Matt Buntine was selected by the GIANTS at pick five in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft and made his AFL debut in round 8, 2012. The defender, from the Dandenong Stingrays in Victoria, was named in the GIANTS’ emerging leaders group before the 2014 season and joined the official leadership group in 2016. A knee reconstruction in 2017 interrupted his career before he fought back into the side, playing in the 2018 finals series. Buntine is studying a Bachelor of Education, completing a coaching course and has ambitions of becoming a PE teacher post-football.