Matt, I still can’t believe it. I still find myself going to send you a random messages or something from insta & having to catch myself. We were mates for almost 40 years & boy did we get up to some mischief. From seed pod fights (hitting seed pods at each other with tennis rackets) & breaking windows & street lights; filling tennis balls with petrol & bouncing them down the road towards oncoming cars; being chased out of Indooroopilly carpark by security for chasing each other on our mountain bikes; mud walking down the Brisbane River; hitting your old man’s golf balls over the back fence only to realise his initials were on all the balls; countless bonfires in the back yard seemingly each one bigger than the previous; taking your mums car on 4wd tracks that it shouldn’t have been on; endless camping holidays at Byron Bay & all of the shenanigans we got up too; taking days of school “sick” only to go mountain biking together; or recently taking the new boat out fishing. In all those years we never had a single disagreement or fight & I think that just highlights how strong our friendship was. I’ll miss you mate & I know I’ll see you again one day. Paul

I met Matt at GHD on my first day of work in early 2006. My department didn't have a desk for me, and some how I scored the empty desk next to him. We become friends instantly. We loved all the same hobbies and being in the out doors.
I joined his volleyball team a few months later with Paul and Rachel. Soon after we started a new team called "The Slappers", Katie joined in also. Others faded out, but Matt and I stuck to it. Later Jackson joined us also. We played together untill his diagnosis and surgery. I was lucky enough to catch up with my mate for a couple of hours, once a week, for around 16 years. Matt was always hopefull to make a comeback. "The Slappers" name has been retired in his honour. You will be truly missed my friend.

When Matt and the family were living in Doorey st, he use to tell us about snakes that we would find in our yard. I found a big carpet python under my morning coffee chair and wasn’t quite sure what to do about it one morning. So I asked the only fella I knew that could help, Matt. He came straight over and much to my amazement, picked up the python and put it around his neck, like a scarf. He asked if I would like to put it on, I said “No way” but we took some photos and had a laugh with the other neighbours and then carefully released that snake in the golf course nearby. Thanks mate for being a great neighbour, we will miss you.

I met Matty almost ten years ago through volleyball, when I joined his team, the Slappers, and we played together for many years until his diagnosis.

From the very beginning, he was incredibly warm-hearted, full of energy, and always had incredible stories to tell.

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who was such an absolute legend, so welcoming, genuine, and truly happy, with a kind heart.

The jokes, the shared stories and the camaraderie he created made those times truly unforgettable. He was the heart of the team ❤️

Matty had a real passion for staying fit and pushing himself, from crazy marathons and crossFit sessions to the spikes and dives on the volleyball court.

That enthusiasm for life and movement was so uniquely him.

I still can’t believe it. You will be deeply missed Mate.

Who knew that meeting you as one of your graduates in 2011 would evolve into a mateship that would span a lifetime. Working alongside you always made the days more enjoyable, whether it was sending each other inappropriate messages, listening to how ‘f-ed’ everything in the SEQ rail world was (I think this has been a daily since I met you! haha), or even being thrown under the bus! Let me explain.
Working in rail requires a strong safety culture, so it was no surprise that Matt once held the esteemed position of Fire Safety Floor Warden. However, what was Matt’s first instinct upon hearing the fire alarm bells ringing? He went straight to the lifts, down to the ground floor and out along the street to a café to have a piccolo before anyone knew he had disappeared. This left his Deputy, me, a graduate at the time, to run the show. It should be pointed out that Matt was nominated floor warden as a laugh while he was on leave, and upon finding out about it, he objected to it very strongly.
You’re really going to be missed Fletch, especially because the act of sending you a message and getting a near instant response with your advice or thought on something is no longer there.
Rest comfortably mate

First met Matt on a grassy area in the CBD across from where we worked when Katie and him had their eye on each other around 2006, and ever since it’s felt like I followed the Fletchers around Brisbane. Either by living near keperra, out here at Samford, through the soccer club or now at St Paul’s.
Matt was my no-nonsense trusted advisor, especially when managing the soccer team. If you wanted a straight answer you got it without prejudice and I will miss that immensely.

