[1] He is one of few players to win back-to-back Brownlow Medals and was an inaugural inductee in the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
From the beginning his technical brilliance did not go unnoticed,[3] and he was picked for his first State Representative game after only having played nine senior VFL matches.
But it was a position he did not relish,[1] and he resigned from the captaincy at the end of 1979, partly as a result of the relationship break down with coach Ron Barassi.
[6] Although Barassi was known for saying things he later regretted when in an angry mood, one particular insult hurt Greig deeply: "If it wasn't for football you'd be nothing but a shit plumber".
As Greig recalled:I told Barassi if he left me alone and let me do my own thing we would be OK. And that's what happened – Barass didn't speak to me for the entire 1980 season and consequently I won the best-and-fairest that year.
[6]In the 1975 Birthday Honours, Greig was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to football.
In 2019, Greig was named at #2 in North Melbourne's greatest ever players at a special function to celebrate the club's 150-year anniversary.