Get Kayo now ><\/a><\/p>\nInstead, Matthews says the Giants are his \u201csecond team\u201d, as he prepares to officially join the expansion club via next month\u2019s draft as a likely top-10 pick. <\/p>\n
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\u201cDad\u2019s from Melbourne and is a big Pies fan, so I was signed up before birth and didn\u2019t have much choice around that!\u201d he told foxfooty.com.au. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a big Collingwood fan, but the Giants are definitely a close second.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked how passionate he was about supporting Collingwood, Matthews said: \u201cVery passionate. <\/p>\n
\u201cI see a few coaches at the Giants games and if it\u2019s Giants-Pies, I\u2019m still in a Pies kit. It gets confronting at times. You see players and they\u2019re like: \u2018What are you doing wearing the Pies kit?\u2019 But I love both clubs.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, neither of them went too deep into the finals this year. The Giants didn\u2019t make it and we (Collingwood) lost in the wildcard round, but it is what it is. I love both clubs and balance it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giants Academy product Ethan Matthews remains a hardcore Collingwood fan, which has made for a few awkward interactions. Photo by Phil Hillyard Image Supplied for Editorial Use only – NO ON SALES – copyright Phil Hillyard )Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Speaking of club-tied players supporting rival clubs, Brisbane academy gun Caylen Murray is an unashamed Hawthorn fan because of a legendary forward. <\/p>\n
\u201cI love Cyril Rioli, and I\u2019ve got a few family members down in South Australia who go for Hawthorn as well, so I sort of jumped on the bandwagon a bit,\u201d Murray told foxfooty.com.au. <\/p>\n
Asked how many times he\u2019d watched Rioli\u2019s highlights, Murray said: \u201cToo many times!\u201d<\/p>\n
But of the 22 draftees-in-waiting spoken to by foxfooty.com.au at October\u2019s Draft Combine, five – including three top-end prospects – have grown up supporting Essendon. <\/p>\n
Headlining that crop is impressive midfielder Ethan Drever, who\u2019s a strong chance of winding up a Bomber next month as the club\u2019s first pick. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy whole family supports Essendon, basically. Dad put an Essendon jumper on me in the hospital, so I didn\u2019t really have a choice,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt would obviously mean a lot (to play for Essendon) because of my family. It would probably mean a little bit more than being picked up by any other club, especially. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut hopefully I get my name called out at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pies under pressure after Port defeat | 00:49<\/p>\n
Gus Teixeira\u2019s dad met a friend who went for the Bombers, which was the root of his fandom, while Lochie Burrows\u2019 grandpa \u201cgot me to go for them,and I\u2019ve been loyal ever since\u201d. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, top-five chance Arki Butler and his family have been Essendon fans their whole lives, and he admitted he got a buzz when club officials visited earlier this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been quite a big Essendon fan my whole life \u2026 It was pretty exciting when they came over to our house (to interview me), but I try not to buy into it too much,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt would obviously be awesome to end up there, but I\u2019d be more than grateful to end up at any club, give them 100% and show them all of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Key defender Clancy Snell, meanwhile, said it would be \u201cpretty special\u201d to be drafted by the red and gold after his dad\u2019s uncle, Bill Snell, played a handful of games for the club in the 50s. <\/p>\n
But as a hardcore Bomber, Snell is worried about which way the club\u2019s recruiting brains trust goes with their first pick. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf Essendon don\u2019t take (Ethan Drever), I won\u2019t be happy,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
A lifelong Essendon supporter, Ethan Drever is a strong chance of winding up in Bombers colours on draft night. (Photo by Morgan Hancock\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s Western Australia\u2019s top prospect, Heath Mellody, who was brought up supporting the Dons \u201cbecause my dad went for them\u201d, before his brother opened his eyes to his WA roots. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen my brother went for Freo and I thought I\u2019d go for them as well when I was really young, about five or six,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been a big supporter since then and loved going to watch Freo whenever I could, including the Grand Final (in September). I\u2019ve always loved the club.\u201d<\/p>\n
On being in attendance on that fateful day at the MCG, Mellody added: \u201cI was sitting in the pocket where Pat Voss kicked the goal (before Wharfie Time) and then ran around. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was watching that thinking we\u2019d won. Then the next four minutes played out as they did. But it was still such an amazing game.<\/p>\n
Asked how he felt after the final siren, Mellody said: \u201cI was standing up, hands on my hips, just looking out at the oval for five minutes in absolute awe of what just happened. It was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fellow West Australian jet Leo Steed also has purple running through his veins. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents are mad Freo fans like me; absolutely love the footy,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tough looking at the (MCG) over there, (but) I was happy to see them get in the grand final.\u201d<\/p>\n
