Matt Cottrell

Matthew Cottrell (born 29 February 2000) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Carlton Football Club through the 2019 Pre-season supplemental selection period.^[1][2]

Matt Cottrell
Personal information
Date of birth	(2000-02-29) 29 February 2000 (age 25)
Original team(s)	Dandenong Stingrays
Draft	2019 Pre-season supplemental selection period
Debut	9 August 2020, Carlton vs. West Coast, at Perth Stadium
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	80 kg (176 lb)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Carlton
Number	46
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2019–	Carlton	74 (36)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 7, 2025 season.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early football

Cottrell played football for the Pearcedale Football Club.^[3][4][5] He played for the Dandenong Stingrays in the NAB League for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.^[6][7] Although Cottrell only played 2 games in 2017, he cemented his spot in 2018 and played 19 games.^[8] He is the grandson of former Carlton player Len Cottrell.^[9]

AFL career

Cottrell was not selected in either the national or rookie draft, but trained with and was then recruited to the Carlton Football Club in February 2019 in the pre-season supplemental selection period.^[10] After playing his entire first season in Carlton's VFL-affiliate, the Northern Blues, he made his senior AFL debut in Round 11, 2020, against West Coast in one of three matches Carlton played in a Perth quarantine hub during the pandemic-interrupted 2020 season.^[11][12] Later that season, in just his fifth career match, Cottrell kicked the winning goal two minutes from the final siren a come-from-behind victory against Sydney, in which Carlton conceded the first seven goals of the game before recovering to win 8.9 (57) to 8.4 (52).^[9][13] Cottrell was elevated to Carlton's senior list from their rookie list for 2024 in late 2023, following an outbreak season in the Blues' first finals campaign since 2013, in which he kicked 11 goals, including 3 in his first finals campaign.^[14][15]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of Round 23 2022^[16]

Legend

G	Goals	K	Kicks	D	Disposals	T	Tackles
B	Behinds	H	Handballs	M	Marks

Season	Team	No.	Games	Totals							Averages (per game)
				G	B	K	H	D	M	T	G	B	K	H	D	M	T
2019	Carlton	46	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2020	Carlton	46	5	2	0	44	9	53	8	4	0.4	0.0	8.8	1.8	10.6	1.6	0.8
2021	Carlton	46	14	3	2	118	47	165	37	31	0.2	0.1	8.4	3.3	11.7	2.6	2.2
2022	Carlton	46	18	9	2	159	108	267	71	32	0.5	0.1	8.8	6.0	14.8	3.9	1.7
Career			37	14	4	321	164	485	116	67	0.3	0.1	8.6	4.4	13.1	3.1	1.8