MALCOLM Blight has been elevated to Legend status in the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
The Magarey and Brownlow Medallist is the first addition to the exclusive club since Sydney and St Kilda great Tony Lockett in 2015 and is just the 27th Legend overall.
A champion footballer with North Melbourne (444 goals in 178 games) and Woodville (359 goals in 163 games), Blight completed his legacy as a coach, leading Adelaide to back-to-back premierships in 1997 and 1998.
• Six moments that made Malcolm Blight a Legend
Destructive forward Barry Hall, Adelaide dual premiership winner Simon Goodwin and North Melbourne midfielder Anthony Stevens were also inducted into the Hall of Fame at a gala function at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night.
They join Collingwood centre half-forward Ron Todd, Sturt great John Halbert and umpire Brett Allen as 2017's inductees.
Malcolm Blight
Blight was a dominating force in both South Australia and Victoria.
He booted 359 goals in 163 games for Woodville from 1968-73 and 1983-85, and 444 goals in 178 games for North Melbourne from 1974-82.
Blight won the Magarey Medal in 1972, Brownlow Medal in 1978, Coleman Medal in 1982, the Ken Farmer Medal in 1985, and was a two-time premiership player with the Kangaroos in 1975 and 1977.
The Hall of Fame class of 2017 (clockwise from top left): Brett Allen, Barry Hall, Simon Goodwin, Anthony Stevens, Legend Malcolm Blight, John Halbert. All pictures: AFL Photos
"I just reckon there's a Sherrin in the heart," Blight said at Tuesday night's ceremony..
"Somehow or another, someone put that in me as a kid and it's just grown in my family and all the people around me.
"Fifty seasons is a long time and I still love the game now."
Blight then coached 250 games at four clubs, having the most success with Adelaide as he led the Crows to back-to-back premierships in 1997 and 1998.
• Malcolm Blight profile: A Legend whose time has come
Barry Hall
Hall booted 746 goals across 289 games for St Kilda, Sydney and the Western Bulldogs before retiring in 2011.
Hall of Fame Legend Tony Lockett helped convince Hall to leave the Saints after six seasons and head north to Sydney.
"I just had too much baggage at St Kilda, but I started to pull my head in," Hall said at Tuesday night's ceremony.
"I needed a fresh start, Sydney needed a key forward [although] in my eyes, no-one can fill Tony Lockett's shoes.
"It was very much off a gut feel and it was the best footy move I ever made."
He was the Swans' best and fairest in 2004, played a vital role in their premiership-winning team in 2005 and captained the club in 2006 and 2007.
Barry Hall and partner Lauren Brant at Tuesday night's Hall of Fame ceremony.
From a boxing background, Hall's reputation was marred by a number of on-field incidents including an infamous left hook which knocked out West Coast's Brent Staker in a match in 2008.
Hall received a six-match suspension and expressed a lasting regret over the punch on Tuesday night.
A four-time All-Australian, Hall was the leading goal-kicker at his club 11 times, including seven straight at the Swans from 2002-2008.
• Barry Hall profile: Big, bad, but Baz's star quality shone through
Simon Goodwin
The classy midfielder had a dream start to his AFL career, winning two premierships with the Crows in his first 31 senior games.
"It happened really quickly," Goodwin said on Tuesday night.
"As a young player, I loved the experience.
"As I went through my career, I felt I needed more and that pushed me to greater heights."
He went on to play 275 games and was named their best and fairest three times (2000, 2005, 2006).
"I wanted to continue to prove people wrong," Goodwin said.
Hall of Famer Simon Goodwin and family arrive at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night.
A five-time All-Australian, Goodwin entered the coaching ranks after hanging up the boots.
He is in his first season as the senior coach of Melbourne.
• Simon Goodwin profile: How the Crow champ banished the doubt
Anthony Stevens
Hailing from the Shepparton Football Club, Stevens played a crucial role in North Melbourne's two most recent premierships in 1996 and 1999.
All up, he played 292 games for the Kangaroos, twice winning their best and fairest and making the All-Australian team in 1998.
The courageous midfielder captained the club in 2002-03 and was named as the first ruck-rover in the Kangaroos' Team of the Century.
"Footy was what I lived for," Stevens said.
"I didn't think I had the greatest skills getting around, but I had a dream to play AFL footy and I would do anything to achieve that."
Stevens (l) with Hall of Fame host Gerard Whately.
"I just wanted to play one game, then to get 50 and then to get 100, the goal then was to play in premierships.
"We played in three grand finals and we won two. That was the ultimate dream."
• Anthony Stevens profile: Hard-nosed heart of the Kangaroos
John Halbert
The tough centreman was one of the most consistent players in South Australia in the 1950s and 1960s.
In a 242-game career for Sturt, he won the Magarey Medal in 1961, was a four-time best and fairest with the Double Blues, raised the premiership cup in 1966.
"That was the highlight of my footy career," Halbert said.
"We hadn't had a lot of success at Sturt.
"We knew we were ready to win a premiership and in '66 we won comfortably – 16.6 to 8.8."
Halbert also represented SA 17 times, including the famous win over Victoria at the MCG in 1963.
He enjoyed successful coaching stints with Glenelg and Sturt before becoming a football administrator.
His roles included: Adelaide chairman of selectors, chairman of the SA football development foundation and a member of the AFL laws committee.
• John Halbert profile: Why the champion centreman became SA football royalty
Ron Todd
A champion full forward, Todd booted 327 goals in 76 games for Collingwood from 1935-39, including the 1936 premiership, and was twice the leading goal-kicker in the VFL.
He switched to Williamstown in a hotly debated move at the time and had immediate success, finishing with 674 goals in 141 games in the VFA.
"Todd was a hero of Collingwood," fellow Magpies Hall of Famer Murray Weideman said.
A five-time Victorian representative, Todd helped Williamstown to premierships in 1945 and 1949, and famously kicked 20 goals in a game against Oakleigh in 1945, the year he kicked 188 goals in the season.
• Ron Todd profile: The offer a Magpie superstar couldn't refuse
Brett Allen
The respected umpire took charge in 347 AFL games between 1992 and 2007.
He was a regular on the biggest stage, officiating in seven grand finals, 37 finals, four International Rules Tests and two State of Origin matches.
"There's nothing more exciting than seeing someone else achieving," Allen said.
"I love footy and to be part of Port Adelaide's first (AFL) premiership and the West Coast and Sydney Grand Finals were wonderful.
"To be involved in those massive games and not to have an undue influence was great."
Allen was a four-time All-Australian umpire and was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 for his contribution to Australian football.
• Brett Allen profile: Ump who called the shots in a respected career
• Who's already in the AFL Hall of Fame?
