Farewell Champ and Thanks - Lloyd Retires

[Madden]

Lloydy, Lloydy, Lloydy, Lloydy, Lloydy, Lloydy, Lloydy.

Champion.

Its the right decision, but the washup can wait for another day.

[DONISBEST]

Going to miss the fans roar 'LLoydy Lloydy" when he lines up for goal.
Congratulations on a great career Matthew.
Oh and one for Cambell Brown Whoreforn take note of a champions career as listed by Windy Hill's post, you will never achieve what Matthew Lloyd has given to Essendon fans, this club and AFL football.
Three Cheers!!!!

[DYSON#2]

thanks mate
one of the best players i ever got to watch in my short life.

You were the player every opposition supporter loved to hate, but the player every opposition player respected.
You were the player the EFC and its supporters loved and will always be respected.
Farewell =D>

[Crazyman]

Whilst I am disappointed that he is not going around one more time, I am very happy with how he has handled the situation. His article last week was top class and his retirement I think was more likely than not...

It is sad that Lucas couldn't come back from his knee injury and play some decent footy cause both men deserved to be chaired off the ground by the players after their respective final games...

[Scott]

Can you guy's tell me who was at the Press Conference?

[Wally]

Gutted with this decision.

My respect for the man has increased enormously from what it was anyway in light of how he has handled himself in recent weeks.

Best of luck Lloydy and thanks for the fantastic memories .....

[Sismis]

One of the all time greats. Thanks Lloydy for being so reliable for so long.

[ealesy]

Can you guy's tell me who was at the Press Conference?

Peter Jackson was with Matthew Lloyd and Matthew Knights stood at the back of the room.

Some wankers on Bomberblitz have been having a field day with this, claiming it is evidence that there was a rift between Lloyd and Knights, and Knights effectively forced him into retirement.

One wanker even went as far to claim Lloyd requested that Knights not attend, that is until someone pointed out Knights was there.

It seems strange that the coach was not alongside him when he announced his retirement (seriously when was the last time a coach has not been next to a player at a presser announcing their retirement, let alone the current club captain). Hopefully this happened because Peter Jackson has been at the club for the majority of Lloyd's career.

[vern]

Congratulations on a stellar career. A true champion of Essendon.

Will take some time getting used to the fact that neither he or Scotty are available anymore.

The club goes on, and while these two will never be forgotten, a new champion will rise to take their place.

[JimboC]

What can you say with a career such as his,

He achieved so so much....

All we can say is THANKYOU! and you'll never be forgotten in the hearts of the EFC...

[Scott]

I'm more shattered now than I was when Hirdy retired....

[billyduckworth]

Probably the correct decision, but like many other BTers, I am too stunned to know what else to say at this stage. Even though he was not the player he used to be before the hamstring injury, he was still our top goalscorer for the year. With the three Ls all gone (Lucas, Lloyd, Lovett), where are the goals going to come from?

[robbie67]

Yeah nah, thanks for the memories. Great career.

[danstar84]

True champion. Brilliant career, and a brilliant person. The press conference shows his true class.

Feeling a bit numb at the moment. Going to be strange next near not seeing either of the two L's causing havoc inside 50.

[Jazz_84]

his contribution won't be matched any time soon and very lucky to have witnessed his fantastic career!!! Well done mate you are a dead set superstar of the EFC and the AFL. look forward to seeing but mostly hearing you during the games!!!

Congratulations!!

[BERT]

I've been down in the dumps all day after hearing this. Stupid Carlton supporter at work gloating about it all day didn't help either. Just reminded her about what a fine upstanding citizen there full forward was.

I think he has made the right decision. He would have played some good footy next year but the hammy off the bone pretty much finished his career.

One thing that will stick with me is his consistency. He always did his bit. Had very few bad games.

It's not going to be the same without the big number 18 on the ground.

I'll miss him.

Well done Matty. You are one of the all time greats.

[Lloyd is King]

I'm so sad tonight. Just saw the press conference.

You are f****** wonderful.

God bless you Matty. Thanks for the goals, the marks, the yeah nahs, and all the class you brought to Essendon and to the game of AFL.

Lloyd IS King.

[s'dreams]

Interesting interviews with Robert Shaw (former EFC asst coach - who still has contact with Matty) and Alan Richardson early today on SEN.

Seems that Lloyd had mostly made his mind up by round 12 (Richardson) - the recent "delay" was due to Lloyd considering the requests within the club to play on (Shaw).

Seems that the main reason behind the decision was this new concept of "forward pressure" - while Lloyd was more than capable of making leads and slotting goals, should the opposition backs mark in the 50, the "new" style of forward has to sprint forward to fill a hole or to man up. Lloyd's body, given the massive injury to the hammy, was not capable of sprinting from the Goal square to the midfield and back again for 120 minutes per game, 18-22 games a year (think Riewolt being held up as the exemplar of this approach). Richardson pointed out that Lloydy was "stuffed" in the second half of many games this year from this intensity and found it harder as the year went on.

Seems that while the club was keen to see him continue - but Lloyd is a proud man who wanted to perform at an elite level ... and Matty didn't feel he could deliver that and so felt he would let the side down if he continued.

While a reasonable explanation, makes me worried about Neagle's ability to do the "modern" forward game plan.

Cheers - STI

[s'dreams]

Stupid Carlton supporter at work gloating about it all day didn't help either. Just reminded her about what a fine upstanding citizen there full forward was.

