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Malcolm Blight
Statue of Malcolm Blight at Adelaide Oval
Personal information
Full name Malcolm Jack Blight
Nickname(s) Blighty
Date of birth (1950-02-16) 16 February 1950 (age 74)
Place of birth Adelaide, South Australia
Original team(s) Woodville (SANFL)
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 89 kg (196 lb)
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1968–73, 1983–85 Woodville 152 (342)[1]
1974–1982 North Melbourne 178 (444)[2]
Total 330 (786)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
South Australia 7 (11)
Victoria 7 (14)
Coaching career3
Years Club Games (W–L–D)
1981 North Melbourne 16 (6–10–0)
1983–1987 Woodville 114 (41-73-0)
1989–1994 Geelong 145 (89–56–0)
1997–1999 Adelaide 74 (41–33–0)
2001 St Kilda 15 (3–12–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1986.
3 Coaching statistics correct as of 2001.
Career highlights

Club

Representative

Coaching

Honours

Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Malcolm Jack Blight AM (born 16 February 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Woodville Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). He also coached the Geelong Football Club, Adelaide Football Club and St Kilda Football Club.

Blight is, to date, the only player to have kicked 100 goals in a season in both the VFL and the SANFL. He is also one of three players to have won the Brownlow Medal and the Magarey Medal. He was an inaugural inductee Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and was elevated to Legend status in 2017.[3] In addition, he has captained the state representative sides of both Victoria and South Australia.

In spite of his "failure" as a playing coach of North Melbourne, Blight cemented his reputation as one of the greatest coaches during his stints with Geelong and Adelaide, before finishing up in an acrimonious circumstances at St Kilda. In 2012, Blight was appointed director of coaching at the Gold Coast Football Club.

The surname "Blight" is of Cornish origin.[4]

Football career

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1968–1973: First stint at Woodville

[edit]

Blight grew up living close to Alberton Oval and supported Port Adelaide, with his favourite player at the time being forward Rex Johns.[5] However, when a new local team Woodville began to play in the SANFL from 1964, and Blight was in their recruiting zone and made his debut for the Woodpeckers in 1969. He had a break-out year in 1972, kicking 45 goals while playing mainly as a ruck-rover.[6] He won Woodville's best and fairest award as well as the SANFL's highest individual honor, the Magarey Medal, bringing him to the attention of the VFL.

1974–1982: Success in Victoria with North Melbourne

[edit]

Blight was recruited by the North Melbourne Football Club and, although he was reluctant to join at first, he went on to play 178 games for the club between 1974 and 1982.[7] He was a member of the Kangaroos' premiership sides in 1975 and 1977, and in 1978 won both the Brownlow Medal and the Syd Barker Medal for being the best and fairest player in the VFL and for North Melbourne respectively.

Blight was consistently one of the most brilliant players in the VFL during the 1970s. Besides taking spectacular marks, he was also a prolific goal kicker, renowned for his ability to use the torpedo punt. In 1982, Blight won the Coleman Medal as the leading the VFL goal scorer, and led the Kangaroos' goal kicking four times during his career.

Eighty-metre goal after the siren

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It's not over yet – not over yet! What drama here at Princes Park! Malcolm Blight – it's a big kick, it's a mammoth kick...(ball passes between goal posts) whoa, I have seen it all!

Mike Williamson's call of Blight's 70- to 80-metre after-the-siren goal against Carlton on HSV-7[8][9]

In a moment that has since passed into Australian rules football folklore, Blight kicked a famous goal after the siren against Carlton in Round 10, 1976, (5 June). Carlton led by 14 points going into added time in the final quarter, but Blight kicked two goals, and then marked the ball an estimated 80 metres from goal, just seconds before the final siren. North Melbourne, trailing by one point, needed a behind to draw and a goal to win. Many assumed Blight's effort would be futile and spectators were already exiting the arena. However, Blight kicked one of the longest-ever torpedo punts, with the ball going through the goal at the height of the posts, achieving an improbable victory for the Kangaroos: 11.15 (81) to Carlton's 11.10 (76). (YouTube video)

This moment was the focus of a television commercial in the Toyota Legendary Moments series which featured Blight. (YouTube video)

Infamous moments

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During the 1977 VFL season, which happened to be played during the wettest Melbourne winter in 40 years, North Melbourne hosted Hawthorn at Arden Street. The ground conditions were atrocious, and the match for the most part resembled something more akin to mud wrestling.[citation needed] Hawthorn led by one point when Blight was given a free kick and a set shot for goal. He scored a behind, which would have levelled the scores, but was given a second attempt after the umpire penalised Hawthorn for an infringement. Unfortunately for Blight and North Melbourne, the ball slewed off the side of his boot and went out of bounds on the full, giving the Hawks victory. In the drawn Grand Final, he was benched by Barassi after three quarters, but kept his place in the team for the replay and was one of the best players in their win.

