[citation needed] After playing at five-eighth for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters, Matterson moved to Brisbane to be part of the Broncos' inaugural 1988 team.
Playing at lock and being the team's goal-kicker, Matterson scored 24 points in the Broncos' first ever match in the opening round of 1988 against the previous year's premiers, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
[citation needed] During the 2007 season at the Brisbane Broncos' 20-year anniversary celebration, the club announced a list of the 20 best players to play for them to date which included Matterson.
Matterson expressed interest in taking over from Wayne Bennett as coach of the Brisbane Broncos at the end of the 2008 National Rugby League season.
[citation needed] Matterson and the team went on a rough patch but turned it around and only just missed out on a second play-off appearance in two years by losing out to St. Helens in the final league game of the season.
In 2011, Matterson was named as the assistant coach of the Exiles, a team made up of Australian and New Zealand players contracted to Super League clubs.
The Exiles played against the England in June 2011 in the Rugby League International Origin Match, a fixture that is intended to become an annual contest in the future.
Surgery to re-attach the finger was unsuccessful, however Matterson seemed unaffected by the trauma, continuing to coach the Castleford Tigers the next week.