Matt Taberner | |||
---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||
Full name | Matthew Taberner | ||
Date of birth | 17 June 1993 | ||
Original team(s) | Bright, Myrtleford, Murray Bushrangers | ||
Debut | Round 13, 23 June 2013, Fremantle vs. North Melbourne, at Patersons Stadium | ||
Height | 199 cm (6 ft 6 in) | ||
Weight | 102 kg (225 lb) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current club | Fremantle | ||
Number | 20 | ||
Playing career1 | |||
Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
2013– | Fremantle | 122 (171) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 3, 2024. | |||
Career highlights | |||
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Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com |
Matthew Taberner (born 17 June 1993) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He mainly plays as a key position forward.
Originally from Bright, Victoria, Taberner played for Myrtleford in the Ovens & Murray Football League and the Murray Bushrangers in the TAC Cup. [1] He was drafted to Fremantle with the 11th selection at the 2013 Rookie Draft. [2] Taberner missed the start of the 2013 season due to a bout of glandular fever. [3] He made his debut for Peel Thunder in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) in the 6th round of the 2013 WAFL season, and kicking 9 goals from his next 7 matches.
Taberner made his AFL debut in Round 13, 2013 against North Melbourne at Patersons Stadium. [4] He struggled to hold his place in the side, playing only four games in 2013 and six in 2014, before an impressive performance against Brisbane Lions in Round 22 earned him a nomination for the 2014 AFL Rising Star. Playing as Fremantle's only tall forward due to captain Matthew Pavlich's late withdrawal due to injury, Taberner collected 24 disposals, took 10 marks and kicked a goal as Fremantle thrashed Brisbane by 58 points. [5]
Taberner was out of contract at the end of the 2017 season, and due to poor form wasn't selected by Fremantle early in the season. In the second half of the season he lifted his output for WAFL side Peel Thunder, forcing his way into the senior side for the final three matches. He played only eight games for Fremantle and kicked 11 goals in the 2017 season. At the end of 2017, after putting contract talks on hold, he eventually signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until the end of 2019. One of his standout performances came against Essendon at Domain Stadium in round 7. He finished the game with 4 goals, 9 marks and 18 disposals. The dockers beat Essendon in that game by 37 points. Starting off the 2018 season in strong form, he fractured a metatarsal bone in his left foot in the Round 5 clash with the Western Bulldogs. He later returned, after 15 weeks recovering from his injury, in time for the Round 20 Western Derby against West Coast. He finished the season having played 9 games, and kicking 10 goals. [6]
Taberner started 2019 in brilliant fashion, with his strong marking ability displayed regularly. His standout game came against GWS in Round 5, where he kicked 3.3, amassed 21 disposals, took 13 marks, and was arguably Fremantle's best player on the day. [7] Unfortunately, his 2019 season came to an abrupt end as a result of a stress fracture in his left foot, after the Round 9 clash with Essendon. [8] He finished the season having kicked 13.10, and amassing 24 contested marks (avg. of 2.7 per game) from his 9 games.
2020 was a breakout season for Taberner, who finished the season as Fremantle's leading goalkicker with 29 goals (from 16 games), which also placed him in equal 4th for the Coleman medal. Taberner was second in the AFL for contested marks, finishing the season with 38 (an average of 2.4 per game). He was named in the initial 40 man squad for the All-Australian team but was overlooked in the final team announcement. [9]
Taberner signed a three-year contract extension with Fremantle at the start of the 2021 season. He kicked four goals in round five against Adelaide, [10] and four again the next round against North Melbourne. [11] Western Derby 53 saw Taberner play perhaps his best game of the season, he kicked three goals in the opening quarter helping the Dockers to secure a 30 point lead at quarter time. Fremantle would ultimately win the game by 15 points. [12] He finished the season as Fremantle's leading goalkicker for the second season in a row, with 37 goals from 16 games.
Round five of the 2022 AFL season saw Taberner receive much praise for his performance against Essendon at Marvel Stadium kicking a career-best seven goal haul. [13]
After missing most of 2023 due to injury, Taberner returned to Fremantle's line-up in round two of the 2024 AFL season against North Melbourne, as a replacement for injured forward Brennan Cox. He kicked two goals during the third quarter. He again kicked two goals the next week during Fremantle's 35 point win over the Adelaide at Optus Stadium.
