(15th Eagles player)
The oldest and lesser-known of the famous Matera brothers, Wally was a diminutive goalkicking midfielder who featured in the inaugural Eagles squad.
West Coast career[]
Hailing from Wagin, Matera won a best and fairest at South Fremantle in 1985 and came second the following year before being selected by West Coast. He started in the middle in the historic clash with Richmond and kicked 4 goals for the match. Matera played 11 games all up in 1987, kicking 15 goals.
In 1988 he was a fixture in the side for the second half of the year, hitting a three-week purple patch in August where he averaged 30 touches and 2 goals a game. Matera played 13 games for the season, including the elimination final against Melbourne, and kicked 11 goals.
Fitzroy career[]
He left at the end of the 1988 season and was picked up by Fitzroy in the pre-season draft, going on to play 32 games in two seasons for the Lions.
Post-VFL/AFL career[]
Matera returned to South Fremantle, where he won another couple of B&Fs and captained the side in 1993. Nowadays he is probably best known as the father of Gold Coast and Fremantle forward Brandon Matera, as well as the older brother of star Eagles Peter and Phil Matera.
Stats[]
| AFL | Gm | G | B | K | M | H | D | T | WAFL | Gm | G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 104 | 13 | 76 | 180 | 23 | SF | 1 | 0 | |
| 1988 | 13 | 11 | 19 | 176 | 49 | 90 | 266 | 27 | 8 | 16 | ||
| Tot | 24 | 26 | 31 | 280 | 62 | 166 | 446 | 50 | ||||
| Avg | 1.1 | 11.7 | 2.6 | 6.9 | 18.6 | 2.1 |
References[]
http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/W/Wally_Matera.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Matera
http://waflfootyfacts.net/player/stats.php?PlayerID=4060
| Inaugural West Coast Eagles Team Round 1 1987 - West Coast 20.13.133 def Richmond 16.23.119 |
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B: Dwayne Lamb, Michael Brennan, Paul Peos |