Tony Lockett

Anthony Howard Lockett (born 9 March 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Nicknamed "Plugger", he is considered one of the greatest full-forwards and players in the game's history.

Lockett was educated at Ballarat Secondary College and Ballarat Grammar School, and began playing Australian football with the Under-12s team of his father's club, North Ballarat Football Club, in 1974.

He played a total of 120 junior games with the club.

He had played just five senior games as a 16-year-old in 1982 with North Ballarat before he was recruited by St Kilda, since Ballarat was part of the club's recruiting zone.

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.

Lockett made his senior VFL debut in Round 4 against at VFL Park.

There was a high degree of controversy surrounding this game since the Saints, after seeking legal advice, decided to include '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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

He became the first full-forward to be awarded the Brownlow Medal (achieved in 1987), won the Coleman Medal four times, and kicked more than 100 goals in a season on six occasions (an AFL record he shares with Jason Dunstall of Hawthorn).

While Lockett's accomplishments and statistics support his status as an Australian football hero, his individual influence on St. Kilda and Sydney is also noteworthy.

He arrived at St Kilda when the club was in the doldrums and became the man on whose shoulders the club's fortunes depended.

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 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.

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".

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.

Similarly, when he moved to Sydney in 1995, the Swans were struggling both on and off the field; they had finished bottom of the ladder in 1994 and were battling to stay relevant in the heart of rugby league territory.

After kicking more than 100 goals three times in four seasons and famously booting a point to send Sydney into the 1996 AFL Grand Final, Lockett helped to ensure Australian rules football would have a lasting future in the Harbour City.

Lockett's achievements are all the more remarkable given the significant chunks of time he missed through injury and suspension.

Besides suffering from chronic asthma, he struggled to maintain his weight (which fluctuated from 95 to 112 kg over the years, according to listings in AFL Records) and required painkillers to manage the ongoing effects of a torn groin muscle.

Lockett was not afraid to use his size and strength to unsettle opponents, but his aggression also resulted in him being frequently reported for striking and rough conduct.

He appeared before the AFL Tribunal 16 times over his career and was suspended for a total of 23 matches.

Born in the western Victorian town of Ballarat to Howard Lockett, a local football champion who would later be inducted in the North Ballarat Football Club Hall of Fame, and Liz, Lockett is one of three siblings, with a brother (Neil) and a sister (Di).

Lockett's passion for greyhound racing can be traced to his grandfather Charlie, who supplied pacemakers for the local greyhound racing club and was a club committeeman at North Ballarat.

Inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and upgraded to Legend status in 2015, he is the most prolific goalkicker in VFL/AFL history, breaking Gordon Coventry's 62-year record in 1999 with his 1300th goal and eventually finishing with 1,360 goals from 281 games.