Tony Lockett

When Lockett arrived at St Kilda in 1983, the club was going through a period of decline on and off the field; in his first four seasons at Moorabbin, the Saints would finish at the bottom of the ladder. As a teenager coming out of Ballarat for the first time, Lockett was constantly homesick in his early years and eventually St Kilda conceded to his desire to travel from home when required.[1]
Lockett made his senior VFL debut in Round 4 against Geelong at VFL Park. There was a high degree of controversy surrounding this game since the Saints, after seeking legal advice, decided to include Sydney's Paul Morwood in their line-up without a clearance from the Swans or a permit from the League. According to the rules at the time, if the Saints had won, they would have risked forfeiting the premiership points.[8] As it turned out, they went down in a spirited effort by 11 points. Lockett joined a special group of VFL/AFL players when he goaled with his first kick, but had an otherwise quiet debut with only five disposals and four marks.
Lockett was supposed to be understudy to the enigmatic Mark Jackson, whom the Saints had brought in from Melbourne on a three-year contract. But after Jackson was sacked mid-season, Lockett was given the role and finished the season with a modest return of 19 goals in 12 games.

In the opening game of 1984, the Saints were up against the previous season's runner-up Essendon at Moorabbin. starting up at full forward, Lockett matched his Essendon counterpart Paul Salmon goal for goal in an entertaining game which the Bombers won by 37 points after a tight first half. Both Lockett and Salmon would end up with seven goals. Lockett showed a glimpse of his explosive best in the third quarter when he kicked three goals in a four-minute spell, and beat a succession of opponents to be considered the Saints' best player.[9]

Lockett was now recognised as one of the VFL's star forwards, and teams were trying to find players who could physically match him. In St Kilda's opening game of the 1986 VFL season against Footscray at Western Oval, Lockett was reported by four umpires for striking Bulldogs captain Rick Kennedy during the third quarter. Lockett pleaded guilty to the charge, claiming he had been provoked, and was suspended for two matches.[10]

St Kilda's fortunes were finally about to turn when premiership captain Darrel Baldock was appointed coach for 1987 while still serving in the Parliament of Tasmania. He appointed Danny Frawley captain, having identified leadership qualities in the then 23-year-old full back, gave regular game time to newcomers Nathan Burke and Nicky Winmar, who would become club stalwarts for the following decade, and set about improving the general skill level of the playing group. Under Baldock's guidance, Lockett had a career-best season, tying for the Brownlow Medal with John Platten.

In the first half of the pre-season match against West Coast in February 1991, Lockett was sprinting to contest for a loose ball when West Coast's Steve Malaxos, who was also running for the ball, collided with Lockett and made contact with his lower back, resulting in a cracked vertebra.[11] Lockett limped off the ground gingerly and was sent to hospital for x-rays at half time. He was initially diagnosed as having suffered a "badly bruised back".[12] According to champion Hawthorn full-forward Peter Hudson, who was St Kilda's club manager at the time, it was expected that Lockett would return for the following pre-season game.[12] However, the misdiagnosed injury would sideline Lockett for the first six rounds of the 1991 AFL season.
In Round 7 the Saints played League newcomers Adelaide at Moorabbin. At the time St Kilda was ninth on the ladder, having played five matches for two wins and one draw. Boosted by the return of Lockett and Nicky Winmar (who was back after serving a 10-match suspension from the previous season), the signs were ominous early when, from the opening bounce, star midfielder Robert Harvey collected the ball out of the centre and found Lockett with a well-weighted pass. Lockett converted from the set shot, and thereafter, with a full-capacity crowd of over 25,000 spectators cheering them on, St Kilda went on a scoring rampage. Lockett added a further three goals for the quarter, and had nine to his name by half time.[13] The Saints increased their lead at each change, eventually winning by 131 points and breaking the previous club record for greatest winning margin. Lockett finished the game with 12 goals, and the percentage-boosting win lifted St Kilda to fifth on the ladder.
Lockett backed up his spectacular return with ten goals the following week against Brisbane Bears (he had seven goals by half time)[14] and another haul of 12 goals against Sydney (in which he kicked St Kilda's first five goals)[15] to take his overall tally to a remarkable 34 goals in three games. In the Round 10 match against Essendon, however, before the biggest home crowd at Moorabbin since 1981, St Kilda suffered stage fright, conceding a 44-point lead at quarter time and eventually losing by 28 points.[16] Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy sacrificed an extra player in defence to cut off the supply to Lockett (who only managed four goals), while the Bombers' team pressure and discipline also contributed significantly to the win.[16]
St Kilda rebounded strongly in Round 11, putting in a superb second-half display to beat Hawthorn at Princes Park for the first time at that venue since 1976. Lockett kicked seven goals for the game to again be among the Saints' best players, but was afterwards cited by video for two incidents – clashing heavily with Hawks ruckman Stephen Lawrence in the first quarter and later with Greg Madigan.[17] However, no further action was taken and Lockett was cleared to play.
In Round 23 St Kilda confirmed its place in the 1991 AFL finals series with a 120-point thrashing of Brisbane at Moorabbin, marking the club's first finals appearance since 1973. Lockett sat out the game, having been ill with influenza and warned by the club's medical staff that playing could trigger an asthma attack.[18]
In the Elimination final against Geelong, he kicked nine goals and five behinds, although the Saints were beaten by seven points.

