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Full Noise by SN
Important update on 1476AMFuture Devil? The cricket superstar making waves in local Tassie footy
Harry Cumming • April 21st, 2026 4:36 pm
Nestled between the River Derwent and Tiger Head Bay in Hobart, sits Lauderdale Oval which recently welcomed a former international cricketer.
But this was no casual bat and bowl.
When Matthew Wade rocked up on Saturday morning, he swapped his keeping gloves for a Lauderdale Bombers guernsey and showed his skills as a classy left-footer who had 20 possessions and kicked two goals in the Bombers’ 110-point win against Glenorchy in Tasmania’s Southern Football League.
The decorated cricketer Wade joined SEN’s Whateley to share how he ended up playing footy, alongside a few Tassie Devils, whilst still playing professionally in domestic cricket for Tasmania and the Hobart Hurricanes.
“It’s something that I always wanted to do, coming to the back end of cricket, and I’m really enjoying just getting back to local footy and having a bit of fun with my mates,” Wade said on playing for Lauderdale.
Whilst we know him as one of Australia’s best cricketers over the last decade, Wade wasn’t always a just a cricketer and spent a lot of time playing footy in his youth.
“I played all my juniors for Lauderdale, and then, obviously, cricket took over at 18 years of age, and then never really thought about putting the boots on till about a month ago,” Wade said.
“I went down and did some training down there, just to see how my body would feel, to be honest, and get a bit of fitness in.”
Scott Wade, Matthew’s father, is well known to the football world, having played for Clarence in the Tasmania Football League and Hawthorn in the VFL. He now sits in the AFL Tasmania Hall of Fame and was an inspiration for a young Matthew.
“I grew up around football grounds with guys like Jack Riewoldt, and that's a lot of my memories as a child, hanging around football grounds,” Wade said.
“So it was certainly my first option.
“I just wasn't good enough, to be honest. I wasn't big enough. I wasn't strong enough, I wasn't fast enough.
“I played some decent youth footy, but it was certainly my first pick, and cricket came a lot later, to be honest.”
Wade wasn’t the only big name to be lining up in the Lauderdale side, with two Tassie Devils players, Sam Siggins and Robbie Fox, joining the team whilst the Devils have their first bye in the VFL.
“We had Devils guys coming back, so it was a bit embarrassing,” Wade said.
“The whole thing's been about me coming back and playing footy.
“We had Robbie Fox come back and play the first game for the club, and Sam Siggins and guys that are on AFL lists. So we really enjoyed it.”
Scott Wade isn’t the only football royalty in the family, with high-flying Pie Jeremy Howe a first cousin of Matthew, who will be taking the week off footy and at the MCG for the ANZAC Day clash.
“I'd already planned to go and watch my cousin play ANZAC Day against the Bombers,” Wade said.
“I tried to get (Howe) there for last weekend, actually, because they played Thursday, but he was busy with family commitments.
“I might try and get him down for a game in the next few years for Lauderdale.”
The hype around Wade’s return to the footy continues to bring publicity to Tasmania as it prepares to enter the AFL in 2028.
“I think everyone's just excited that with the Devils now, we get Devils players coming back and playing local footy, and then I can tack on and bring a little bit of publicity to the competition,” Wade said.
“It feels like sport in Tasmania's had a huge lift when the Hurricanes won, the JackJumpers have won, and now we've got the opportunity to have an AFL team.
“I think everyone's buzzing down here with excitement about the opportunities of sport in Tasmania and being able to hopefully keep our, our best young talent in the state playing for our local teams, which is exciting for the state.”
The Tassie Devils return to the VFL this week against Carlton in a primetime clash at 7:10pm on Saturday.
