John Blair (born 17 March 1955) is a former

Australian rules football 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 k ...

er who played with the South Melbourne Football Club,

Fitzroy Football Club The Fitzroy Football Club is an Australian rules football club currently competing in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). Formed in 1883 to represent the inner-Melbourne municipality of Fitzroy, the club was a member of the Vi ...

and

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club ...

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). It ...

(VFL). He has since become a successful coach in Queensland and is currently senior coach of the

Aspley Football Club Aspley Football Club, nicknamed the Hornets, is an Australian rules football club based in the northern-Brisbane suburb of Aspley. The club competes in multiple Queensland-based competitions, including in the Queensland Australian Football Leagu ...

. A utility, Blair spent a lot of his career as a centre-half back but was also used up forward. He had begun his career at

Noble Park Football Club The Noble Park Football Club is an Australian rules football club that fields teams in both the seniors and juniors of the Eastern Football League (EFL) in Melbourne. The club is considered one of Victoria’s most successful breeding grounds f ...

and it was from there was he was recruited to South Melbourne. He made his VFL debut in 1975, against Footscray at

Waverley Park Waverley Park (also and originally called VFL Park) was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian-based Victorian Football ...

, but it was the only game he played that season. Over the next two years he put together 23 senior appearances, only to be traded to Fitzroy during the 1978 season. He didn't play a VFL match in 1979 and in 1980 was playing for his third club, St Kilda. He appeared just twice for St Kilda and left at the end of the year, to captain-coach Queensland club Morningside. Blair, who won the

Grogan Medal The Grogan Medal is an Australian rules football award given to the best and fairest player in home and away rounds of each season's Queensland State League (Australian rules football), QAFL/Queensland State League competition. From 2011 to presen ...

in 1982, steered Morningside to the

QAFL The Queensland Australian Football League (QAFL) is an Australian rules football competition organised by the AFL Queensland, contested by clubs from South East Queensland. Previously known as the Queensland Football League (QFL), Queensland ...

grand final ever year from 1982 to 1984. Each time they lost, but Blair would later play in a premiership with Windsor-Zillmere in 1988, before retiring. He had been their best forward that season, with 96 goals. It was the second time he had been the league's leading goal-kicker, having kicked 86 goals with Morningside in 1985. Before coming to Windsor-Zillmere, he had a brief stint with Sandgate. During the 1980s he had been a regular interstate football representative, playing for Queensland 19 times. In the early 1990s, Blair was involved in coaching with the

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Football Club, nicknamed the Bears, was a professional Australian rules football club based in Queensland on the Gold Coast (relocated to Brisbane in 1993). The club participated in the Victorian/Australian Football League (VFL/A ...

and after some time away returned to the QAFL in 2002 to again coach Morningside. He twice coached them to back to back premierships, first in 2003 and 2004, then again in 2009 and 2010. In total he has coached 11 QAFL grand finals, for a return of five premierships. He is the father of television actress,

Natalie Blair Natalie Louise Blair (born 16 April 1984) is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Carmella Cammeniti on the Australian television series ''Neighbours''. Personal life Blair was born to John Blair on 16 April 1984 and raised in Gol ...

, and the uncle of Collingwood premiership player Jarryd Blair.''Courier Mail''
"The 27-year Brisbane visit"
4 August 2007. Bernie Pramberg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, John 1955 births Sydney Swans players Fitzroy Football Club players St Kilda Football Club players Casey Demons players Morningside Australian Football Club players Zillmere Eagles Australian Football Club players Sandgate Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Living people