Matthew Parker Biography

Matthew Parker calls time on his Richmond career, choosing to head back to his home state of Western Australia.

"I have made some lifelong friends at Richmond and have made many great memories during my time in the yellow and black," he said.

"This club and its supporters will hold a special place in my heart. 'Dimma' and the people at our club always say family comes first, and living away from home has not always been easy for me.

"Now is a time that I must put my family first and return home to Perth with my partner and three children."

St Kilda delists Matthew Parker after two seasons at the club.

"This was a really difficult decision to make. Matty has such an incredible spirit and it's easy to see why he was so quickly embraced by Saints fans. Unfortunately, the situation we find ourselves in demands tough choices, and this was one of them," St Kilda's head of list management, James Gallagher, said.

Richmond select Matthew Parker with pick No.10 in the 2021 Mid-Season Draft.

Matty Parker says his partner Sharday and son Matty Jnr are the key reasons why he has turned his life around.

Parker has been an instant favourite with Saints fans since making his AFL debut at the start of this season.

"She's my rock, you know, and he's my little king," he said.

"My motivation was my partner Sharday and my son. I looked at them and thought, 'I don't want to bring my son up to that childhood, the childhood I had'.

"But that's what I had to do – make a bigger and better future for him and I'm lucky enough to be here and do that."

Matthew Parker makes his AFL debut for St Kilda at Docklands Stadium with 17 disposals (11 kicks and 6 handballs), 5 marks, 3 tackles and 2 goals in a 1-point win over Gold Coast.

St Kilda select Matthew Parker with pick No.47 in the 2018 National Draft.