Peter Knights (born 30 March 1952) is a former professional

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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played for in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL). After retiring as a player, he was appointed the inaugural coach of the and later returned to coach Hawthorn during the 1990s. Knights is regarded as one of the greatest centre half-backs to have ever played Australian rules football, thrilling and endearing himself to spectators with his fair play and superb skills, most notably his spectacular high marking and prodigious torpedo punt kicking. He was one of the inaugural inductees when the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the 1996 AFL season, centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media pe ...

was launched in 1996, and was appointed the eighth Legend in Hawthorn's Hall of Fame in 2017. Although considered unlucky not to win the game's highest individual honour, 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 the f ...

- having twice finished runner-up in the vote count - Knights was nonetheless part of three VFL premiership teams during a highly successful era for the Hawks. It was fortuitous for Hawthorn that Knights' career coincided with that of fellow Hawthorn and AFL champion

Leigh Matthews Leigh Raymond Matthews (born 1 March 1952) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He played for Hawthorn Football Club, Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL) and coached and the ...

, with both making their senior VFL debuts in the same year (1969) and also finishing their careers the same year (1985). However, while Matthews' robust physique enabled him to play well over 300 games, Knights - who was no less courageous in going for the ball - struggled to reach 250 games over the same time period due to the many serious injuries he suffered over the course of his playing career.

Playing career

Early years

Knights was one of two children born to Lindsay Thomas Knights and his wife Fay, the other child being his sister Alison. They were raised on the family dairy farm near the town of Longwarry, situated over 80 kilometres south-east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Knights played football for Longwarry - which at the time was in the West Gippsland Football League - and attended Drouin High School (now Drouin Secondary College), where in his final year (1970) he was named School Captain. However, due to his busy schedule of constantly commuting to and from Melbourne for training and games with Hawthorn, Knights was unable to attain the academic grades he wanted. Subsequently, Hawthorn coach John Kennedy sr. suggested that Knights repeat his year 12 studies at

Camberwell High School Camberwell High School is a Public school (government funded), government-funded, government run, co-educational high school for years 7 to 12, located on Prospect Hill Road in Canterbury, Victoria, Canterbury, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Au ...

. Upon Kennedy's passing in 2020, Knights reminisced fondly about that time:

''He ennedywas very high up in the education department at that time, on the teachers' tribunal, and he strongly recommended to my parents that young Peter should come to Melbourne and do his schooling in Melbourne. He said to my parents it will help his nights'footy and certainly help his schooling... I was so intimidated about doing that but, as it turned out, it was the best move I could have made.''

Conveniently for Knights, he was able to stay with relatives in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

, the prestigious suburb where Camberwell High School was situated. The school was also near

Glenferrie Oval Glenferrie Oval is an Australian rules football stadium located in Hawthorn, Victoria, Hawthorn, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the historic home of, and is synonymous with, the Hawthorn Football Club, who played there from ...

, Hawthorn's home ground at the time. He was in his own words a "quiet and shy" country kid when he arrived at Hawthorn, and it would be champion rover Peter Crimmins who helped Knights settle in at the club. He became easily identifiable on the field with his blond hair and his ability to frequently take spectacular high

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

. He was also a great exponent of the drop kick and the torpedo punt kick. After playing only five games in his debut season, Knights established himself in the first team in 1970. The following year he did so well in that position that he was chosen for Victoria, winning the Simpson Medal for the best on ground in the match against

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

in Perth. However, he missed out on Hawthorn's 1971 premiership success due to a knee injury. Knights was moved briefly to full-forward in 1972 after a serious knee injury to

Peter Hudson Peter John Hudson Order of Australia, AM (born 19 February 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (1897–1989), Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the New ...

forced Hawthorn to experiment in the position before finally settling on Michael Moncrieff. He actually finished as Hawthorn's leading goal-kicking with 46 goals, but was moved back to defence before the season was over. After injury problems restricted his 1973 season, for the next three years Knights was rated the best centre half-back in the game. In 1975, Knights finally had the chance to participate in the first of four Grand Finals.

