Playing Career
Recruited from Brunswick, Greig made his debut for North Melbourne at the age of 19. From the beginning his technical brilliance did not go unnoticed, and he was picked for his first State Representative game after only having played nine senior VFL matches. Greig went on to represent the Big V 12 more times over his career, and was state captain in 1978.
In 1973, he pipped Richmond's Kevin Bartlett to win the Brownlow Medal with 27 votes. In 1974, he became only the eighth player in VFL history to win the Brownlow twice, again with 27 votes, and the fifth player to win it back-to-back. North made it to the 1974 VFL Grand Final, only their second appearance in a Grand Final. Unfortunately they would lose to Richmond, but Greig was one of North's best players.
The following year, North finally broke through for their first VFL premiership and again, Greig was among North's best players. Earlier in the year, he had been awarded membership of the Order of the British Empire for his services to football. With the retirement of Barry Davis, Greig was appointed club captain at the start of the 1976 VFL season. But it was a position he did not relish, and he resigned from the captaincy at the end of 1979, partly as a result of the relationship break down with coach Ron Barassi.
In Round 6 of the 1977 VFL season against Richmond, Greig injured his right knee in a collision. After six weeks on the sidelines, he played against Hawthorn but broke down the following week. Greig underwent surgery to repair the ligaments in the knee in July and subsequently missed out on the 1977 premiership. He was named an All-Australian in 1983.
Read more about this topic: Keith Greig
Famous quotes containing the words playing and/or career:
“Is not the tremendous strength in men of the impulse to creative work in every field precisely due to their feeling of playing a relatively small part in the creation of living beings, which constantly impels them to an overcompensation in achievement?”
—Karen Horney (1885–1952)
“A black boxer’s career is the perfect metaphor for the career of a black male. Every day is like being in the gym, sparring with impersonal opponents as one faces the rudeness and hostility that a black male must confront in the United States, where he is the object of both fear and fascination.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)