AFL legend Leigh Matthews says footy is even more dangerous now than the 1970s and 1980s

One of the greatest and most notorious players in AFL history believes the game is more dangerous today than the “rough and violent” times of the 1970s and 1980s.

Leigh Matthews, a four-time premiership winner as a coach and player, was right at the center of an era where high shots, mass brawls and blatant kings reigned supreme.

But the Hawks superstar, who won the club’s eight best and fairest medals before moving on to a career as a coach and broadcaster with stunning success, believes football is far more dangerous now than it was in his day.

“I think the game is more dangerous to play in 2022 than it was in the ’70s and ’80s, when it was supposed to be really tough and violent,” the Hawthorn legend said. 3AW.

That’s despite the league trying to make the game safer when it comes to dealing with a concussion, while also trying to make the game a bigger, faster show.

That’s why Matthews believes the game is more dangerous than ever.

‘Is [the game] in a battle with himself and I think concussion issues, there’s litigation and a class action lawsuit, as soon as you start talking like a football field like a workplace, you’re on foreign territory,” he said.

‘This century, I think the game, because of the introduction of mass trading in 2007 – 2009, in that period, it just changed the game.

“The players now know that they are going to go out to rest regularly and play with a lot more energy, a lot more contact and more collisions.

“I love the speed and power of the modern game, but [there is] more contact, more collisions, [and] hence more blows to the head.

As trades have increased in recent years and coaches have become more astute in implementing defensive structures, the league has tweaked the rules to ensure fans get the best possible show.

More speed, more goals, but apparently more concussions as awareness of the effects of head injuries rises.

Cats star Rhys Stanley tackles former Power player Jake Neade. Is the focus on speed increasing the amount of high contact and collisions?

The AFL continues to clamp down on actions that can cause head bumps and punishes players who illegally inflict them much more harshly, but Matthews says all the measures the league is employing to make the game faster are almost counterproductive.

‘How can we make it safe enough that we don’t get sued? Because the inclinations of the coaches will never change, ”he said.

‘Now, with the arrival of the additional tactical sub, we effectively have a 23 vs 23 game… 18 on the field but five players ready to charge at any moment with full energy.

“The game is competing with itself…we want to minimize concussion, clearly, eradicate it if we can…but we still want this ballistic, powerful game.”

Concussion did not exist on the minds of footballers or medical staff in the 1970s and 1980s.

Playing from 1969 to 1985, Matthews perpetrated some of the dirtiest acts of his generation, with big hits on Barrie Cable, Peter Giles and Stuart Trott among the most infamous.

A king stroke that left Geelong’s Neville Bruns with a broken jaw was so bad he was convicted of assault.

Leigh Matthews, who played for the Hawks from 1969 to 1985, believes that the wild days of the ’70s and ’80s have nothing to do with today’s football.

Matthews (pictured with his wife Deborah in 2019) said that attempts to make the current game faster have made it more dangerous than ever.

So it’s no surprise to hear that the star striker knew that the physical aspect was just the reality of playing football.

“When I played, you just took to heart that it’s a dangerous game and you just hope it doesn’t affect you too much at that point … or later in life,” Matthews said.

“Ten years ago, if we were saying if a player gets a concussion, not necessarily knocked out, he won’t play for 12 days, that was unfathomable.

‘The game is more dangerous [despite the AFL] trying to make it safer, because the athletes are so fit and powerful that they are like gladiators running across the field, crashing into each other at high speed.’

The 2023 AFL season kicks off on Thursday March 16 with a blockbuster between the Tigers and the Blues at the MCG.