In 1992, he kicked the most goals that season, with 132 goals. He was described by dual Brownlow medallist Robert Harvey as the best player he had ever seen.[19]

After the highs of personal glory and reaching the finals in 1991 and 1992, there followed two difficult seasons, which would turn out to be Lockett's last ones at the Saints, marred by long absences due to injury and suspension.

After kicking five goals in the loss to Hawthorn in the opening round of the 1994 AFL season, Lockett started well against North Melbourne in the Round 2 clash at the MCG, kicking three quick goals, only to suffer a corked right calf muscle shortly afterward. With Lockett unable to return after quarter time, and Stewart Loewe already absent with a groin injury, the Saints lacked a key target in attack and the Kangaroos won easily by 69 points.[20] Lockett would end up missing the next four weeks, during which the Saints won only one game.

Few games better encapsulated Lockett's enigmatic nature than his return in the Round 7 match against Sydney at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In the first quarter, Swans defender Peter Caven was sprinting back to take an intercept mark when Lockett, who was charging towards the ball, appeared to hit him in the face with a raised elbow. Caven was knocked unconscious with a compound fracture of the nose and immediately taken to St Vincent's Hospital for surgery,[21] ruling him out of action for 12 weeks.[22] Lockett was subjected to abuse by Sydney supporters for the remainder of the game,[22] but it appeared to have little effect on him. The Swans responded on the scoreboard, at one stage leading by 51 points in the third quarter; only Lockett's seven goals up to three-quarter time had kept an inept-looking St Kilda in the contest. The Saints still trailed by 41 points halfway through the final term before they finally clicked, kicking seven unanswered goals (Lockett kicking the last three in the final three minutes) to snatch a one-point win. After kicking his eleventh goal to put the Saints in front, Lockett responded to the taunts of the Sydney cheer squad with an "up yours" gesture.[22]
Lockett was not reported by any umpires for his hit on Caven, but subsequent review of the video footage by AFL officials on the Tuesday following the game resulted in Lockett being charged not just for the incident with Caven, but also for kneeing Daryn Cresswell in the head.[23] In his appearance before the Tribunal, Lockett pleaded not guilty, stating that he was sorry for injuring Caven and had not done so intentionally. He added that he had only seen Caven a split second before impact, raising his elbow in self-defence.[24] Nonetheless, Lockett was found guilty of striking and suspended for eight weeks.

Lockett would not play again until Round 17 against North Melbourne at Waverley Park, a 61-point loss in which he was held to two goals by Mick Martyn, one of the few full-backs capable of matching Lockett. By this stage of the season, the Saints were out of finals contention, sitting second-last on the ladder with the worst percentage in the League. Lockett did not take long to rediscover form, kicking 28 goals in a four-game stretch before being ruled out of the final game of the season against Fitzroy with a back injury.[25] He ended the season with 56 goals, which was a slight improvement from his return the previous season.

In 1995, Lockett transferred to the Sydney Swans, where he played for another six seasons. He was an instant success with the Swans, helping the team into the 1996 finals series and subsequently into the 1996 AFL Grand Final. With scores tied in the preliminary final game, Lockett famously kicked a point after the siren against Essendon to give Sydney a one-point victory.[26] Despite a groin injury, he played in the grand final, which the Swans lost to North Melbourne. It was the only grand final appearance of Lockett's career.

Lockett's career-best goal-scoring performance came in Round 19, 1995, against Fitzroy at the Western Oval, when he scored 16 goals straight.

Lockett became a cult figure in Sydney. He was a massive drawcard for the struggling Sydney Swans, who had previously found it difficult to attract large support in New South Wales's rugby league heartland. At the height of his popularity, the song "One Tony Lockett" was released (sung to the tune of "Guantanamera"), performed by James Freud.

In 1996, Lockett was the subject of much hype in the clash between Geelong and Sydney in which Gary Ablett Sr. was playing at the other end of the ground. The match was billed by the media as Plugger vs God and set a ground record attendance at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He broke the record of 1,299 career goals (set by Gordon Coventry) at the SCG in 1999 and sparked one of the biggest pitch invasions seen in Australian rules football.

Lockett retired at the end of 1999 but had a brief comeback in 2002, playing three games and adding three goals to his record for a grand total of 1,360 career goals.

Lockett played five State of Origin games for Victoria, kicking 19 goals in those games. In his State of Origin debut in 1985 against Western Australia, Lockett kicked one goal. He was selected in 1987 against South Australia, and again kicked one goal. In 1989, he kicked five goals in a notable game against South Australia at the MCG.[27] He again kicked five goals against Western Australia in 1992. His final interstate match came in 1995 against South Australia, kicking seven goals and winning the E. J. Whitten Medal.[28] Lockett is known as a big supporter of State of Origin[27] and said after he won the E. J. Whitten Medal that "to win this medal will probably go down as one of the happiest days of my life, and I'll treasure it forever".[28]