Malcolm Blight

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.

However, when a new local team Woodville began to play in the SANFL from 1964, and Blight was now in their recruiting zone and he would make his debut for the Woodpeckers in 1969.

Blight was consistently one of the most brilliant players in the VFL during the 1970s.

Besides taking spectacular marks, he was also a prolific goalkicker, renowned for his ability to kick the torpedo punt.

Blight had a break-out year in 1972, kicking 45 goals while playing mainly as a ruck-rover.

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.

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.

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.

In a moment that has since passed into Australian rules football folklore, in 1976, Blight kicked a famous goal after the siren against Carlton in Round 10 (5 June).

The Blues led by 14 points going into added time in the final quarter, but Blight kicked two goals and then marked an estimated 80 metres from the goals just seconds before the final siren.

North Melbourne were still trailing by one point, needing a behind to draw and a goal to win.

Many assumed Blight's effort would be futile and spectators were already exiting the playing arena.

However, Blight kicked one of the biggest-ever torpedo punts, with the ball going over the goals but between the posts to an improbable victory for the Kangaroos by 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)

During the 1977 VFL season, which happened to be played during the wettest Melbourne winter in 40 years, hosted at Arden Street.

The ground conditions were atrocious, and the match for the most part resembled something more akin to mud wrestling.

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 penalized Hawthorn for an infringement.

Unfortunately for Blight and North Melbourne, the ball slew 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 went on to be one of their best players in the win.

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

Blight was indirectly involved in another infamous football incident during the 1980 Escort Cup grand final against Collingwood, held at VFL Park, Waverley.

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 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."

Richmond won that 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.

In 1982, Blight won the Coleman Medal for leading the VFL in goalkicking, and led the Kangaroos' goalkicking four times during his career.

He was an inaugural inductee Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and was elevated to Legend status in 2017.

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 would cement his reputation as one of the greatest coaches during his stints with and, before finishing up in an acrimonious circumstances at.

The name Blight is of Cornish origin.

In 2012, Blight was appointed director of coaching at the Gold Coast Football Club.

Blight grew up supporting living close to Alberton Oval with his favourite player at the time being forward Rex Johns.