Matthew Armstrong was born in 1967 and grew up in the Hobart suburb of Risdon Vale. Like many of his mates, he played footy , ending up making his senior debut for Hobart Tigers in 1983.
Armstrongs first senior coach was Bruce Greenhill, followed by Scott Wade
then Peter Hudson
.
They brought out his best and soon Armstrong's dashing style and raking left foot kicks caught the attention of AFL talent scouts.
He was picked up by Fitzroy in the first National Draft; November 1986 - along with Hobart team mate Alastair Lynch
.
Armstrong played for the Lions until 1994 when he switched to North Melbourne and played three seasons for the Kangaroos. His time at Arden St included the lowest point of his career; being dropped for the 1996 grand final, which his team mates went out and won.
Armstrong represented Tasmania eight times as an AFL player and Victoria once, along with fellow Tasmanian Darrin Pritchard (Hawthorn) in 1989.
When his AFL days were done, he returned to Tasmania and coached the Northern Bombers undefeated through the 1998 season and to a premiership in his debut as senior coach.
The following year he went to Brisbane to become a Lion once more, this time as assistant coach to Leigh Matthews.
He returned to Hobart in late 2000 to coach the Tassie Mariners, taking over the helm of the Tasmanian Devils VFL side in 2001.
Since he has taken over the Devils, the team has gone from strength to strength.
Back to Top
Matthew Armstrong - A Tasmanian Football Legend