Blight won the 1978 Brownlow Medal, but suffered a groin injury in the early minutes of the 1978 VFL Grand Final against Hawthorn.

In 1981, while still serving as playing coach, Blight made one of the most bizarre blunders ever seen in a football match. In North Melbourne's Round 14 clash against Richmond at the MCG, Blight was on the end of a chain of handpasses deep in the forward zone. He seemed certain to score a goal as he ran into the goal square, only to run past the goal posts and kick the ball through the behinds. As he said after the match when he realised his mistake: "I've never done that before. I'm probably going barmy."[10] Richmond won the match by 43 points and, less than a month later, after six consecutive losses, Blight was sacked as playing coach. Freed of the coaching burden, he then kicked 11 goals against Footscray.[11]

Blight was indirectly involved in another infamous football incident during the 1980 Escort Cup grand final against Collingwood, held at VFL Park, Waverley. Blight kicked the ball to Kerry Good as the siren sounded. However, the umpire did not hear the siren and awarded the mark to Good, who kicked the winning goal to win in controversial circumstances.

1983–1985: Return to Woodville

[edit]

After his stint in the VFL, Blight returned to Woodville, serving as captain-coach from 1983 to 1985 before continuing as non-playing coach in 1986 and 1987. He was club best and fairest in 1983 and in his last season of playing football (1985) topped the league goalkicking list with 126 goals.[12]

Other matches

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Blight also played 14 interstate/State of Origin football matches (seven for South Australia and seven for Victoria), kicking 25 goals, as well as 11 pre-season/night series matches for Woodville, kicking 17 goals, and 17 pre-season/night series matches for North Melbourne, kicking 37 goals (these are counted as senior by the SANFL but not the VFL/AFL).

If these are included, Blight played a total of 372 senior career games and kicked a senior career total of 865 goals.

Coaching and after coaching

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Blight later became a successful coach famous for employing unorthodox, and at times controversial, coaching methods as attempts to motivate his players.[13]

Player-coach at North Melbourne

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Appointed player-coach in 1981 after Ron Barassi departed, Blight was sacked as coach after six consecutive losses.[14] The following week he rebounded with a club-record 11 goal haul against Footscray, at the Western Oval. Once again, Blight's inaccurate kicking for goal may have prevented him from kicking a club record of a possible 16 to 17 goals. Blight's total as playing coach (Wayne Schimmelbusch was captain) was 16 games (6 wins, 10 losses) and the last of the playing coaches in the VFL.

Back at Woodville

[edit]

Playing coach 1983 to 1985, continued as non-playing coach to 1987. His tenure as coach coincided with the club's most successful season (1986) in the entire history of the Woodville Football Club, when they reached the Preliminary Final.[15] During the season the Warriors (who had changed from being known as the Woodpeckers to the Warriors in 1983) had defeated their hated "big brother" Port Adelaide once during the minor round at Woodville Oval (drawing the oval's ground record attendance of 11,026 to their Round 18 clash), and also in the First Semi-final at Football Park, before going down to eventual premiers Glenelg in the Preliminary Final.

Geelong Football Club senior coach (1989–1994): High-Voltage Football, September Disappointment

[edit]

Blight was appointed successor to John Devine at Geelong as senior coach for the 1989 VFL season. In Blight's first year at Geelong, he guided them to the 1989 Grand Final but fell short to Hawthorn by six points. In the 1990 season, Geelong under Blight finished tenth on the ladder with eight wins and fourteen losses, missing out of the finals. In the 1991 season, Blight guided Geelong to finish third on the ladder, but were eliminated in the Preliminary Final by West Coast Eagles. Blight guided Geelong again to the Grand Final in 1992 but fell short again to West Coast Eagles by twenty-eight points. In the 1993 season, Blight guided Geelong to finish seventh on the ladder with twelve wins and eight losses, just missing out of the finals.

The Cats players warmed to his all-out attack philosophy, to such an extent that they broke the record for aggregate points in a home-and-away season (2916), which would again be broken in 1992 when they became the first (and so far only) team to score an aggregate of 3000 points in a home-and-away season. In the semi-final against Melbourne, aware that the Demons intended to put a hard tag on their classy midfielders Paul Couch and Mark Bairstow, Blight started them on the interchange bench, and Geelong ended up winning by 63 points.

