Malcolm Blight. North Melbourne v Carlton, 1976.

The mercurial Blight was instrumental to North Melbourne’s success in the mid 1970s, and his value to the team was never more apparent than one soggy day at Princes Park.

Carlton were leading North when Blight sparked a Roos comeback. He kicked four last-quarter goals, three of them in time-on. The last came deep into time-on, with North down by five points, after he edged out opponent Mark McClure to mark about 70m from goal.

As Blight went back for his kick, the siren sounded.

His task looked impossible. Such a long way from goal, a heavy, wet ball and tired legs. Blight hung his head for a second then stuttered into his kick.

Somehow he unleashed a booming torpedo punt that passed OVER the goals more than 70m away.

The goal not only handed the Roos a famous five-point victory, it became the most-replayed after-the-siren kick in football history.

Mike Williamson’s hysterical call -- “It’s a big kick, it’s a mammoth kick, wwooaaahh, I have seen it all!’’ -- captured the moment perfectly.

Gary Ablett Snr Geelong v North Melbourne, 1994 preliminary final

While Blight’s goal was the most memorable after-the-siren winner, it was far from the most important. In 1994, Geelong could thank “God” for getting them into the grand final after Gary Ablett senior nailed a goal after the siren in the preliminary final.

With scores tied and seconds left in an epic battle, what would happen next maybe shouldn’t have. Ablett, held by hard-nosed North defender Mick Martyn to just four disposals, one mark and two goals to that point, marked a floater from Leigh Tudor in the goal square as the siren blew.

A dejected Martyn sat on his haunches and Ablett went back and slotted the goal to send the Cats into a grand final. But there would be no fairytale the following week: West Coast thrashed the Cats.

Gary Buckenara Hawthorn v Melbourne 1987 preliminary final

Ablett was not the first to put his team into the decider with a pressure kick after the siren. Seven years before, Hawthorn were trailing Melbourne in the preliminary final when the Hawks’ gun West Australian recruit Gary Buckenara took a mark about 50 metres out on an angle.

As the siren sounded, Melbourne’s rookie Irish recruit, Jim Stynes, ran over the mark, gifting Buckenara a 15m penalty. Closer to the goal, the kick was a near-certainty. Though Buckenara later said he would have kicked it from beyond 50 regardless. As for Stynes, who died in 2012, the mistake ignited his passion for the game.

He returned to Australia to play the following season and was a Brownlow medallist four years later. “As soon as I darted off the line I was on, I just knew, I just went, ‘Oh no’,’’ Stynes said in an interview. “It was horrible. My dad was there. My mum was there. It was the first game of footy they ever saw.’

Karmichael Hunt Gold Coast v Richmond 2011

Few after-the-siren winning goals were as celebrated as rugby league convert Karnichael Hunt’s pressure kick for Gold Coast Suns against Richmond in Cairns which gave the fledgling club a rare win.

Down by 18 points in the final term, the Suns surged home with two goals. With less than a minute remaining, they surged forward from the next centre bounce, where Brandon Matera hit Hunt 25m out with a beautiful pass.

The ex Broncos and Satte of Origin star showed great composure to slot the match-deciding shot before being mobbed by his teammates.

“I was in the forward line and just wanted to get free and some space,” he said of the key play.

“Gazza’s (Ablett) got the mindset as me. He said, ‘Look, if you miss it don’t worry about it. Take the pressure off yourself’.”

Ash McGrath Brisbane v Geelong 2013

Sometimes the footy gods just smile on you. The Brisbane Lions have had a rugged time of it since their triple-premierships. One of the last survivors of the glory years was Ash McGrath who celebrated his 200th game in the best way possible, taking a last-second mark and booting a 50m goal after the hooter to give the Lions an upset win over Geelong in 2013. It was one of that season’s most dramatic moments, as Brisbane had fought back from 52 points down in the third quarter to win.

Ben Dixon Hawthorn v Carlton 2001

“Seconds remaining, they’ve got to take a mark ...” It was Round 17. Carlton and Hawthorn were separated by one win in the top eight and both were pushing hard for the all-important double chance leading into the finals.

The match was close with Carlton having the edge, leading by 20 points going into the final term. The Hawks fought back hard but it looked as time was against them - repeated thrusts into the forward line desperately beaten back by the Blues. Then with seconds to spare, Ben Dixon tooka pack mark. The siren blew and he lined up for his shot from about 30m surrounded by nine Carlton opponents trying to put him off. They failed.

Nic Naitanui West Coast v North Melbourne 2013

The exciting West Coast ruckman got the Eagles out of jail with this buzzer-beater in 2013. North led at every change and by 15 points midway through the final quarter before Naitanui sent the crowd into raptures with a soaring mark and set shot conversion.

Jeff Farmer Fremantle v Melbourne 2002

He was known as the Wizard and in 118 games he kicked 259 goals for Melbourne and played in a grand final before returning to his native WA to play with Fremantle from 2002. When Melbourne travelled to Perth for their first meeting since his switch, the match was a thriller and it was The Wiz who had the final say, drawing a freekick in the final moments to goal after the siren and get the Dockers up by five points.

Simon Beasley Footscray v Collingwood, 1984

Not quite “after” the siren, but close enough. There is a golden rule in footy. If you’re leading and the game is almost done and you’re in the backline, head wide. Collingwood’s Graeme “Gubby” Allen didn’t when he was paid a freekick in the back pocket against Footscray at the Western Oval in 1984 and paid the price.

He chipped across goal to a teammate only for The Bulldogs’ full forward, Simon Beasley, to back-pedal and itaken an intercept mark about 20m out, straight in front. The Bulldogs got up by five points.

Four years later, Beasley was at the centre of farcical scenes at Carrara when he missed a shot that would have won the game for the Dogs over the Brisbane Bears. As he lined up his shot after the siren, Bears players sat on top of each other’s shoulders and the crowd invaded the field, successfully putting the full forward off his kick.

Tony Lockett Sydney v Essendon 1996 preliminary final

Tony Lockett kicked more goals in the VFL/AFL than anybody else but it’s a minor score which was his most important kick. Scores were level in the 1996 preliminary final between Sydney and Essendon when “Plugger” marked on the 50m arc. The siren blew and as commentator said “any score will do”. Lockett’s kicked sailed through for a point. The Swans were through to their first grand final in 51 years and the money spent luring Lockett north was well-spent.

The worst after-the-siren misses

Of course, after-the-siren dreams can turn to nightmares. It happens that a player buckles under the pressure and fluffs his chance at glory.

Two stand out.

In 1977, a year after his famous monster torpedo punt, Malcolm Blight had another chance to win North the match against Hawthorn played in appalling conditions at Arden Street.

Blight won a free in the dying seconds and kicked a behind to tie the scores. But a Hawthorn player had infringed so he was given the option of retaking the kick. He did, and missed everything, handing the Hawks the win.

But spare a thought for this bloke.

In the 1903 grand final Fitzroy’s captain and key forward, Gerald Brosnan, had a chance to win the game after marking a pass from teammate Percy Trotter 30m out from goal. The final bell rang as he took the kick and he hit the post. The Magpies won by two points.

Oh, the agony.