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.
| Malcolm Blight | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Malcolm Jack Blight | ||
| Nickname(s) | Blighty | ||
| Date of birth | 16 February 1950 | ||
| 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) | |
| 1974–1982 | North Melbourne | 178 (444) | |
| 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 | |||
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Club
Representative
Coaching Honours
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
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. 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 Geelong and Adelaide, before finishing up in an acrimonious circumstances at St Kilda. The name Blight is of Cornish origin. In 2012, Blight was appointed director of coaching at the Gold Coast Football Club.