Vale Cameron Knight: Sport in the south-east of Melbourne has been numbed by the death of local sporting identity

Of course he did.

He was in it, bringing in a spectacular mark for Dandenong in the old VFA in 1993.

It was against Prahran and he took it from full-back, hitching a ride on the back of an opponent and sending teammate Scott Gilder sprawling.

Knight soared above Dandenong’s great ruckman Gary Milligan, a mountain of a man.

“Made ‘Spike’ (Milligan) look like a midget,’’ he liked to say.

When the photo was published in the local paper, he dropped into the office to pick up a few copies, ask about some prints and joke that he “got higher than Joe Cocker’’.

Hearts are heavy in the south-east of Melbourne after Knight’s death at the age of 51.

He had been on a family holiday in Bali and became ill with what his partner, Jodie Hollis, described as “Bali belly’’.

His condition deteriorated; he was placed in ICU in an induced coma as he battled sepsis, pneumonia, and kidney and liver infections.

He died yesterday.

Cameron Knight was a leading footballer and cricketer at a number of clubs in the south-east region.

His highest level was with Dandenong in the VFA, where he established himself as a full-back who liked nothing more than taking a high mark over an opponent or giving the ball a hoof with his left-foot.

Defend? He much preferred to attack.

“Gee, fair grab, wasn’t it?’’ former Dandenong senior coach Bradley Gotch said this morning when sent a copy of Knight’s speccie against Prahran.

He remembered him as a valuable player and a popular member of a tight-knit team that made the finals.

Knight had joined Dandenong after playing in a grand final team with Cora Lynn at the age of 18.

“He was a Tommy Alvin-type, a running backman with a raking left-foot,’’ former Cora Lynn teammate Terry Dillon said this morning.

After Dandy folded at the end of the 1994 VFL season, Knight went back to suburban level, joining Bayswater in the Eastern league and figuring in another flag.

Stints followed at clubs including Keysborough and Tyabb.

He played in Keysy’s 2000 grand final team.

Knight was also a tremendous all-rounder in the Dandenong District Cricket Association after starting with the North Dandenong juniors.

In 1997-98 he was part of North’s Turf 1 premiership, winning the club championship in a side that included David Bell, Brad Houghton, Greg Old, Adrian Baltruschaitis, and Glenn and Steve Finkelde.

Three years earlier he had played in the Richard Saniga-captained Endeavour Hills Turf 2 flag.

As captain-coach, Knight also had premiership success at Narre Warren in 2004-05.

In the DDCA he also coached Fountain Gate and Doveton, and played at Springvale South, and in the West Gippsland association he coached Cardinia.

DDCA hall-of-famer Craig Slocombe said this morning: “Cam was a champion cricketer. He swung the ball prodigiously into the right-handers and away from the lefties, and at times both ways, he was more than capable with the bat and he was a competitor, on and off the field. He loved the game and he played with his heart on his sleeve.

“We’ve lost a proper local sporting identity.

“One thing you always got with Cam was honesty, I thought. Whether you liked it or not was up to you. That was the beauty of him. You knew what you were getting.’’