change the course of his career.
“At the end of ’85, Collingwood asked me to come across and be assistant coach to Bob Rose,” he said.
“In early 1986 Collingwood, this incredibly powerful footy club that Collingwood is now, were bankrupt and I still remember, the phone rang and it was Bob Rose and he said Leigh, I think it’s time you took over. And that’s the start of my coaching career.
“Coaching is a lifestyle. It’s not job it’s a lifestyle and 24/7 and it’s always on you. But that accepting the challenge is what we do.”
Shortly before handing the microphone to Michael Voss for his response to the toast, Matthews gave an insight into his premiership-winning captain.
“I’ve always said that when we talk about that Melbourne team of the late ‘50s, Norm Smith has a few premierships on me, but Vossy is the modern generation’s Ron Barassi, in my opinion. That’s how powerful he was as a leader and as a player. He was a magnificent leader of the group,” Matthews said.
In beginning his response, Voss took the opportunity to share with the audience his experiences working with a humble, patient yet reportedly fierce coach in Matthews.
“Writing my letter to footy it is impossible not to acknowledge Leigh’s influence within it. I have had two father-figure types in my life – my dad Garry and my coach Leigh Matthews,” Voss said.
“Leigh took me from being a good player to a leader. He seemed to care greatly how I modelled what we needed to stand for.”
Through anecdotes and stories of his interactions with Leigh, Voss shared how the Player of the Century shaped him as a captain and a leader and the impact that had in key moments within his career.
Throughout his speech, Voss emphasised that his love for the game stemmed from a childhood that fostered his passion and influenced the person he became both on and off the field.
“If we become a product of our environment then football has given me the greatest head start in life,” Voss said.
“The head start didn’t come from material things or a school that I was privileged to attend, but instead the things that have helped shaped me as a person. My schooling in life came from the locker rooms that I come into contact with. The communities of families that football brought together and the values of a small country town – hard work and persistence. There was no privilege, only respect and humility.
“The only material things that I needed when I was growing up was the football, a pair of boots, a set of goal posts and a jumper. It grounded me for things to come.
“I love you footy because I have thrived in many and failed in many more. My need to serve you has gifted me so many things. I have been a player at the Brisbane Lions, I’ve been a coach at the Brisbane Lions, I am the current coach of the Carlton Football Club but most importantly I am an ambassador for you, football, and always will be.”
The Club looks forward to welcoming members to the 2025 Norm Smith Oration next year.