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

were too good on the day, winning their first-ever Premiership. Knights was Hawthorn's best player on the day, and capped off a fine personal year by winning the club Best and Fairest award.

Premiership Success

Knights' stellar form continued into 1976 before he suffered a broken

collarbone The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavicle is the ...

early in the match against in Round 14, which ruled him out for the next seven matches. Despite this, Knights still managed to come second in the 1976 Brownlow Medal count, polling an astonishing 45 votes to finish three votes behind Essendon's Graham Moss. He shrugged off that disappointment to be one of Hawthorn's best players in the 1976 VFL Grand Final triumph, later joining some of his teammates at Peter Crimmins' bedside. From 1977 onwards Knights was frequently rested up forward to reduce the risk of injuries, but still did enough great work at centre half-back to finish one vote behind

Malcolm Blight Malcolm Jack Blight AM (born 16 February 1950) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and Woodville Football Club in the South Australian Na ...

in the 1978 Brownlow Medal count. He would shrug off the disappointment of finishing runner-up in the Brownlow by starring in the 1978 VFL Grand Final. After being knocked out while playing in defence, Knights was moved forward in the last quarter, where he took a series of fine marks and kicked two goals to help secure Hawthorn's fourth Premiership. During his stellar 1978 season Knights also claimed his second Simpson Medal with a dominant display for Victoria against WA in Perth.

Later Playing Years

The litany of injuries that Knights had suffered through his career began to catch up with him, and from 1979 to 1981, he played in only 26 out of a possible 66 games. Amid rumours of retirement, Knights rebounded to play impressive football in his final years. In 1983, he booted six goals in the Qualifying Final to guide Hawthorn to a thrilling four-point win against Fitzroy, and was again among the best players on the field as the Hawks crushed in the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

. Knights reached the 250-game milestone the following season against , gathering 23 possessions and kicking two goals, but a knee injury restricted him to just three further games. In the lead-up to the

1985 VFL season The 1985 VFL season was the 89th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 23 March until 28 September, and comprised a ...

, Knights endured more misfortune when he fell ill during a Reserves match against Essendon at VFL Park on 23 March. He left the ground at three-quarter time and was taken to Fairfield Hospital after the game, suffering from vomiting and shaking. While heat exhaustion had been ruled out, the illness was thought to be a mysterious virus and kept Knights in hospital for several days. Once back into the senior side, Knights showed traces of brilliant form – kicking nine goals against in Round 10. The Preliminary Final against would turn out to be his final VFL game. He had just four disposals, and was dropped for the Grand Final, a surprising decision for some people, given his reputation as a performer on the VFL's biggest stage. Yet again, Knights would bounce back from the disappointment to finish his career in a semblance of style, kicking a bag of goals to help Hawthorn defeat Carlton in the reserves Grand Final.

Coaching career

Although Knights enjoyed spectacular success on the field, it was a different story as a senior coach. However, it should also be remembered that he was in charge of teams that were either relatively new and inexperienced (Brisbane), or undergoing restructuring (Hawthorn).

Brisbane Bears senior coach

In 1986, the VFL decided to expand and include one team each from

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. The

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Bears were a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, now known as the Brisbane Lions. Granted a Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL), licence in 1986, ...

, based on the Gold Coast in

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...

, recruited Knights as their inaugural senior coach, despite his lack of coaching experience. The club won their first game, and although expectations of the new side were low, it was considered a significant achievement that the team was able to avoid finishing last in their first season. Despite this, the Bears' results in 1988 and 1989 failed to improve, with the club suffering regular thrashings. Besides the substandard quality of the training and playing facilities, lack of assistance from the VFL, and squad disharmony, Knights also had limited control over team selection; part way through the

1988 VFL season 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United States (National ...

, he wanted star signing

Warwick Capper Warwick Richard Capper (born 12 June 1963) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans and the Brisbane Bears in the Australian Football League (AFL), known before 1990 as the Victorian Football League (VFL). An acc ...

dropped from the senior team due to poor form, but was overruled by club president Paul Cronin. Knights was sacked as Brisbane Bears senior coach with seven games remaining in the 1989 season and replaced with team

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

Paul Feltham Paul Feltham (1 October 1948 – 19 December 2019) was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He played 154 games for and in the Victorian Football League between 1970 and 1978, and later served as the caretaker senior coach of the Brisbane ...

