Matthew Warnock (No.1)

Career
Debut: 2006
Career matches: 55
Career goals: 1
 
2011
Matches: 4
Goals: 0
Kicks: 26
Marks: 20
Handballs: 26
Disposals: 52
Tackles: 8

Todd Viney’s season assessment
Matthew had a frustrating year. He didn’t play as many games as he would’ve liked, due to Jared Rivers and James Frawley holding down the two key defensive roles. He had a fantastic year in the VFL - it was a really consistent season and he was probably a step above that standard.
 
Round-by-round assessment
Comments made by 2011 Melbourne coaching staff members Mark Williams, Brad Gotch and Kelly O’Donnell

AFL: Round 1 v Sydney Swans (emergency)

AFL: Round 2 v Hawthorn (emergency)/VFL: Round 1 v Geelong
Matty didn’t get a goal kicked on him. He hardly got beaten in a one-on-one contest. He had 18 disposals - a good return for a backman. Matty did everything right at this level. He was in good shape and ready to go, if a call-up came. Matty always had a good attitude. Brad Gotch

AFL: Round 3 v Brisbane Lions (emergency)

VFL: Round 3 v North Ballarat
Matthew was very good down back and hardly made a mistake. He had 20 possessions and set-up a lot of rebounds. Brad Gotch

VFL: Round 4 - Bye

AFL: Round 6 v West Coast Eagles (emergency)/VFL: Round 5 v Frankston
It was another usual display from Matty - he was very good. He had 22 possessions at full-back and did his job as always. He was also one of our rebounding defenders and continued his sensational form for us. He was rarely beaten. Brad Gotch
 
AFL: Round 7 v Adelaide Crows   
It was great to see Matty back in the team. It was a tough ask to play on the in-form Kurt Tippett, but Matty did a great job negating Tippett and his opponents. His spoiling was impressive as was his aggression and support of his teammates. Mark Williams

AFL: Round 8 v North Melbourne 
Matty was solid again. He played on Drew Petrie, who didn’t kick a goal. Matty took some really good marks and switched play well. He also took the game on and his ability to compete one-on-one was excellent. Mark Williams

AFL: Round 9 v St Kilda
Matty was very solid again. He was rarely beaten one-on-one and his desperation was fantastic. His decision-making on the day was very good. Mark Williams

AFL: Round 10 v Carlton
The night didn’t turn out the way Matty would have liked. He made a few basic errors that the Blues capitalised on. Mark Williams

VFL: Round 10 v Sandringham
He was back to his usual stuff - 27 possessions in the back line. He showed he was a class above this level - it’s just a shame he couldn’t take it to the senior level for a longer period of time, because he’s just too good for this level. He had a great attitude after some setbacks - coming back and playing the way he did was a great example. Brad Gotch
 
AFL: Round 12 v Collingwood (emergency)/VFL: Round 11 v Collingwood
He ended up with 10 marks and 24 possessions, playing in the back line. He was just a stand out - I don’t believe he got a goal kicked on him either. Brad Gotch

VFL: Round 12 v Coburg Tigers
I rated him as good. He made a couple of little mistakes with the ball, but it was horrendous conditions again. He still got plenty of it - 31 touches - and worked hard again. When you’ve had that many possessions in the wind, a few mistakes are going to be made. Brad Gotch
 
VFL: Round 13 - Bye
 
VFL: Round 14 v Werribee Tigers
Injured: concussion
 
VFL: Round 15 v Box Hill Hawks
Matthew Warnock did his normal, solid, Rock of Gibraltar stuff down back. He didn’t have a goal kicked on him. The opposition only kicked three, but he had 14 touches, just playing at full-back, which was a good effort. He held them up, so I rated him good. Brad Gotch 
 
VFL: Round 16 v Frankston  
Matthew had a magnificent game. He had 15 touches and was only caught out once, from a kick-out.  Overall, he was very good as usual. Brad Gotch
 
VFL: Round 17 - Bye

VFL: Round 18 v Geelong
I’m not sure what happened to Matty, as I hadn’t seen him beaten one-on-one like this before at this level. Despite this, he only conceded on goal. This game seemed like an aberration from Matty. Brad Gotch
 
VFL: Round 19 v Sandringham
Matthew was just about impassable at times - he played a really valuable role. But he wasn’t just defensive - he also got a lot of the ball to launch attacks. It was a great game for him. Brad Gotch

VFL: Round 20 v Coburg Tigers
Matty struggled again for some reason. He got caught a couple of times early, which was very strange. I moved him forward for a stint in the second quarter, but he had no impact. He had eight touches, no marks and six spoils. It was not the normal Warnock we had come to expect at this level. Brad Gotch

VFL: Round 21 v Werribee Tigers
Matty was very good. He was back to his defensive best against a quality player in Ben McKinley. He took eight marks and his leadership was outstanding. Brad Gotch
 
VFL: Round 22 v Northern Bullants
With 19 possessions and five marks, including 13 handballs, Matthew led the backline superbly yet again. He didn’t concede a goal either. Matty also set up many rebound opportunities through his constructive handball and run. Brad Gotch
 
VFL: Qualifying final v Port Melbourne
Matt did a good job stopping Patrick Rose in his tracks. He was a sound contributor, despite only having nine touches. Brad Gotch
 
VFL: Semi-final v Werribee Tigers
Matt had a good strong team game. He played under pressure at times, but competed well. Kelly O’Donnell