play ten games in the 2003 season, averaging nine disposals a match, including 21 in a game against the Kangaroos, in the same game as he kicked his first goal. Mattner during these two years was still young, and was playing well for his local SANFL club Sturt, regularly gathering 20 or more disposals a match as well as laying many bone-crunching tackles. In the 2002 SANFL season, the Double Blues won the premiership over Central District and Mattner was listed among the best players in the Grand Final. Sturt's end of season trip was to Bali. Team members were caught up in the 2002 Bali bombings and fellow player Josh Deegan and club official Bob Marshall were killed. 2004–2005 During the 2004 season, Mattner was seen to improve in a number of areas – averaging eleven disposals and playing 16 matches for the year. Midway through a disappointing season for the team (where the Crows missed the finals), new coach Neil Craig gave Mattner more opportunity than previous coach Ayres, which helped Mattner grow as a player, another feature becoming noticeable was his run through the midfield. His new coach also played him more through the wing than Gary Ayres did, giving him more opportunity as a player. At that time, he had a career equaling 21 disposals in a game against Melbourne, and failed to miss a match after his inclusion in round 7 which shows how well he was performing. In 2005, Mattner came of age and so did a younger Crows outfit. He played all but one match for the season and failed only once to gather more than ten disposals in a disappointing effort against Melbourne. His average of 16 disposals per game seeing him as an important cog in Adelaide's midfield. He also had 98 tackles, which was the highest of any Crows player in the season. His long left-foot kicking, often described as "raking" and "accurate" by television commentators, was vital in setting up many of Adelaide's forward thrusts. He missed just one game in the season, which was in round 22, but failed to have a 15 disposal plus game in any of the Crows' three finals. Adelaide was knocked out of the finals race by West Coast in the preliminary final. 2006 In 2006, Mattner started to play on a half-back flank, keeping a smaller player relatively quiet and gaining many