. Knights was considered to have been unlucky, as ineffective club management and poor relationships amongst his underperforming players seen as major contributing factors in the club's performance.

Devonport Football Club

Kneights then went to do brief coaching stint at Tasmanian club Devonport from 1990 to 1993,

Hawthorn Football Club senior coach

Knights returned to Hawthorn as senior coach for the 1994 AFL season. He managed to lead the team into the finals series, but were knocked out by in the first final. The following year the team finished second last, however, and Knights was again sacked.

Other coaching roles

In 2009, Knights was appointed senior representative coach of the

Victorian Country Football League AFL Victoria Country is an Australian rules football governing body with jurisdiction over the state of Victoria outside metropolitan Melbourne on behalf of AFL Victoria. As well as administering and promoting the code in the regions, it often ar ...

and held the position until 2016.

Statistics

Playing statistics

, - ,

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

, , , , 24 , 5 , , 3 , , 1 , , 34 , , 9 , , 43 , , 10 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 6.8 , , 1.8 , , 8.6 , , 2.0 , , 0 , - ,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, , , , 24 , 18 , , 5 , , 0 , , 265 , , 28 , , 293 , , 84 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 14.7 , , 1.6 , , 16.3 , , 4.7 , , 4 , - ,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, , , , 24 , 22 , , 4 , , 1 , , 320 , , 29 , , 349 , , 130 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 14.5 , , 1.3 , , 15.9 , , 5.9 , , 2 , - ,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, , , , 24 , 20 , , 46 , , 27 , , 247 , , 15 , , 262 , , 111 , , 2.3 , , 1.4 , , 12.4 , , 0.8 , , 13.1 , , 5.6 , , 9 , - ,

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, , , , 24 , 15 , , 8 , , 5 , , 157 , , 30 , , 187 , , 50 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 10.5 , , 2.0 , , 12.5 , , 3.3 , , 3 , - ,

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, , , , 24 , 24 , , 1 , , 1 , , 328 , , 39 , , 367 , , 121 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 13.7 , , 1.6 , , 15.3 , , 5.0 , , 6 , - ,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, , , , 24 , 23 , , 3 , , 4 , , 326 , , 35 , , 361 , , 123 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 14.2 , , 1.5 , , 15.7 , , 5.3 , , 9 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

1976 Events January * January 2 – 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 18 – Full diplomatic ...

^# , , , , 24 , 18 , , 2 , , 0 , , 241 , , 46 , , 287 , , 76 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 13.4 , , 2.6 , , 15.9 , , 4.2 , , 45 , - ,

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, , , , 24 , 19 , , 15 , , 8 , , 222 , , 70 , , 292 , , 82 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 11.7 , , 3.7 , , 15.4 , , 4.3 , , 5 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

^# , , , 24 , , 22 , , 8 , , 10 , , 329 , , 105 , , 434 , , 142 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 15.0 , , 4.8 , , 19.7 , , 6.5 , , 21 , - ,

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, , , , 24 , 11 , , 10 , , 7 , , 143 , , 54 , , 197 , , 53 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 13.0 , , 4.9 , , 17.9 , , 4.8 , , 5 , - ,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, , , , 24 , 7 , , 1 , , 3 , , 79 , , 24 , , 103 , , 25 , , 0.1 , , 0.4 , , 11.3 , , 3.4 , , 14.7 , , 3.6 , , 0 , - ,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, , , , 24 , 8 , , 1 , , 2 , , 91 , , 39 , , 130 , , 47 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 11.4 , , 4.9 , , 16.3 , , 5.9 , , 5 , - ,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, , , , 24 , 14 , , 14 , , 18 , , 141 , , 52 , , 193 , , 54 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 10.1 , , 3.7 , , 13.8 , , 3.9 , , 2 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

