Matt’s a gem of a Brooker

By Russell Bennett
MATT O’Neil is a five-time runner-up in Gembrook Cockatoo Football Club’s best and fairest.
But he’d sooner win another premiership in his final year on the field, than be named his club’s best player for the first time.
O’Neil played his 350th senior game in round two this season and will soon draw the curtains on a career going back to 1992.
His parents moved to Cockatoo just before Ash Wednesday and he has since soared to dizzying heights and ridden the hard bumps.
O’Neil said “great mates” were the key to his longevity in the game and his proudest moments came in 2000 and 2004, when he won premierships as Gembrook’s captain and, later, coach.
“I’ve been very lucky with injuries as well,” O’Neil said.
“And I’ve always been able to play through the niggles.”
O’Neil’s definition of the word “niggle” – and everyone else’s – could well be what sets him apart.
Such is his refusal to be physically beaten, he played last season’s YVMDFL grand final against Woori Yallock with a broken jaw.
“I’m starting to feel it in the hammies now though,” the centreman said with a laugh.
O’Neil turns 37 this week and has played 10 years of football over two decades.
The 2011 season will be his last, but his career-defining highlight may yet be to come.
“I’m looking forward to the possibility of playing finals and the chance to finish with another premiership,” he said.
O’Neil said he didn’t know if he would again coach his beloved Brookers, but was looking forward to having a break from the game when he hangs up the boots.
He has three kids to devote his time to and will also build a new house in the next 12 months.
As a player-coach, O’Neil used to bring himself off the ground in games when his side had a comfortable margin – just to observe its progress from the sidelines.
Next year, he’ll be doing the same – venturing up to the Orchard Road clubrooms each Thursday and regularly attending games. And as he has for nearly two decades, he’ll be putting his team first.