I also owe a mid-life hamstring rehab to Matt thanks to some pre-race ribbing during the Dad’s 100m sprint a few years back at Samford School Athletics. Matt ensured pre-race that there was going to be intense competition between us despite it being a “social” event. So after giving me stick half way down the course, Matt and I could only laugh when I hobbled to the finish. Every now and then in the years to follow at the kids soccer practice, he would cheekily ask if my hamstring was going to hold up during drills…..

I was really looking forward to continuing to share stupid stories of adventures as the boys grew up, so will miss your wry smile and quick wit and solid soccer manager tips.
Thanks Matt for everything you did.

One of the fantastic holidays that the Fletcher and Stannard families have enjoyed together. Well before the diagnosis, Matt’s love of life and desire to live everyday to the fullest was inspirational. Of course on this particular trip that desire led us to running the beach near high tide in the dark, and hoping that we didn’t get bogged, swallowed by the surf and ultimately end up a cautionary tale on facebook. But we made it, only to do similar silly things again. It was a blast and would give anything to do it again with you one more time Matt. Cheers mate!

We've been lucky to work closely with some cool people over the years in the rail team at TMR, and Matt was huge part of our landscape on and off from around 2010. The rail team has always been known for (other than our hard work and dedication of course) making a noise, having fun and playing pranks on each other. Whether it be giving each other jump-scare frights, sending emails from each other's unlocked computers, leaving chocolate wrappers all over each other's desks, we were always up to something. In the office, Matt was not one for wanting a fuss on his Birthday. I'm pretty sure it wasn't even his birthday on this occasion, but all the more reason to make a spectacle of his desk. We did laboratory experiments in Flech's desk drawers with food - clinical observations on the degradation process of packaged and fresh food that literally lasted months at a time - we must have got close to needing to call bio-security. Luckily the rail team moved between offices/pods/divisions a lot, so some experiments necessarily had to come to an end. Fletch was known for never unpacking his office removal boxes. Why bother when the next move was surely not far away? There were always a couple of tatty old boxes on and around his desk with a multitude of destination stickers on them. Matt knew literally everyone - his networking coffee meets were notorious and a piccolo coffee in hand was part of his look. He was level-headed and calm, even in the most stressful work situations. His knowledge, experience and relationships within the rail industry has had significant input to the outcomes for rail that we have today in Qld. Matt will be missed dearly as colleague and friend, but will always be remembered so well by us all. Rest in peace, Matt.

First photo A catchup with Matt in April on the Sunshine Coast where the discussion was on 4wd - the defender and the 300 series and fit outs and which websites to get good deals for the fit outs. The second photo was our first piccolo in memory of Matt at our local cafe on the Sunshine Coast . I knew Matt for the past 10-15 years working in the rail team. Matt and I would always have our daily piccolo (well it actually started as macchiato until piccolos came along ) . Matt and I shared many moments at work with the team and worked on some amazing big projects together. Matt collection of magazines at work and his collection of food in his draws were always talking point. Camping and families were also constant discussion in the team but for Me we also talked coaching - as my boys and girl were slightly older I had been coaching for some time before Matt started and i was a little bit passionate about football (soccer) . So we shared many Coaching stories and laughed at each others stories. Matt you will be missed you were kind, thoughtful, funny, intelligent and I loved working with you. ☕️ rest in peace you have left a lasting legacy and touched many people around you.

Sarah and Shannon went to catch up with Fletch for a few hours during one of his stays at Greenslopes. We had coffee and caught him up on all things work, and of course he wanted to know all of the goss first! He was really up beat about the upcoming Christmas break with the family and what the future may hold.
He was then super excited once we got him onto the Uber Eats app as Greenslopes food really wasn't cutting it, especially after St Vincent's 'all day, on demand' style system.
He was also keen for our silly pre Christmas dress-ups with press-on Christmas earrings (all the rage!) and his new 'positive poos' to help lighten the mood.