In an interview with Gerard Whateley in 2019, Blight opened up about the day he knew his time as Geelong coach was finished. In Round 12 of the 1994 AFL season, Geelong were hosting St Kilda at Kardinia Park, and at last break the unfancied Saints held a 26-point lead after kicking seven goals to none in the third quarter. The frustrated home fans directed their displeasure at Blight, booing and heckling him as he made his way down to the huddle.[16] Although he made light of this to his assistant coach and soon-to-be successor Gary Ayres by remarking "I told you, the Geelong people don't like you Hawthorn people", Blight was stung inwardly by the negative reception.[17][18] Fortunately for the home side, star forward Gary Ablett kicked four of his seven goals as Geelong came from behind to win by three points. The Cats ended up making the Grand Final in 1994 for the third time under Blight, but after a difficult finals series, they were no match for West Coast, where Geelong fell short to West Coast by eighty points in the 1994 Grand Final and Blight confirmed his decision after the game to hand the coaching reins to assistant coach Gary Ayres, who replaced Blight as Geelong Football Club senior coach.

One of the strangest incidents as a coach of Geelong was his extroverted decision to stand on a metal box to watch the game against the West Coast Eagles in Perth. His excitement of "seeing the game at ground level", was an attempt to get back to basics and some nostalgia.[citation needed]

Blight coached Geelong Football Club from 1989 to 1994 to a total of 145 games with 89 wins and 56 losses with a winning percentage of 61 percent.

Adelaide Football Club senior coach (1997–1999) : Premiership success

[edit]

Blight's then made his arrival at the Crows at the end of the 1996 season, when he replaced Robert Shaw as senior coach of Adelaide Football Club.[19] This was marked with dramatic effect, with the delisting of four ageing club stalwarts Tony McGuinness, Chris McDermott, Andrew Jarman and Greg Anderson.[20] This attracted great criticism at the time, but Blight was vindicated, when Adelaide Football Club under Blight won the AFL premiership in 1997, and again in 1998 for the second consecutive year. Blight resigned as Adelaide Football Club senior coach at the end of the 1999 season after an unsuccessful year finishing 13th.[21] In 74 games under Blight, Adelaide won 41 games and 33 losses bringing a winning percentage to 55 percent.[22] But he will always be remembered for his finals record with seven wins from eight games for two premierships To commemorate his legacy as Adelaide's first premiership coach, the club named their annual best and fairest award the Malcolm Blight Medal. Blight was once again replaced by Gary Ayres, this time as Adelaide Football Club senior coach.

St Kilda Football Club senior coach (2001): Promising start, disappointing end

[edit]

After finishing at Adelaide, Blight decided to retire from football and moved to Queensland. St Kilda officials visited him there during 2000 and overcame his reluctance to coach St Kilda in 2001 with a $1 million offer.[23] Blight then replaced Tim Watson as the St Kilda Football Club senior coach. Blight was however sacked after Round 15 during the 2001 season with three wins and twelve losses sitting at fourteenth (third-last) on the ladder. Blight was then replaced by Grant Thomas as caretaker senior coach for the rest of the 2001 season, who was eventually appointed as full-time senior coach.[24][25] Blight's famous humiliation of the players by making them stay on Colonial Stadium after a Round 10 loss to Melbourne and again after a Round 15 loss to Adelaide in his final game as coach, highlighted the worsening relation between the coach, players and club supporters. Some years later the former president of St Kilda, Rod Butterss, questioned Blight's commitment to the club during his tenure. Blight responded memorably from his position as media commentator with Channel Ten, saying:

I couldn't give a rat's tossbag whether he thought I could coach or whether anyone thinks I can coach or can play. But when he talked about commitment for St Kilda, for the time I was there, it was absolute garbage made by a very naive person.

— Malcolm Blight, Out of left-field, Blight's passion burns furiously

However, as early as February 2003, Butterss had admitted that his appointment of Blight as coach was "an error."[26] In August 2017, Butterss further admitted that he'd made crucial decisions (including the Blight saga) while under the influence of drugs and alcohol during his tenure at the club.[27]

Blight coached St Kilda Football club in 2001 to a total of 15 games with three wins and twelve losses to a winning percentage of 20 percent.

