Geoffrey Russell Blethyn (born 28 October 1950) is a former leading

Australian rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by ...

footballer who played with

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). I ...

(VFL),

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ** Claremont Football Club, West Australian Footba ...

in the

Western Australian Football League The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The league currently consists of ten teams, which play each other in a 20-round season usually lasting from March to September ...

(WAFL) and

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

in the

South Australian Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as th ...

(SANFL).

Family

The son of Oliver Blethyn (1910-2004), and Honor Evelyn Blethyn (1917-2000), née Searle, Geoffrey Russell Blethyn was born at

Moreland, Victoria The City of Merri-bek is a local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD. The Merri-bek local government area covers , and in June 2018, ...

on 28 October 1950.

Football career

Essendon (1968–1972)

full-forward Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals. The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player, often a full-forward, who has kicked the most goals in an Australian Football League se ...

, Blethyn had a slim frame and famously wore glasses on the field. He made his debut in April 1968 when he was selected on the half-forward flank in place of the injured

Alan Noonan Alan John Noonan (13 October 1947 – 13 April 2011) was an Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of ...

. He kicked four goals in Essendon's 1968 Grand Final loss to

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

, and had his most prolific game up forward when he kicked 11 goals against Footscray during the

1972 VFL season The 1972 VFL season was the 76th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 1 April until 7 October, and comprised a 22- ...

. 1972 was a record breaking-year for Blethyn—he finished it with 107 goals and became the first Essendon player since John Coleman in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

to kick over 100 in a season. However, he missed out on the

Coleman Medal The Coleman Medal is an Australian rules football award given annually to the Australian Football League (AFL) player who kicks the most goals in the home-and-away season. It is named after Essendon full-forward John Coleman, one of the most ...

to Collingwood's

Peter McKenna Peter McKenna (born 27 August 1946 in Brunswick West, Victoria) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Collingwood and Carlton in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s and 1970s. He also represented Devonport ...

, who kicked 130 goals for the season.

Claremont (1973–1975)

From 1973 to 1975 Blethyn played for WAFL club Claremont.

Essendon (1976)

Blethyn returned to Essendon in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

,Sheahan, M., "Ex-Bomber Blethyn Keen to Return", ''The Age'', (Wednesday, 14 January 1978), p.22.
/ref> where he topped his team's goalkicking table with 39 goals. It was the third time Blethyn had finished a season as Essendon's top goalkicker, having previously done so in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

and 1972.

Port Adelaide (1977)

Blethyn left Essendon for good in 1977 when he transferred to

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as th ...

club Port Adelaide. In that season, he played in the only premiership side of his career.

After football

Blethyn currently lives in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

and works as a property advisor.Hanlon, P. "Blethyn specs a tall order", ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territo ...

'', 26 June 2013, http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/blethyn-specs-a-tall-order-20130625-2ov7y.html

Notes

Bibliography

* Maplestone, M., ''Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996'', Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. * Ross, J. (ed), ''100 Years of Australian Football 1897–1996: The Complete Story of the AFL, All the Big Stories, All the Great Pictures, All the Champions, Every AFL Season Reported'', Viking, (Ringwood), 1996.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blethyn, Geoff 1950 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Essendon Football Club players Port Adelaide Football Club (SANFL) players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) Claremont Football Club players People from Coburg, Victoria