Leigh Matthews. A name that lives in the heartbeat of Collingwood. A name that echoes through generations, through memories, through triumphs and tears. Today, the black-and-white army gathers not to celebrate a Premiership, not to relive the glory of 1990, but to stand behind the man who gave Collingwood its belief back.
Across Victoria, messages of love, gratitude, and strength are rising like a chorus. From lifelong members to new supporters, from past players to families who grew up hearing his name spoken like legend — everyone feels it. Everyone knows how much he has given. Everyone wants to give something back.
And so, today, Collingwood wraps its arms around Leigh Matthews.
There’s a heaviness in the air, the kind that comes when someone larger than life suddenly feels human. When a giant of the game faces a difficult moment, the football world feels it. But what rises even stronger is the unity, the emotion, the connection that only footy can create. Leigh isn’t facing this alone — not for a second.
Fans have gathered outside the MCG, laying scarves, handwritten notes, and black-and-white flowers at the foot of where his statue will soon stand. People who never met him speak his name with the same affection they’d use for a family member. Because to Collingwood people, Leigh Matthews has always been more than a coach, more than a legend. He is part of their story.
And now, they want him to feel that.
Children wearing Collingwood jumpers draw signs: “Stay strong, Leigh.”
Older supporters who lived through that famous 1990 drought-breaking Premiership whisper, “He showed us how to believe when believing was hard.”
Former players quietly voice the same message: “He made us better — as footballers and as men.”
It’s emotional. It’s raw. It’s real.
Collingwood is a club built on resilience, and nobody embodied that spirit more fiercely than Leigh Matthews. On the field, he was unstoppable. Off it, he was wise, steady, and fiercely committed to his people. That commitment created a bond with the fans that time could never weaken.
And now, those same fans are sending their strength back to him — tenfold.
No matter what he is facing, one truth stands above all:
The Collingwood family stands as one.
And in that family, Leigh Matthews is cherished beyond words.
Supporters across Australia are lighting candles, posting messages online, and sharing memories — stories of the moments he changed their love for the game, moments that shaped their childhoods, moments that made them proud to wear black and white.
Today, Collingwood doesn’t just honour a legend.
They lift him.
They surround him.
They tell him he is not alone and never will be.
Because some people coach a team.
But Leigh Matthews…
He shaped a culture.
He lifted a city.
He inspired millions.
And now, with all the love the football world can give, that same city, that same army, sends every ounce of strength back to him.
Stay strong, Lethal.
We’re with you.
Always.
