He might still be a few years shy of Draft eligibility, but Hyundai Brisbane Lions Academy member Tom Matthews has already made quite an impact on junior football in Queensland.

Matthews has posted a series of goal-kicking records on his way to becoming the youngest person to play 200 games for the Dalby Swans in the local AFL Darling Downs competition.

The 14-year-old’s impressive feats as a junior were further recognised last week when he became the inaugural recipient of AFL Queensland’s Troy Clarke Scholarship.

The Troy Clarke Scholarship is named after the former Brisbane Bears player and respected AFLQ official who tragically lost his life late last year at just 44 years of age.

It is designed to support a young person from regional Queensland each year who displays those same core values – such as dedication, passion and respect – that Clarke embodied throughout his life.

The scholarship will help Matthews realise his dream of playing in the AFL by assisting with the costs, mostly clocked up by a gruelling travel schedule, as he strives to meet his playing and training commitments with various representative sides.

Part of that includes regular training programs with the Hyundai Brisbane Lions Academy, which presents local junior footballers with a more direct pathway into the AFL.

The Lions already boast four players who have graduated from the Lions Academy - Jordon Bourke, Archie Smith, Jonathan Freeman, and Isaac Conway.  

Lions Academy Manager, Luke Curran, hopes that Matthews can follow in these players' footsteps and potentially become a Lions player himself in the future.

“Tom is a terrific young footballer with a great attitude on and off the field, which reflects his great family upbringing by his parents Scott and Tanya,” Curran said.

“I first saw Tom as an 11-year-old playing in his regional Darling Downs team at the state U12 schoolboy carnival, and he didn’t look out of place against the older boys.

“He has clean skills, a great goal sense, and wants to compete every time the ball is in his area.

“We hope that he continues his development in all areas, and look forward to working closely with Tom over the coming years.”