BIO

Matthew William Davis had only played a few games for the North Adelaide Under 17's in the SANFL before he was somewhat surprisingly selected by the Sydney Swans in the 2003 AFL Draft at pick number 59. The 17-year-old from Jamestown, a small country town north of Adelaide, had also played in the 2003 A Grade premiership with Jamestown/Peterborough (Northern Areas Football Association).
 
Quick for his size and with a good vertical leap, he had already played in a variety of positions, including centre-half back in the grand final.
 
"Smokey" as he was known, made the move to Sydney, and spent the next four seasons on the Sydney Swans list.
 
He joined Norwood in 2008, along with Swans team-mates Stephen Doyle, Sam Rowe and Simon Phillips. The quartet made their league debuts for the Redlegs on the 28th March 2008, the opening round of the season. Davis played 21 games for the year.
 
After playing six league games in 2009, he had a strong 2010. The Redlegs were narrowly defeated by Central District in that year's Grand Final.

Davis played 23 games and kicked 38 goals for the season , as well as reaching the 50 League game milestone for the Norwood Football Club.
He played another 21 games in 2011.
 
Davis' versatility and fitness allowed Norwood to play him in several different roles - forward, back or across the centre. A strong mark and good kick for goal, he was possibly best suited playing as a lead-up forward.
 
Davis had worked in Sales and Marketing for the club, and decided at the end of 2011 to study and travel overseas.

R Cialini Dec 2018