OVER two decades of commitment and dedication will be celebrated at Woorinen when club legend Matt Iannucci crosses the white line for the 300th time wearing yellow and black on Saturday afternoon.
With the exception of two seasons at Wandella, Iannucci has spent his entire footballing career at Woorinen, netting him four premierships (three senior and one in the reserves) and many lifelong friends.
While he recalls his first game 22 years ago with unerring accuracy, it’s the friendships that Iannucci will remember when he walks onto the ground where he played game number one in 2002.
“The flags were all very special, but the friendships you make along the way are equally special to me, as some of my best mates play out at Woorinen,” Iannucci told The Guardian this week.
“A lot of people go through their career and never in play in a grand final, let alone win a flag, but the great thing for me is that I’ll have a few very special reunions to look forward to with all my mates.
“We had the 2002 reunion a couple of years ago and it was great catching up with all the older guys, like Wes Lewis for example.
“Wes (Lewis) and ‘Pa’ Wall were massive influences on me, as they were for most Woorinen kids, and as a young fella they showed me the ropes.
“That first season with those guys gave me a great grounding for where my footy has taken me. Just the little things like hard work and commitment was drummed into me as a first year player and now, 20-odd seasons later, the fundamentals are still the same.”
It’s not just lifelong friends that Iannucci has shared his journey alongside, with younger brother Jason having also spent a majority of his career with the Tigers.
Having spent the past two seasons in the reserves together, the brothers were earlier this season recalled to the senior side to help their home club ride the wave of an injury crisis, with Iannucci set to play his 300th game in the grade where he has played over 274 matches.
“Not many people get to play alongside their brother for as long as I have, and he’ll be playing his 300th club game for Woorinen at the end of the year too,” Iannucci said.
“I had two years away from Woorinen with Wandella, but apart from those years, I’ve always been here together and we’ve always played our footy together, and there’s not many people that can say they’ve done that.
“It’s nice to be playing in the seniors, but I’m well past it now.
“The two games I’ve played this year have both been against Kerang and Balranald and I’m playing on kids that train five nights a week and want to take their footy further and I’m out there doing the total opposite.
“The game is so quick now it’s crazy, but I’ll definitely be pretty happy to go back to the reserves when everyone is available again and just worry about enjoying my footy.”
Matt Iannucci
274 Woorinen FNC senior games
25 Woorinen FNC reserves games
3 senior premierships (2002, 2018, 2019)
1 reserves premiership (2022)
1 senior Woorinen FNC best-and-fairest award (2011)
6 senior Woorinen FNC best-and-fairest runner-up awards (2003, 2004, 2006-2009)
Woorinen FNC life member
