‘Lethal’ link exposed

By Peter Sweeney
LEIGH Matthews reckons there’s a strong link between football and horse racing.
“I made a living playing football, and I reckon I spent a lot of it (money) at the races,” Matthews told attendees at a sportsmen’s lunch at the Pakenham Football Club on Friday. “I was a regular at the (Pakenham) races. I had a horse that won a race there.”
And he also threw out “an omen” for the Lions.
“The last time I was here speaking was in 2009, and I see you won the premiership in that year. So who knows?” Matthews said.
Matthews said Jonathan Brown was the bravest player he had seen, but sometimes he did things that were “so brave, but not wise”.
The former champion player and coach said Collingwood was “stuffing up football” because it was “so rich and powerful off the field”.
“Some clubs have no chance of competing with them,” he said.
“When I started coaching there, they were on the point of bankruptcy.”
Caulfield racehorse trainer Tony Vasil was also a speaker at the Devine-sponsored show.
One of Vasil’s 25-strong team, The Wingman, is owned by a large syndicate of people involved with the Pakenham Football Club, including president Greg Marshall.
“Don’t say too much about our (strong) chances in the spring, Tony,” Marshall said. “We might get fined for inside information.”
A former jockey, Vasil said he had never felt so much pressure on him as he did leading into the most recent Pakenham Cup, in which The Wingman ran third.