Matthew Dawson is a NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) graduate athlete, a member of the Australian Men’s Hockey Team, the Kookaburras, and an Australian Olympic representative. He represented Australia for the second time at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Team, winning a gold medal as a member of the Kookaburras who have won the gold medal seven times at the Commonwealth Games.
Hailing from Killarney Vale on the NSW Central Coast, the defender first started playing hockey at 8 and by 15, he was being selected to the NSW youth teams.
The NSWIS graduate then progressed through the development ranks to Australian U21 team and a gold medal at the Australian Youth Olympics. In 2014, at 21, Matthew made his senior international debut in a test series against India in Perth. The following year he was signed by the Kalinga Lancers in the Hockey India League.
Matthew was a member of the Kookaburra team that won the 2016 Champions Trophy and was selected for the Rio 2016 Olympics where the team finished 6th. In the lead up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Matthew suffered a serious eye injury. He recovered and was given the all clear to play at the games where the kookaburra claimed gold.
The medal success continued for Matthew with a bronze at the his maiden world cup in India in 2018, and gold at the 2019 FIH Pro League.
In 2019 Matthew was a member of the NSW Pride that took out the inaugural Hockey One competition, and in 2021 was named on the Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo.