Riggs adds another feather to his cap in 2020

There isn’t much Matt Riggio hasn’t achieved in his footy career to date;

• Drafted and played in the AFL,
• 2-time Swan Districts best & fairest winner,
• Premiership player,
• Swan Districts co-captain,
• Dual WA state representative,
• Swan Districts life member, and
• Soon to be 200 gamer at the club

But 2020 will see him add a whole new skill set to his already impressive resume – taking on the role as midfield coach of the Swan Districts WAFLW side.

‘It’s really exciting’ Matt said. ‘I’ve played in the midfield for a fair while now, but have never coached. So we’ll see how it goes throughout the year.’

A strong advocate for the women’s game, Matt said it was an easy choice to put his name up to help out in whatever capacity was needed, to help promote and grow the game throughout the community.

‘There’s still a bit of mixed reaction in the public towards women’s footy’ he said. ‘I really wanted to throw myself into it, and if that helps some people change their minds about the game, even a little bit, then that’s really good.’

Looking at coaching as a potential future pathway, helping the women’s team so far has been a nice change from growing up as a player in the system.

 ‘It’s very different compared to the men’ he said. ‘I feel like us guys get stuck into each other a lot more, but with the women, everyone is always very supportive, which gives it a bit more of a country footy kind of feel.’

‘They’ve been very welcoming of me and listen to what I have to share with them’ he said. ‘I’m really enjoying it.’

The 2020 Optus WAFLW Premiership Season kicks in August, with fixtures to be finalised in the coming weeks.