Carlton: 189 AFL games, 94 goals
Matthew Kreuzer played for the Carlton Football Club in the AFL. His father is of Dutch heritage.
Kreuzer played for St Mary’s Greensborough Junior Football Club, before moving to the Northern Knights to play under-18s football in the TAC Cup. In 2007 he won the Morrish Medal and the Knights’ best and fairest.
Noted for possessing a level of agility and endurance unusual for a player of his size, Kreuzer was widely expected to be selected early in the 2007 AFL Draft. He was selected by Carlton with its priority draft pick (No. 1 overall) in the draft; Carlton received that draft pick only after losing its final round match against Melbourne in 2007, a controversial match which became known as the Kreuzer Cup.
Kreuzer made his AFL debut in Round 3 of the 2008 season against Essendon, impressing on debut and scoring a goal with his first kick. He earned a NAB Rising Star nomination in his 9th game – he would ultimately poll eleven votes to finish fourth for the award. He was noted for his accuracy in front of goal, scoring 13 goals and only one behind in his debut season.
Kreuzer played all 23 games in his second season, again scoring 13 goals, finishing 5th in the John Nicholls Medal.
In 2017 Kreuzer had a career best season only missing one game. He was selected in the initial 40-man All Australian squad and finished third in Carlton’s best and fairest.
Before the beginning of the 2018 season, it was announced that Kreuzer would be part of Carlton’s new leadership group for the first time in his career.
He announced his retirement on 10 September 2020.
