Matt arrives at Number 30 with Hilary, initially as a house guest and surprises Sharon, who is staying there, who was expecting him to be much older and stuffier. Matt quickly makes friends with Sharon and her boyfriend, Nick Page (Mark Stevens). Matt later attends Erinsborough High and agrees to help Nick out in a skateboarding competition against Nick's nemesis, Bruce Zadro (Myles Collins). When Hilary mentions Matt's father in a conversation, Matt, knowing that Hilary is his biological mother, presses her further and she reveals that she had given him up for adoption because she was young at the time. When Sharon begins to get suspicious, Hilary tries to keep Matt's identity secret from her and the rest of the Neighbours. Matt urges Hilary to tell the truth, but she is adamant she will not.