2014 Draft Profile: Matthew Goodyear

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Matthew Goodyear (Calder Cannons)

Height: 185 cm
Weight:
77 kg
Position: 
Midfielder
Strengths:
Ball Winning, Endurance, Speed, Tackling, Consistency
Weaknesses:
Composure, Disposal

Matthew Goodyear is a hand working medium sized midfielder from the Calder Cannons, who performed consistently throughout the 2014 TAC CAP campaign. Goodyear played eight games for Calder in 2013 due to a foot injury, but was able to notch up 15 games this season, including three games for Vic Metro in the NAB AFL Under 18’s Championships.

After spending most of his 2013 year as a quick outside runner, Goodyear spent much of 2014 with Cannons coach Andrew Jago developing a balance to his overall game, enhancing his ability to play as an inside midfielder. Playing in the shadow of teammate Touk Miller for most of 2013, opportunities arose for Goodyear to be a mainstay at the feet of ruckmen Mark Kovacevic and Peter Wright this year. His added responsibility in the midfield saw him average 21.3 disposals per game from his 15 appearances, including featuring in the bests 10 times, as he did much of the grunt and clearance work in the centre of the ground.

One of the main feature’s about Goodyear’s game is his consistency. He could be described as the silent achiever and is type of player that continues to chip away, rack up the possessions and get the job done week in, week out for his team. He’s most comfortable in the clinches using his elite hands to link up, find his way out of trouble and create run and carry from the contest.

Goodyear was rewarded with the opportunity to represent Vic Metro in 2014 and he didn’t disappoint in his first game, racking up 23 disposals, nine contested possessions, seven inside 50’s, and five clearances in his first outing against Vic Country, second only in output behind the highly rated Angus Brayshaw. An injury meant he suffered limited game time in his following two outings for Metro, resulting in an average of 12.3 possessions over his three overall appearances.

Going into 2014, there were three main areas that Goodyear sought to focus on in his game. One of those was to balance his inside and outside game, which he has done so successfully. The second was to work on developing his fitness and speed, with his results at the AFL combine seeing him now feature in the top 10 in the repeat sprint test for 2014. Lastly, his third goal was to develop his kicking and composure, which is at this stage his main area of weakness.

Of his 170 kicks in the TAC Cup this season, Goodyear ran at just 47 per cent efficiency by foot. This is in stark contrast to his elite handballing ability, where his quick, slick hands allowed him to run at 80 per cent efficiency from his 150 handballs in Cannons colours this year. This kink in his armoury of skills saw him perform at 57 per cent, 50 per cent and 63 per cent efficiency in his three games for Vic Metro respectively.

What you’ll get with Goodyear is a versatile, elite handballing, ball winning midfielder with the ability to play both inside and outside, and with the ability to provide bursts of speed for four quarters of football. While he may have limitations in terms of his overall disposal by foot, his ability to work on his deficiencies and strengthen the weak areas of his game like he has in 2014 will have AFL recruiters interested in this talented midfielder from the Calder Cannons.

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