After Essendon stormed home and took the lead late in last year's epic (aren't they always?) Anzac Day clash, Collingwood whisked the ball back down the ground in the frantic final 90 seconds, for the diminutive Blair to crumb the pack and dribble through the match-winning goal.
It was even more dramatic than that, with the umpires calling for a video review to confirm that Blair made contact with the ball below his knee.
The subsequent all clear sent the black-and-white half the MCG into rapture. It was Collingwood's sixth straight win over the Bombers – the streak is now seven heading into Thursday's game – and propelled Blair into the Magpie stratosphere for good.
"I suppose it was a pretty special day last year," he said on Tuesday morning at Collingwood's training session at St Kilda beach.
"I think that goal was something I will treasure for the rest of my life."
Twelve months on, the 23-year-old still plays down suggestions he was the match-winner for the Pies on the day and points to the desperate work to get the ball into a scoring position given that the momentum was all with Essendon.
"I wouldn’t say I won it for my side. I was in the right place at the right time and the ball fell my way, but there was a lot that happened in the lead-up.
"It was good to contribute and to kick that goal was an amazing feeling and something I'm proud of," he said.
The Pies take a 3-1 record into Thursday's game against the unbeaten Bombers. Blair has spent more time than usual in the Collingwood midfield due to injuries to first-choice on-ballers Luke Ball and Dayne Beams.
He'll have his work cut out for him on Thursday. Both sides will have had just five days to prepare, with Blair saying this is the week the work the Pies put in at their pre-season altitude camp should come to the fore.
"It was one of the tougher we have had, at the next level of intensity and we were continually backing up those sessions day in and day out," he said.
Midfield work is tougher than ever, he explained, because there are fewer stoppages and players need to cover more ground with greater intensity.
"Over the summer, teams have to work harder," he said.
He added that the enormity of the occasion on Thursday would ensure that the players come up fresh after just five days.
"It’s a day that everyone wants to be a part of and I think that come Thursday, nobody's going to be feeling sore.
"It’s a massive day for Australia; we're pretty privileged to play in it and little niggles become irrelevant come Thursday."
Ashley Browne is an AFL Media senior writer. @afl_hashbrowne