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks |
Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
2013 | Fremantle | 42 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 11 | 29 | 11 | 9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 7.2 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 0 |
2014 | Fremantle | 20 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 61 | 31 | 92 | 40 | 25 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 6.8 | 3.4 | 10.2 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 0 |
2015 | Fremantle | 20 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 83 | 42 | 125 | 51 | 20 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 8.3 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 0 |
2016 | Fremantle | 20 | 17 | 18 | 6 | 121 | 89 | 210 | 82 | 41 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 7.1 | 5.2 | 12.4 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 0 |
2017 | Fremantle | 20 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 65 | 27 | 92 | 43 | 20 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 8.1 | 3.4 | 11.5 | 5.4 | 2.5 | 0 |
2018 | Fremantle | 20 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 88 | 47 | 135 | 48 | 12 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 9.8 | 5.2 | 15.0 | 5.3 | 1.3 | 0 |
2019 | Fremantle | 20 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 105 | 44 | 149 | 72 | 18 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 11.7 | 4.9 | 16.6 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 2 |
2020 [lower-alpha 1] | Fremantle | 20 | 16 | 29 | 13 | 129 | 37 | 166 | 92 | 8 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 8.1 | 2.3 | 10.4 | 5.8 | 0.5 | 3 |
2021 | Fremantle | 20 | 16 | 37 | 17 | 135 | 42 | 117 | 89 | 10 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 8.4 | 2.6 | 11.1 | 5.6 | 0.6 | 2 |
2022 | Fremantle | 20 | 13 | 23 | 8 | 100 | 24 | 124 | 63 | 13 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 7.7 | 1.8 | 9.5 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 3 |
2023 | Fremantle | 20 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 19 | 3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 9.0 | 4.8 | 0.8 | |
Career | 120 | 167 | 80 | 925 | 410 | 1335 | 610 | 179 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 7.7 | 3.4 | 11.1 | 5.1 | 1.5 | 10 |
Notes
Matthew Lee Pavlich is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Ryan Crowley is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club and the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played as a midfielder and specialised in a tagging role.
Paul Medhurst is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Collingwood Football Club and the Fremantle Football Club.
Mark LeCras is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was predominantly used as a small forward, though he has occasionally played in the midfield. He won an AFL Premiership with West Coast in 2018, his last season.
Kepler Bradley is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon and Fremantle Football Clubs in the Australian Football League.
Jonathon Griffin is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A ruckman from Western Australia, Griffin played for East Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) before being drafted by Adelaide at the 2005 Rookie draft. Upgraded to the club's senior list for the 2007 season, he debuted the following season, and played 41 games for Adelaide before being traded to Fremantle during the 2010–11 trading period.
Michael Walters is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally playing mainly as a small forward, Walters has recently spent more time in the midfield. In 2019 he was rewarded with his debut selection in the All-Australian team.
Clancee Pearce is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Anthony Morabito is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was delisted in 2016 after multiple knee reconstructions and several other injuries.
Travis Colyer is a professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Nathan Fyfe is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Fyfe is a dual Brownlow Medallist, dual Leigh Matthews Trophy recipient, three-time All-Australian and three-time Doig Medallist. He received a nomination for the 2010 AFL Rising Star award in round 9 of the 2010 season. He served as Fremantle captain from 2017 to 2022.
Alex Pearce is an Australian rules footballer and the captain of the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Pearce has served as Fremantle captain since 2023.
James Aish is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Brisbane Lions from 2014 to 2015, and Collingwood from 2016 to 2019.
Cameron McCarthy is an Australian rules footballer who last played for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Greater Western Sydney Giants from 2013 to 2016.
Rory Lobb is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL), having previously played for Greater Western Sydney and Fremantle.
Ethan Hughes is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Brennan Cox is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Luke Ryan is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A versatile player Ryan is a Doig Medalist as well as an All-Australian.
Sam Sturt is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Josh Treacy is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).