Keith Southby Greig (born 23 October 1951) 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 for the
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Kangaroos also ...
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).
Red-haired and pale-skinned, Greig was regarded as one of the most graceful players of his era with superb ball-handling skills. His stamina and free-flowing running style made him a perfect wingman, but in his later years he was used more as a half back flanker.
[Holmesby & Main, 2007, p. 308] He is one of few players to win back-to-back
Brownlow Medal
The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...
s and was an inaugural inductee in the
Australian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...
.
Playing career
Greig played his junior football for
Brunswick in the
Victorian Football Association
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 ...
, and in 1968 he won the
Gillon Medal as the best and fairest in the VFA Thirds competition. He was recruited to the VFL by , at the age of 19. From the beginning his technical brilliance did not go unnoticed,
[Hutchinson and Ross, 1998, p. 271] 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 won the
Brownlow Medal
The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...
with 27 votes. In 1974, he became the eighth player to win the Brownlow twice, again with 27 votes, and the fifth player to win it back-to-back. North played in the
1974 VFL Grand Final, their second appearance in a Grand Final. They lost to , but Greig was one of North's best players.
The
following year, North won 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
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
for his services to football.
With the retirement of
Barry Davis, Greig was appointed club captain at the start of the
1976 VFL season
The 1976 VFL season was the 80th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 3 April until 25 September, and comprised a 22 ...
. But it was a position he did not relish,
and he resigned from the captaincy at the end of
1979
Events
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, partly as a result of the relationship break down with coach Ron Barassi.
In Round 6 of the
1977 VFL season
The 1977 VFL season was the 81st season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 2 April until 1 October, and comprised a 22-g ...
against , Greig injured his right knee in a collision. After six weeks on the sidelines, he played against 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
The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...
in 1983. Greig's final VFL match was the 1985 semi-final against , which North Melbourne lost by 30 points.
Relationship with Ron Barassi
To many outside observers, the partnership between Greig as captain and coach
Ron Barassi
Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated into ...
during the 1970s was among the best in the league. But in 2004, Greig revealed in an interview that the relationship became so strained that at the end of 1979 he resigned the captaincy and came close to leaving the club.
Although Barassi was known for saying things he later regretted when in an angry mood, one particular insult hurt Greig deeply: "If it wasn't for football you'd be nothing but a shit plumber".
(Greig worked as a plumber at a time when footballers had occupations outside of football).
It was not until a meeting at club secretary Ron Joseph's office had been arranged that an agreement between the now ex-captain and coach was reached. As Greig recalled:
I told Barassi if he left me alone and let me do my own thing we would be OK. And that's what happened – Barass didn't speak to me for the entire 1980 season and consequently I won the best-and-fairest that year. I had been with him for seven years but by the end of '79 I had become tired of his ways.
Greig and Barassi appeared to be reconciled:
Barassi told me later that the 'shit plumber' remark was the worst thing he'd said in footy. We were never good mates, never been close, but we get along OK now. I even went to his testimonial last year, so we're fine now.
Post-football life and honours
In the
1975 Birthday Honours, Greig was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) for services to football.
In 1992, Greig returned to North Melbourne as chairman of selectors.
He is a life member of North Melbourne, and was selected in the AFL Team of the Century as a wingman. In 1996, Greig was inducted into the
Australian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coa ...
. He was also named on the wing in North Melbourne's Team of the Century.
In 2019, Greig was named at #2 in North Melbourne’s greatest ever players at a special function to celebrate the club’s 150-year anniversary. He was also present at the newly renovated
Arden Street Oval
Arden Street Oval (also known as North Melbourne Cricket Ground) is a sports oval in North Melbourne, Victoria, North Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It is currently the training base of the North Melbourne Football Club, an Australia ...
when North's VFL team played for their first league game since
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
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** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, in which Greig had played his 290th game.
References
Bibliography
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External links
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AFL Hall of Fame - Players*
Keith Greig's MBE record at It's an Honour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greig, Keith
Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia)
All-Australians (1953–1988)
1951 births
Living people
Brownlow Medal winners
Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees
North Melbourne Football Club players
North Melbourne Football Club Premiership players
Syd Barker Medal winners
Brunswick Football Club players
Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire
Victorian State of Origin players
One-time VFL/AFL Premiership players
North Melbourne Football Club administrators