Involvement at Gold Coast Suns

[edit]

In 2009, Blight joined the Board of directors at the 17th AFL team, Gold Coast Suns.[28]

In July 2012, Gold Coast Suns announced that Blight had stepped down from the board to take up a part-time advisory role as director of coaching under Gold Coast Suns senior coach Guy McKenna, following a similar growing trend where former coaches (among them Mark Williams, Dean Laidley and Mark Harvey) have been employed as advisors to other senior coaches.[29] Blight left the Gold Coast Suns at the end of the 2015 season, after he was relieved of his duties as director of coaching position at Gold Coast. Blight and the club came to a mutual agreement that the position had become redundant after the appointment of Rodney Eade as senior coach of the Gold Coast Suns at the start of the year and season.[30]

Blight's Squad of Champions

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Looking back over his coaching career, Blight nominated in June 2012 a team of the greatest 22 players that he had coached, plus four emergencies.[31] This was how the team looked:

Malcolm Blight's Squad of Champions
B: Ben Hart
(Adelaide) 		David Dench
(North Melbourne) 		Mark Bickley
(Adelaide)
HB: Andrew McLeod
(Adelaide) 		Ross Glendinning
(North Melbourne) 		Nigel Smart
(Adelaide)
C: Keith Greig
(North Melbourne) 		Paul Couch
(Geelong) 		Mark Bairstow
(Geelong)
HF: Wayne Schimmelbusch
(North Melbourne) 		Barry Stoneham
(Geelong) 		Ralph Sewer
(Woodville)
F: Darren Jarman
(Adelaide) 		Gary Ablett Sr.
(Geelong) 		Robert Harvey
(St Kilda)
Foll: Shaun Rehn
(Adelaide) 		Mark Ricciuto
(Adelaide) 		Garry Hocking
(Geelong)
Int: Ken Hinkley
(Geelong) 		David Pittman
(Adelaide) 		Simon Goodwin
(Adelaide)
Tyson Edwards
(Adelaide)
Coach: Malcolm Blight

The four emergencies named were: Peter Caven (Adelaide), Kane Johnson (Adelaide), Peter Riccardi (Geelong) and Tony Modra (Adelaide).

Media career

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Blight continued his football involvement through the media. He commentated for the Seven Network during his hiatus from coaching in 1988, 1995–1996 and 2000, and also co-hosted Talking Footy with fellow commentator Bruce McAvaney and journalist Mike Sheahan. He was one of the commentators at Waverley Park during the famous "Lights Out Incident" during a night match between Essendon and St Kilda in 1996. After finishing up as a coach, Blight commentated for Network Ten's television coverage.

In 2006, Blight appeared in a Toyota Legendary Moment ad recreating his goal after the siren against Carlton.

He also wrote football-related articles for the Sunday Mail.

Blight is known for his dislike of the practice of players using grubber kicks when attempting to score a goal, due to the lack of control and unpredictability of the bounce.[32] With David Wildy, he is currently the co-host of Sportsday SA on FIVEaa in Adelaide.[33]

Statistics

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Playing statistics

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[34]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Led the league after season and finals
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1974 North Melbourne 15 15 17 18 200 60 260 91 — 1.1 1.2 13.3 4.0 17.3 6.1 —
1975† North Melbourne 15 18 14 18 187 63 250 69 — 0.8 1.1 11.0 3.7 14.7 4.1 —
1976 North Melbourne 15 23 35 29 378 102 480 159 — 1.5 1.3 16.4 4.4 20.9 6.9 —
1977† North Melbourne 15 24 24 33 415 115 530 127 — 1.0 1.4 17.3 4.8 22.1 5.3 —
1978 North Melbourne 15 24 77 51 361 69 430 136 — 3.2 2.1 15.0 2.9 17.9 5.7 —
1979 North Melbourne 15 19 60 27 275 67 342 102 — 3.2 1.4 14.5 3.5 18.0 5.4 —
1980 North Melbourne 15 20 44 29 282 90 372 87 — 2.2 1.5 14.1 4.5 18.6 4.4 —
1981 North Melbourne 15 15 70 45 206 31 237 79 — 4.7 3.0 13.7 2.1 15.8 5.3 —
1982 North Melbourne 15 20 103 66 233 43 276 112 — 5.2 3.3 11.7 2.2 13.8 5.6 —
Career 178 444 316 2537 640 3177 962 — 2.5 1.8 14.3 3.6 17.8 5.4 —

