TWENTY years go, St Kilda historian Russell Holmesby documented his top 20 Saints of all time. Before the days of social media and comment streams at the foot of online articles, the list wasn't as widely publicised as it would have been in today's world.
Since then, the Saints have played in four Grand Finals and produced some of the greatest players of the modern era, leading Holmesby to extend his list by five.
This is Russell Holmesby's top 25, ranking number two.
Click HERE to view the ORIGINAL top 20.
Click HERE to view players ranked 25-21.
Click HERE to view players ranked 20-16.
Click HERE to view players ranked 15-11.
Click HERE to view players ranked 10-6.
No. 5: Nick Riewoldt
No. 4: Robert Harvey
No. 3: Darrel Baldock
WHO WILL BE RANKED NO.1? Find out Friday 16 January.
2. Tony Lockett (2)
Born: March 9, 1966
Debut: Round 4, 1983
Games: 281 (183 St Kilda, 98 Sydney)
Goals: 1360
Height: 191cm
Weight: 104kg
One of the all-time great full-forwards who had a magnificent career at St Kilda and added another chapter with his feats for Sydney. The son of a country star whom Bob Davis believed was one of the best footballers not to play League football. Tony's family in Ballarat was reluctant to let him move to the city and so was he.
Coach Tony Jewell recalled that the first time he trained with the team he said: "Why would I want to play with all those big heads?" From the moment the ex-North Ballarat boy booted a goal with his first kick in League football, St Kilda knew they had something special. His vice-like marking and overwhelming strength soon rocketed him to stardom and he gave a hint of things to come with 77 goals in his second season. In 1987 he booted 117 goals to head the goalkicking and became the first full-forward to win a Brownlow.
VIDEO: Lockett becomes a St Kilda Legend
Lockett found the glare of being in the spotlight intrusive and over the years his relations with an inquisitive media were frequently strained. Although his weight was a recurring problem he had tremendous pace over the vital first five yards and once he secured front position was virtually unstoppable. Lockett's breathtaking style made him one of the few men who could attract crowds on his own.
In the years immediately after his Brownlow win he was dogged by injury and a series of other misfortunes, breaking his ankle in 1988 and having his season cut short by suspension and groin problems in 1989. He was in devastating form early in 1990 until injuring a knee and prior to 1991 was the fittest he had ever been. When he seriously damaged the wing vertebrae in his back it seemed that he was jinxed yet again but he overcame the delayed start to the season by booting 12 goals in his return game against the Crows.
Tony Lockett and John Platten shared the Brownlow Medal in 1987.
He went on to kick 127 goals and earn another Coleman Medal. His tremendous form lifted St Kilda to its first finals appearance in 18 years. He subsequently kicked 15 goals in a game.
In 1992 he booted 132 goals, including a new club record 15 against Sydney but the following year he was again dogged by injuries and missed the latter part of the season when he aggravated his back injury. Ian Stewart praised Lockett for the way he took young players under his wing when they arrived at the club. He said that he had heard of cases in Sydney where Lockett had driven 50 kms out of his way to give a young player a lift after training.
In Sydney good judges such as Craig Davis considered him an ornament to the game for his promotional work. Sydney recruited him because of the fame he could bring them while he accepted because of the anonymity that Sydney would provide him in return. Lockett himself admitted that he liked Sydney "about 50 times better" than he thought he would.
Become a member TODAY! Click HERE or call 1300 467 246.
He was happy not to get the same media attention that he had received in Melbourne. He was regarded along with his mate Paul Kelly as a perfect role model and was credited with preventing Australian Rules from going downhill in Sydney. He operated better without the suffocating nature of Melbourne's footy public hanging over him.
His weight was not scrutinised the same way in Sydney apart from people saying what a great lock he would have made in rugby league. In the 1996 finals the ongoing saga of "Plugger's Groin" chewed up hundreds of centimetres of editorial space. He missed the first fortnight of the finals series but was on the field for the preliminary final in which he kicked the point after the siren that won the game and ensured entry to the Grand Final.
Tony Lockett kicks for goal during the 1992 second elimination final between St Kilda and Collingwood.
He won his third Coleman Medal in 1996 with 114 goals. A major reason for his success in Sydney was his rapport with coach Rodney Eade. Groin problems dogged him in the early part of 1997 and Sydney had to ease him into the game.
In 12 games he kicked just 37 goals and at times looked extremely restricted. However, he bounced back strongly in 1998 with 109 goals to again win the John Coleman Medal as leading AFL goalkicker. He booted another 82 in 1999 and capped his career by breaking the long-standing AFL goalkicking record of 1299 goals by Collingwood's Gordon Coventry.
Ironically, Lockett broke this record in an SCG game against Collingwood and retired at the end of the 1999 season with a total of 1357 goals. His best in a game was 16 straight against Fitzroy in 1995. He won St Kilda's best and fairest in 1987 and 1991 and won Sydney's in 1995.
Lockett then caused a sensation over the summer of 2001-02 when he announced he wanted to make a comeback and was snapped up by the Swans at the 2002 pre-season draft. But the comeback failed despite Lockett attaining high levels of fitness in his preparation and he retired for the final time after playing just three games.
.jpg)
Lockett during the 1992 semi final between Footscray and St Kilda.
