More than 1000 people attended his funeral at Lavington Sports Ground, which Father Martin Cruickshank said was a testament to his impact.

"Maybe, amid the darkness of the last few weeks ... you were moved with gratitude for being gifted Matthew, as a son and brother, as a husband and father, as a relative, friend, mentor, work colleague and teammate," he said.

"It's appropriate we gather here on this oval, which is almost as green as Matt's backyard and as carefully mowed."

One of many lifelong friends, Luke Suters, began his eulogy by thanking John and Elaine Griffiths for bringing their son into the world on August 30, 1984 and raising him to be the man he was.

Mr Suters said the strength of Matt's connections was demonstrated by the attendance of friends from St Anne's Primary and Xavier High School.

"Griffo being Griffo, he was always the life of the party, inviting everyone back to Johnny and E's house whether he had their permission or not," he said.

"The shed was a meeting point for so many years with the pool table always being a centrepiece."

Matt left Albury for the first time in 2002 for what would be a one-year stint with the Royal Australian Air Force, packing his six-foot-three frame into a 1976 Corolla so tightly he used the back driver's side window to navigate traffic.

"To emphasise the luck of this man, his licence was suspended for six months for speeding and not displaying a P-plate (but) nothing was a problem for Matt; he lost his license the day he left for basic training and got it back the day he finished," Mr Suters said.

"Johnny reminded me of a story about Griffo, coming back for the weekend from the air force in Wagga.

"He was saying the car was a bit hot on the trip home ... Johnny lifted the bonnet and discovered the radiator hose was completely gone."

While mechanics weren't his thing, Matt had a natural aptitude for various sports and played 70 games across four seasons for the Jindera Football Club, being described by The Border Mail in 2006 as "the athletic big man".

Matt, known by many nicknames in his action-packed life, was "Albury's unofficial mayor" managing Paddy's in the early 2000s and had a pizza named after him when he was part-owner of the Junction Hotel in Melbourne.

Mr Suters said some of the people his friend met in Melbourne would later support him overcoming problems with gambling.

"Griffo has achieved 2886 days off the punt ... he turned his personal challenge into a way to help countless others," he said.

"He held his first Gamblers Anonymous meeting in Albury in July, 2014, and in the early days, Matt would open the meeting with no one attending, often sitting there hopeful someone would walk through the doors.

"This didn't deter Matt ... zero attendance quickly turned into 20 people on any given night.

"He would often meet people on-on-one ... he would go out of his way to help and support anyone."

The man who made everyone around him feel at ease was bound to do well in a sales role at Southern Vale, ensuring a visitor who stopped into his display home asking for directions "left with a signed contract for three townhouses".

But his most successful roles were as Dad to Thomas and James and as husband to Grace, whom Matt proposed to in 2019 by hiding a ring in Tommy's cot.

"Griff, the family holidays will continue (but) they won't be the same without you," Mr Suters said.

"To think about what is living, I think it means absolute exposure, to feel the highs and lows ... to love to the fullest extent and lose to the fullest extent ... Griffo lived his life this way.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"The depth of human connections you made were second-to-none.

"You were always larger than life, with the personality to match.

"We will continue to celebrate you."