Head coaching record

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Team Year Home and Away Season Finals
Won Lost Drew Win % Position Won Lost Win % Result
NTH 1981 6 10 0 .375 8th out of 12 — — — —
NTH Total 6 10 0 .375 0 0 .000
GEE 1989 16 6 0 .727 3rd out of 14 2 2 .500 Lost to Hawthorn in Grand Final
GEE 1990 8 14 0 .364 10th out of 14 — — — —
GEE 1991 16 6 0 .727 3rd out of 15 1 2 .333 Lost to West Coast in Preliminary Final
GEE 1992 16 6 0 .727 1st out of 15 2 2 .500 Lost to West Coast in Grand Final
GEE 1993 12 8 0 .600 7th out of 15 — — — —
GEE 1994 13 9 0 .591 4th out of 15 3 1 .750 Lost to West Coast in Grand Final
GEE Total 81 49 0 .623 8 7 .533
ADE 1997 13 9 0 .591 4th out of 16 4 0 1.000 Defeated St Kilda in Grand Final
ADE 1998 13 9 0 .591 5th out of 16 3 1 .750 Defeated North Melbourne in Grand Final
ADE 1999 8 14 0 .364 13th out of 16 — — — —
ADE Total 34 32 0 .515 7 1 .875
STK 2001 3 12 0 .200 (resigned after R15) — — — —
STK Total 3 12 0 .200 0 0 .000
Total 124 103 0 .546 15 8 .652
[35]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ These totals refer to premiership matches (home-and-away and finals matches) only.
  2. ^ "Malcolm Blight (Player Bio)". Australian Football. 1 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Australian Football Hall of Fame: Malcolm Blight becomes a legend while Simon Goodwin, Barry Hall honoured". ABC News. 19 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Cornish Family Names". Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Subscribe | adelaidenow". www.adelaidenow.com.au. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  6. ^ Collins, Ben (20 June 2017). "Six moments that made Malcolm Blight a Legend". afl.com.au.
  7. ^ North Melbourne Football Club: Hall of Fame Archived 10 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Footy's Most Thrilling Finishes The Herald-Sun
  9. ^ Malcolm Blight's long-range after-the-siren winner (North Melbourne vs. Carlton, Round 5, 1976) YouTube
  10. ^ McClure, Geoff, ed. (20 July 2001). "Going Balmy – SPORTING LIFE". The Age.
  11. ^ Baum, Greg (20 June 2017). "Malcolm Blight, a Legend of Australian football". theage.com.au.
  12. ^ SA Team of the Century: Left Half Forward Flank – Malcolm Blight
  13. ^ "Stopping the rot". The Age. 27 May 2003. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  14. ^ Australianrules.com: The 10 biggest mid-season coaching upheavals Archived 17 June 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Fullpointsfooty.net: Woodville Football Club
  16. ^ "Ablett snatches win from Saints". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 12 June 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 19 May 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ Waterworth, Ben (24 April 2019). "AFL: Malcolm Blight reveals merciless boos that sparked him to quit as Geelong coach in 1994". foxsports.com.au.
  18. ^ Negrepontis, Nic (24 April 2019). "BLIGHT'S NEVER-TOLD STORY ABOUT LEAVING GEELONG". sen.com.au.
  19. ^ "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL CLUBS" (PDF). Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Head rules heart". The Advertiser.
  21. ^ "Past Senior Coaches (AFL)". Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  22. ^ "Past Senior Coaches (AFL)". Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Andrew Thompson on how the Saints wooed Malcolm Blight as coach". Herald Sun. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  24. ^ "Strength through loyalty". 1 May 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  25. ^ "Butterss wouldn't melt in his mouth". 16 December 2001. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  26. ^ "Butterss admits: We haven't delivered". The Age. 25 February 2003. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  27. ^ "Rod Butterss made decisions as St Kilda president while high, drunk". Sporting News. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  28. ^ "Blight Joins Gold Coast Football Club". 21 July 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  29. ^ "Blight: Borrow wisdom of elders". Sunday Mail. 7 July 2012.
  30. ^ "Gold Coast Suns part ways with Malcolm Blight". 15 September 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  31. ^ Blight, Malcolm (9 June 2012). "Selecting my squad of champions". Sunday Mail.
  32. ^ Milbank, Zac (29 June 2012). "AFL legend Malcolm Blight urges coaches to ban players from performing the 'grubber' kick for goal". The Advertiser.
  33. ^ "Sportsday SA". www.sen.com.au. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  34. ^ Malcolm Blight's player profile at AFL Tables
  35. ^ "AFL Tables - Malcolm Blight - Coaching Record". Afltables.com. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
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