A baby-faced Steed was snapped with mother, Charlotte, before Fremantle\u2019s 2015 preliminary final against Sydney at then-Domain Stadium. <\/p>\n
Colour from the Fremantle v Swans preliminary final at Domain Stadium in Perth. pictured – Charlotte Steed (43) Bunbury with son Leo (7)Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
But as much as there was healthy Essendon representation in this year\u2019s crop, there was always going to be a handful donning black and white alongside Matthews. <\/p>\n
Bulldogs NGA prospect Khaled El Souki and his father are \u201cdiehard\u201d Magpies fans, but added: \u201cI\u2019ll still go for Collingwood for now, but wherever I go, me and the family will switch over, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Athletic forward Wil Malady is a \u201cmassive\u201d Pies supporter, going down the same route as his dad while mum is devoted to Hawthorn. <\/p>\n
South Australian forward Gabe Patterson , whose father Stephen played 96 games for the Pies and sister Violet represents Collingwood\u2019s AFLW team, says his black and white fandom was \u201cinstilled in me from a young age\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI reckon there\u2019s baby photos of me in Collingwood gear, so I\u2019ve always been a Collingwood man,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Asked how he fares being a Magpies fan in a two-team Adelaide town, Patterson said: \u201cIt\u2019s alright, actually. I reckon at Adelaide ovall, Collingwood might get the Crows in the fan base (numbers) anyway, but it\u2019s all right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exciting key forward prospect Sam Gayfer, who is thought to be in Collingwood\u2019s first-round sights, said he had \u201cno choice\u201d but to get behind the black and white. His uncle, Mick Gayfer, played 142 games for the Magpies and was part of the club\u2019s famous 1990 premiership.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad supports them because of my uncle and my mum\u2019s dad and my granddad on that side are also mad Collingwood. There wasn\u2019t much of a choice in my household,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Others from the crop of 22 supporting Victorian clubs are Marlon Neocleous, Jack Pickett (both St Kilda) and Harry Van Hattum (Geelong). <\/p>\n
Neocleous joked that he was \u201cbrainwashed as a kid\u201d into going for the Saints, clarifying: \u201cMum barracked for the Bulldogs, but the rest of my family supports St Kilda, so I jumped on with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pickett said: \u201cDad went for the Saints when he was younger and just passed it on to my family. I had no choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Key forward prospect Sam Gayfer grew up a Pies fan, and he could be in Collingwood\u2019s first-round sights next month. (Photo by Josh Chadwick\/AFL Photos\/via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Another with footy bloodlines is Jack Slattery, who supports Port Adelaide after his uncle had a decorated career in South Australia. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy uncle, Luke Slattery, played for Port and played 100 games in the SANFL league. My grandpa already supported Port up to that point, so I had to go for Port in my household,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf I went to the Crows, I was probably getting the boot. <\/p>\n
\u201cLuke comes to my games. He was there when we played a championships game at Alberton. My dad coaches the state Under 12s team and Luke coaches with him as well \u2026 he\u2019ll give me feedback every now and then. He\u2019s had a positive impact on my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across town, ruck prospect Ethan Herbert and top-end key defender Mitch Harris are avid Crows fans. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve followed the Crows my whole life; my parents and I have been members since sort of day one. I\u2019ve always tried to never miss a game, to be honest,\u201d said Herbert, who also dabbles in a few Port Adelaide matches. <\/p>\n
\u201cI love going to the games, and my uncle\u2019s also a Port fan, so I\u2019m lucky enough to get tickets to Port games pretty often as well. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, mainly Crows, but I kind of just go to as many football games as I can even if the Crows aren\u2019t playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris, meanwhile, is mostly the opposite. <\/p>\n
AFL draft whispers unpacked | 02:51<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I don\u2019t watch a whole lot of footy at all,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll sit down and properly watch the Crows every weekend. But other than whoever the Crows are playing, I don\u2019t really watch footy much at all. <\/p>\n
\u201c(It) might be a bit of background noise if I\u2019m doing stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, while GWS\u2019 Matthews has struggled to put aside his love for the Pies, dual athlete Mason McGroder says his Swans allegiance is the reason he supports them. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just growing up playing for them,\u201d the Sydney academy prospect said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI only really started watching footy two years ago, so I guess it was natural to go with my local club and the one I\u2019m playing for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Expected No.1 pick Dougie Cochrane grew up supporting Port Adelaide, where he\u2019s NGA-aligned and where his father, Stuart, played for three seasons between 2003-05. <\/p>\n
And Cody Walker unsurprisingly has grown up barracking for Carlton after his dad, Andrew, played 202 games for the Blues between 2004-16. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Despite rising through the western Sydney ranks since the age of 12, highly-rated Giants academy product Ethan Matthews…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-942168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}