Shannon Gill

was almost like taking special comments and analysis and creating an hour show around it, which, again, was revolutionary at the time because it's not what people were doing.

And Malcolm Blight is central.

He comes out, he's involved in it.

So his reputation grows in his time away, the two years he has away doing talking footy and doing commentary, his reputation grows exponentially.

It's an absolute hit, Talking Footy.

And I would argue everything that's come in footy media since has elements of what Talking Footy started.

So that was with Bruce McIverney and Mike Sheehan and Malcolm Blythe.

And this is special comments as rehab for coaches.

Yes.

Yes.

So it's, it's like, and it's what we're sort of dealing with now with coaches that are in the media is that is, is this rehab for coaches where they restore their reputation, they rehabilitate what, what they look for in a public sense and discover their, their love of the game.

And for Malcolm Blight,

It was important.

He had been a great coach at Geelong, lost three grand finals, unfortunately, which sort of sat with him, but goes on air, becomes this great figure of this new analysis, a new form of analysis of the game.

And by the time we get to 1997...

He has wanted to coach again and he's coaching the Adelaide Crows.

So speaking to Blighty about this, he says he mellowed a little bit.

Some would argue he didn't mellow at all because two games into it, he jumps onto Channel 7 and calls his Ruckman pathetic hitman.

But he said, well, his philosophy doesn't change, didn't change.

he was able to step back and he saw that the center square was where games were won and lost more.