When twenty one year old Geoff Blethyn became the first Essendon player to bag a hundred goals in a season since the great John Coleman achieved the feat twenty years previously, it was under a fair amount of duress, mostly of his own making.“There were spectators out on the ground, with the police horses attempting to regain some order,” he told us. “Trying to be smart and gain a bit of ground, I ran too close to the horse, who proceeded to slobber all over my glasses, temporarily blinding me.”Fortunately, the ball never deviated on it's goalward journey, and Blethyn finished a tremendous season with a hundred and seven goals, second only to Collingwood full forward Peter McKenna, who booted 130. During that year he had collected five bags of seven plus eleven in a game against Footscray and was selected in a VFL All Star combination that played an exhibition match’s against Carlton in London, Greece and SingaporeThe sky seemed to be the limit for the bespectacled full forward from St Andrews.Blethyn's progression from an outstanding junior prospect appeared to be well on track, after heading the goal kicking every season in the Coburg and Northern Junior League, and representing the Essendon under nineteens as a fifteen year old. “I only went down to Windy Hill as company for my mate, Trevor Peauker, who was invited to Essendon,” Geoff said. “Playing my first game, I got a corked leg, and it was a bit daunting for a fifteen year old from the suburbs to experience the Essendon footy club medical rooms on a Sunday morning”Heading the under nineteens goal kicking tally in 1967 with 68 majors {equal with Rex Hunt}, Blethyn advanced to the reserves competition the following season and won the trophy in that grade with 75, making his league debut on Anzac Day in a baptism of fire against Carlton strong man, Wes Lofts.  “I got one kick,” he recalled. Selected for the grand final for his second game, the youngster showed his mettle by kicking four goals in a three point loss to the same side. After a couple of appearances at full forward in early 1969, Geoff was moved to the midfield. At six foot and twelve stone, Blethyn was a smart and agile footballer with a good pair of hands, and was capable of filling most roles. Over the next three seasons he excelled as a wingman and half forward, receiving the best utility player award in 1969 and 1971, and was awarded equal second most Essendon Brownlow Medal votes in 1969 before being equal third in 1971, the arrival of Des Tuddenham as coach despatching him promptly back to the goalsquare, where he vindicated the move in slashing fashion in 1972.The Essendon club and it's supporters were stunned when Geoff Blethyn was transferred in his employment to Perth in 1973. The misery of the Don supporters was matched by the joy of the lowly Claremont club's fans in the West when his signature was secured by the Tigers. And he didn't let them down, booting seventy goals from fifteen games. “I found it harder over in the West, with the Burley ball lighter than the Sherrin, making it difficult to judge in the wind,” he said. It was during that year that hamstring problems began to dog Blethyn, and recurrences were to hamper his performances for the remainder of his stay here. Selected for Western Australia for the June 2, 1973 clash with Victoria on the MCG, Geoff contributed one of the visitors ten goals when they suffered an eighty eight point thrashing. He recalled a Mal Brown moment in Mal’s first season at the Tigers, when the tempestuous big man jumped the fence to remonstrate with a heckler ten rows back. With two children and another on the way, Geoff and wife Sue returned to Melbourne in 1976, where, back with Essendon, he did a medial ligament against Geelong, but still headed his club's goal kicking list with thirty nine goals. After having played eighty four games at Essendon, Blethyn moved to Adelaide the following season, and lined up with Port, where he enjoyed his only premiership in league football as part of the 1977 win over Glenelg.It was Glenelg that Geoff attempted a comeback with three years later, but a car accident ruined any chance of success. His career was rounded off with a premiership at Glenelg as assistant coach to Graham Cornes in 1985, after also serving under Graeme Campbell. Carlton custodian Jeff Southby headed Geoff's list of toughest opponents, with Harvey Merrigan(Fitzroy) a close second, but there were plenty of others around in the seventies. One of a relative few players who played league football with glasses, Blethyn told us he had no trouble with them. “I tried contacts in 1968, but kept on losing them. It proved expensive for the club,” he said. “Then there were the steel lined frames, which opponents protested about, claiming they cut when tackled. I discovered All American nylon plastic frames, where the hardened glass lenses only came out at the front, and they never broke.” These days, Geoff Blethyn is a property advisor with his own business, “In Good Company Australia,” and is kept busy with clients around Australia and in Malaysia, but he is still a keen football fan. Geoff and Sue have four children, with  youngest boy, Jaran, playing in a recent South Australian Amateurs Grand Final with Phos Camden. Geoff Blethyn achieved greatness in the season of 1972, followed by an enforced move West. He was never to reach those heights again, but he remains one of Essendon's best ever full forwards.