AFW caught up with Newcastle Jets Matt Thompson.
G-day Matty. You-re the man behind the card games; you like getting the boys involved?
I don-t mind doing a few things with the boys to get everyone involved – it takes your mind off the more serious things of the weekend and at training. I don-t mind a card game, but so do the other boys, especially Noel Spencer – his wife keeps telling him to come home because he-s always round having a punt.
Are you a bad influence on Noel?
Nah, he-s turned me round. I didn-t gamble until I met Noel.
Who-s the biggest loser at cards?
Jobe Wheelhouse would be the biggest loser, I-d say. He-s hopeless. And he can-t dress too well either, nothing matches.
What do you think about those “Jobe-Wan Kenobi” signs?
[Laughs.] I think that-s his family. Since he signed a new contract, he-s getting a few more games this year and staying injury free, his family has come out and done a few signs for him.
What-s up with his dress sense?
There-s a good chance he-s going to rock up to in boardies and a singlet, or a suit and thongs. He went shopping during the week, but god only knows what he was going to buy. Jobe just doesn-t match. Noel too comes up with something different every day because his wife doesn-t lay it out for him; sometimes he has to pick it himself and we can tell.
Who cleans up at cards?
Joel (Griffiths) does quite well, and he-s tinny. Noel has plenty of experience – he-s been around a while – he cleans up a few games.
What-s the funniest thing that-s happened at the club recently?
I stitched up Jason Naidovski a few months ago. I pretended to be from FourFourTwo magazine and had him out the front of our local cafeteria in his strip juggling a soccer ball.
How did you pull that off?
I put him on loudspeaker, and it-s a bit unclear when you have people on loudspeaker. I pretended to be someone from there and to have a camera set up down the road and that I wanted some long shots with some cafés in the foreground [laughs] and got him to juggle in his strip at the front of a café – and he did it [laughs].
He must have been annoyed?
It was a week-s process. There were a few calls and I told him he was going to get $350 for it. I told Jason Hoffman to play along, and said he was going to do it as well. I told Hoffman I-d tell Jason I-m giving you $250 and giving him $350 and said to Jason not say anything, but heard when he got off the phone he was at Tarek Elrich-s house and told him straight away he was getting more!
So you-re the club prankster then?
There-s another that I-m in the process of, so I can-t say too much, but something-s going to happen in the next couple of weeks. A few of the older boys said I could never get them so that-s given me a bit of an incentive to set someone up!
Who-s the worst trainer?
Adam Griffiths, because he-s always on the massage table.
What three people, dead or alive, would you invite to a dinner party?
Salma Hayek, Pamela Anderson and Will Smith.
Xbox or Playstation?
Playstation.
Blondes or brunettes?
Bruenettes.
Red or white wine?
Red.
Who-s gonna win the Hyundai A-League this year?
Newcastle Jets – who would ever dare not say their team?
Who will they beat in the final?
Melbourne Victory.
Cheers Matty – see ya later.