^# , , , , 24 , 21 , , 38 , , 29 , , 279 , , 108 , , 387 , , 144 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , 13.3 , , 5.1 , , 18.4 , , 6.9 , , 7 , - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, , , , 24 , 4 , , 5 , , 3 , , 33 , , 13 , , 46 , , 21 , , 1.3 , , 0.8 , , 8.3 , , 3.3 , , 11.5 , , 5.3 , , 0 , - ,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, , , , 24 , 13 , , 37 , , 19 , , 121 , , 23 , , 144 , , 75 , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , 9.3 , , 1.8 , , 11.1 , , 5.8 , , 3 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 264 !! 201 !! 138 !! 3356 !! 719 !! 4075 !! 1348 !! 0.8 !! 0.5 !! 12.7 !! 2.7 !! 15.4 !! 5.1 !! 126

Coaching statistics

, - ,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, , , 22 , , 6 , , 16 , , 0 , , 27.3% , , 13 , , 14 , - ,

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, , , 22 , , 7 , , 15 , , 0 , , 31.8% , , 13 , , 14 , - ,

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, , , 15 , , 3 , , 12 , , 0 , , 20.0% , , , , 14 , - ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, , , 23 , , 13 , , 10 , , 0 , , 56.5% , , 6 , , 15 , - ,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, , , 22 , , 7 , , 15 , , 0 , , 31.8% , , 15 , , 16 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=2, Career totals ! 104 !! 36 !! 68 !! 0 !! 34.6% ! colspan=2,

Honours and achievements

Playing

Team * 3× VFL premiership player ():

* 2×

Minor premiership A minor premiership is the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the finals in several Australian sports leagues. Origins The etymolo ...

():

Individual * 2× Peter Crimmins Perpetual Memorial Trophy: 1975, 1978 * Hawthorn leading goalkicker: 1972 * 2×

Victoria Australian rules football team The Victoria Australian rules football team, known colloquially as the Big V, is the state representative side of Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia, in the sport of Australian rules football. The Big V has a proud history, dominating th ...

: 1971,

* 2×

Simpson Medal The Simpson Medal is an individual prize awarded for Australian rules football in Western Australia. The medal has been donated by Dr Fred Simpson and family since 1945. Simpson Medals are currently awarded to the following players: *The best pl ...

: 1971, 1978 * Australian Football Media Association Player of the Year: 1976 * 3× Mark of the Year: 1972, 1975, 1977 *

inductee * Hawthorn Hall of Fame inductee – Legend status * Hawthorn Team of the century

Coaching

Individual *

Queensland Australian rules football team In Queensland, Australian rules football (known mainly as "AFL") dates back to the colonial era in 1866, with organised competitions being continuous since the 1900s. Today, it is most popular in South East Queensland and the Cairns Region. The ...

Personal life

Knights had a son, Benjamin, in 1978 with his first wife Julie. He divorced and remarried Angela, a schoolteacher, and had two daughters, Sarah (born 1993) and Rebecca. In February 2015, Knights publicly revealed that Sarah had been struggling with a mystery illness that left her confined to a wheelchair. Sarah and her mother flew to Germany for specialist treatment, where a diagnosis of

Lyme disease Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a tick-borne disease caused by species of ''Borrelia'' bacteria, Disease vector, transmitted by blood-feeding ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. It is the most common disease spread by ticks in th ...

was confirmed. They returned to Melbourne later in the year to commence intensive rehabilitation.

References

External links

* * *
AFL Hall of Fame - Players
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knights, Peter 1946 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Peter Crimmins Medal winners Hawthorn Football Club players Hawthorn Football Club premiership players Hawthorn Football Club coaches Brisbane Bears coaches Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Devonport Football Club coaches Victorian State of Origin players VFL/AFL premiership players