30 Facts About Peter Knights

Peter Knights was born on 30 March 1952 and is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League.

Peter Knights was one of the inaugural inductees when the Australian Football Hall of Fame was launched in 1996, and was appointed the eighth Legend in Hawthorn's Hall of Fame in 2017.

However, while Matthews' robust physique enabled him to play well over 300 games, Peter 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.

Peter Knights was one of two children born to Lindsay Thomas Peter Knights and his wife Fay, the other child being his sister Alison.

Peter Knights played football for Longwarry - which at the time was in the West Gippsland Football League - and attended Drouin High School, where in his final year he was named School Captain.

However, due to his busy schedule of constantly commuting to and from Melbourne for training and games with Hawthorn, Peter Knights was unable to attain the academic grades he wanted.

Peter Knights [Kennedy] was 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.

Peter Knights said to my parents it will help his [Knights'] footy and certainly help his schooling.

Conveniently for Peter Knights, he was able to stay with relatives in Canterbury, the prestigious suburb where Camberwell High School was situated.

Peter Knights 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.

Peter Knights became easily identifiable on the field with his blond hair and his ability to frequently take spectacular high marks.

Peter Knights was a great exponent of the drop kick and the torpedo punt kick.

Knights was moved briefly to full-forward in 1972 after a serious knee injury to Peter Hudson forced Hawthorn to experiment in the position before finally settling on Michael Moncrieff.

Peter Knights actually finished as Hawthorn's leading goal-kicking with 46 goals, but was moved back to defence before the season was over.

In 1975, Peter Knights finally had the chance to participate in the first of four Grand Finals.

Peter Knights was Hawthorn's best player on the day, and capped off a fine personal year by winning the club Best and Fairest award.

Peter Knights 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 Peter 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 in the 1978 Brownlow Medal count.

The litany of injuries that Peter 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, Peter Knights rebounded to play impressive football in his final years.

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

Peter Knights left the ground at three-quarter time and was taken to Fairfield Hospital after the game, suffering from vomiting and shaking.

Peter Knights 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.

Peter Knights was sacked as Brisbane Bears senior coach with seven games remaining in the 1989 season and replaced with team psychologist, Paul Feltham.

Peter 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.

Peter Knights returned to Hawthorn as senior coach for the 1994 AFL season.

Peter Knights managed to lead the team into the finals series, but were knocked out by North Melbourne in the first final.

In 2009, Peter Knights was appointed senior representative coach of the Victorian Country Football League and held the position until 2016.

Peter Knights had a son, Benjamin, in 1978 with his first wife Julie.

Peter Knights divorced and remarried Angela, a schoolteacher, and had two daughters, Sarah was born on 1993 and and Rebecca.