AFL legend Malcolm Blight has revealed he was approached by Hawthorn to replace Peter Schwab as the club's senior coach at the end of 2004.
Blight told SEN’s Whateley that former Hawks president Ian Dicker was eager to bring the two-time Adelaide premiership coach to Glenferrie Oval.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever said this to you before, but towards the end of 2004 when Peter Schwab was going Ian Dicker, the then president of Hawthorn, rang me three or four times,” Blight said.
“He was really keen for me to come and have a really serious chat about coaching Hawthorn. This is at the end of 2004.
“Sometimes I look back and see what Alastair’s done, 17 years later, I don’t think I would have been in that camp, but what a great job he has done.
“If I knew they were going to draft all those good players, I might have said yes at the time.
After meeting with Dicker “three or four times” Blight ultimately turned down the opportunity to coach Hawthorn.
The Hawks then landed on Alastair Clarkson as their next senior coach – the rest, as they say, was history.
“What he (Dicker) wanted to do, and I get what he wanted to do, Ron Cook got (Allan) ‘Yabby’ Jeans to the club, that older head that had been around a bit after they’d been through some hardships,” Blight said.
“He thought that would be a great legacy he could leave to the club.
“It was a great sale from him, and I enjoyed the conversations with him, it just didn’t suit me at the time and as it turned out, they got the young premiership coach from Central District in Adelaide.
“That’s one of the great things about Alastair’s background.
“It’s not a must, but I think you are much better prepared by doing that than being an assistant coach, I don’t care what anyone says.”
Clarkson, a four-time premiership coach, will take charge of Hawthorn for the final time against Richmond at the MCG on Saturday.