Lockett, Tony

▪ 2000

      The remarkable goal-kicking career of Australian Football League (AFL) full-forward Tony “Plugger” Lockett came to an end at the conclusion of the 1999 season. When the final curtain came down, Lockett had kicked a record-breaking 1,357 goals, an average of 4.88 a game, in his memorable 278 games. The previous record of 1,299 goals, set by Gordon Coventry of Collingwood, had been a permanent fixture in the history books since Coventry's retirement in 1937. At the age of 33, Lockett kicked his 1,300th goal in round 10 of the 1999 season, and one of football's most prestigious, enduring records had finally been conquered. He started the game needing three for the record, but—typical of the bulky Sydney Swans spearhead—he did it in style, kicking nine.

      Anthony Howard Lockett was born on March 9, 1966, in Ballarat, Vic., an area famous for its gold-rush days 150 years earlier. In Lockett, however, the thriving city produced goals, not gold. After making his senior debut with North Ballarat in 1982, he started his AFL career with St. Kilda in 1983. There he became a powerful and often controversial full-forward, and some of his rugged exchanges on the ground led to Tribunal suspensions. Lockett hit the headlines like never before when he decided to leave St. Kilda, having completed 183 games and 898 goals, after the 1994 season. He had also won football's highest individual award, the Brownlow Medal, while playing with the Saints.

      In 1995 Lockett headed to Sydney, which was still developing as an AFL state. Rugby League was the city's most popular sport, but Australian football had made huge inroads, and the arrival of Lockett to play for the Sydney Swans hastened the exercise. He quickly became a household name, and the Sydney fans, like the St. Kilda supporters beforehand, cheered every Lockett goal and, finally, the record.

      Lockett topped the AFL's season goal-kicking list on four occasions; he topped St. Kilda's list 10 times and Sydney's list five times. He also kicked 100 goals in a season six times, his most notable effort being 132 for St. Kilda in 1992. His biggest single-match achievements were 16 goals for Sydney against Fitzroy in 1995 and 15 for St. Kilda against Sydney in 1992.

      When he retired, Lockett, who was only the fifth AFL player ever to exceed 1,000 goals, had set an awesome record that was not likely to be broken for years, if ever. At the start of the 2000 season, Lockett's closest active rival, Wayne Carey of the North Melbourne Kangaroos, headed the league goals list with 567.

Greg Hobbs

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