Beaten-up Matthews upbeat

By Paul Pickering
ASSAULT victim Kyle Matthews returned to Casey Fields on Saturday, saying he was still a chance to play VFL footy this season.
The presence of the recovering skipper, who was beaten up outside an Auburn pub in March, provided an extra morale boost for the Scorpions as they cruised to victory over the Northern Bullants.
Matthews said he expected to recover fully from head injuries he sustained when felled outside the Geebung Polo Club, where he’d been watching the telecast of former teammate Alex Silvagni’s AFL debut on 28 March.
The gun on-baller was discharged from hospital a fortnight ago and has been relaxing at home in between twice-weekly rehab sessions.
“I feel a lot better, but I’m not allowed to do much physically,” he said.
“It’s just my head (that the doctors) want to take care of, and I’ve lost a bit of weight, but I’ll keep training and getting fitter and it’ll all come back.
“They said there’s a chance (of returning to the field) later on in the year, but if I’m still sore I’m not going to do it.”
Matthews said he was determined not to let the incident affect his courageous brand of footy.
“The first game will be interesting, but I love playing footy the way I do, so I’m not going to change it,” he said. “I just want to go hard at the ball and have fun.”
The popular Scorpion said he “absolutely loved” being around the club and his teammates on Saturday, but gave acting skipper James Wall a ringing endorsement.
“He’s an awesome captain and I told him he can keep it – he’s doing that well,” Matthews said with a laugh.