Bert - Given the tone in this forum when Kouta retired (recognition of a real champion) - I'd be impressing on her that it is a low and pathetic act to play partisan when a true champion of the game retires. It is not the time or place to gloat. Should this not work I'd recommend kneeing the co-worker in the Fevolas, pointing out the class of the coiteries (Eddelsteins), the the close association between characters featured in underbelly and her club and finally class of Anguin and the 1999 premiership team in the post premiership celebrations...

No - on reflection - stuff it. Lloydy will be remembered by the AFL community as an absolute champion and a legend (seriously potential AFL legend) of the game. In fact - as much as I hat to say it, he may have a greater long term cachet than Sir James. Let her prattle on and embarrass herself.

I understand that Collins at Etihad is seriously considering renaming the "Coventry" end as the "Lloyd" end (at least for EFC games). Given both Coventry and Lockett never played at docklands - I'd be pushing for a permanent name change.

Cheers - STI

[Windy_Hill]

Ok, so now I have had some time to think about Matty's retirement I would like to give my thoughts on his career

1) Essendon Gets Its Man - In many ways, we have Fremantle to thank for the assisting us in getting Matthew Lloyd to Essendon. This was by virtue of Essendon receiving a compensatory draft selection in the 1995 pre-season draft as a result of us giving up the 'superstars' that were Todd Ridley and Tony Delaney to Fremantle. The steal of the century and perhaps Sheedy's greatest draft/trading coup. We got a club great, they got the left overs!!

2) Early Years - I remember watching Essendon playing at Waverley in 1998 and Lloyd was just starting to emerge as a player to be reckoned with. The incident that sticks in my mind was Lloyd coming up on to the outer wing to collect the footy, evading a tackle, running along the boundary line and from outside 50m, bangs the ball from the wrong side for a left footer goalwards.....the ball had that amazing subtle slice that Lloydy could impart causing it to bend left and through the goals (whereas most other lefties would have hooked it to the right a la Peter Sumich). It was an extroadinary goal. I leant over to my mate and simply said " this boy will be a champion"

3) The Marking Technique - other than Jason Dunstall, I cannot think of a better one grab mark of a footy coming in at speed and at face level. Lloydy has a wonderful technique where he softens the impact of the footy by marking with nicely bent elbows - watch for yourself on any highlights reel and you will see what I mean. Soft hands but amazing grip.

4) The Demolition of Sydney - Round 3 1999 - 22 Kicks, 14 Marks, 13 Goals. Lloyd at his imperious best.

5) The Centuries - I saw him kick his 100th goal in both 2000 and 2001. In 2000 it was the icing on the cake during the dismantling of arch nemesis North Melbourne during the qualifying final at the MCG - If I am not terribly mistaken, I believe it was Longy who passed the ball? The following year it was again during the first final, this time a night game against Richmond (the night Dean Solomon tore Matthew Richardson a new one). These were great highlights during the very Golden Years of Hird, Lucas, Lloyd, Mercuri, Misiti and Fletcher.

6) 2000 - I went to see Geelong play Essendon at what was then Colonial Stadium with a mate of mine who is a mad Geelong fan. We were sitting behind the goals looking out at the Essendon Forward line. I remember clearly, the line-up was

HF Hird Lucas Caracella
FF Bewick Lloyd Mercuri

My Geelong mate looked at me and simply said - "would you look at that forward line - f***, we are stuffed"!!! He was right - we murdered them that night.

Lloyd was the spearhead that lead his team to the single best ever VFL/AFL Season

7) The Dons in Decline - Despite kicking 90 goals twice in subsequent seasons, it was clear that the Dons were in decline. The great 2000 team was breaking up and the atmoshphere of invincibility was gone. Despite this LLoyd maintained his superb output and continued to be the dominant forward in the AFL. Key to this was his incredible accuracy. At one stage in his career he was averaging better than 70% conversion on set shots. I still believe to this day he has been the most reliable shot at goal in the last 25 years

8 ) Captaincy - a much underated captain subject to much specualtion as to his effectiveness as a leader on the field due to being locked into the FF position. Rubbish!! Footballers lead by example and Lloyd's courage and deeds were significant inspiration to his team mates when they most needed it. Off the field, he was a towering presence in the change rooms and ensured that the riff raff accumulated during the Sheedy Years (Cupido, Zantuck, etc) would not be tolerated

9) The Hard Man - enough has been said about Lloyd's hardness. Perhaps at the cost of his own game, he muscled up and became an enforcer (rather than the agile fast moving forward of the late 90's). He earned the wonderful nickname the 'Velvet Sledgehammer' and the point is that whilst being as tough as nails, he was never malicious and absolutely never sniped. Lloydy dished it out pretty well in the clinches - but as a forward of his quality, had to endure years of rough physical attention from opposition defenders without ever shirking the issue.

I only hope that his career is not remembered for the incident against Hawthorn when he took out Sewell. Dont forget, we laud the likes of Jack Dyer, Ted Whitten, John Nicholls, Glen Archer for their courage and hard hits. Lloyd deserves to be recognised for his tough but always fair play.

10) Number 18 - This number was already revered at Essendon thanks to the glory endowed on it by the magnificent Paul Van Der Haar. There can be no doubt that from this day forward, the number 18 will always be the number worn by the club's most important forward.

Matthew Lloyd is a champion of Essendon, its greatest ever goal kicker who now sits comfortably in the pantheon of heroes at Windy Hill. He deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Coleman, Reynolds, Hutchinson, Hird, Watson, Madden and Fletcher

Hail Matthew Lloyd - thanks for the memories, thanks for making the last 15 years so enjoyable. With only Fletcher left, an incredible era is almost over. We should cherish these days and pay due respect to a true Footballing Great