Brandon Matera capped off a strong finish to the season with the second top-ten best and fairest finish of his career, after finding more consistency in the back end of the year under new coach Rodney Eade.
 
Throughout the closing months of the 2015 season, the veteran mentor praised Matera’s improved work ethic in all areas of his football. His diligence and attention to detail didn’t manufacture an increased on-field impact overnight, but as the season progressed the West Australian became an invaluable weapon.
 
Like a large collection of Gold Coast’s list, the first half of the year was up and down for Matera with some quality patches in games, although without the consistency and regularity that underpinned his final 12 weeks of the year.
 
At various stages throughout the second half of the year, Eade challenged Matera, both internally and externally, demanding an increased aptitude for work. And that’s precisely what he got right through the back nine. The classy forward got to more contests, collecting more possessions and becoming more influential on the outcome of games.
 
The results began to flood in beginning from round 18 through to the penultimate round of the year where Matera polled in five consecutive games, to demonstrate he can be a damaging force on a regular basis.
 
During that period, the South Fremantle product averaged 21.8 disposals and 6.2 marks as he pushed further up the ground, between the arcs, to become an option on transition. And a damaging option, given his polished foot skills and their ability to cut opposition sides apart when executed to perfection.
 
The pick of Matera’s season came in round 22 against Port Adelaide at Metricon Stadium. In wet conditions that made decision making crucial and skill execution difficult, Matera produced one of the finest performances of his year to be the SUNS' best player in the loss to the Power. He made bold decisions that cut the game open at different times, finishing with a career-high 27 possessions and 631 metres of gained territory to indicate how damaging he was on the night.
 
As one of the most natural gifted players on the SUNS list, it appeared in the closing chapters of 2015 that Eade had discovered the best way to get the most out of the highly talented 23-year-old. If this is the case, expect to see a far more consistently game breaking Matera in the years to come. One of the biggest benefactors of the new coach.