Plugger (the real one)

[MC Gusto]

Him and winmar still my two favourite players of all time - or at least my childhood all time...obviously do love some of our more modern heroes

Anyway found this on vice - enjoy!

The first member of the Australian Cult family is the goal-kicking legend who needs just one name to be immediately remembered and revered by all footy fans – Plugger.

Cult Grade: There's only One

There isn't an era in footy where more change occurred than between 1983 and 1999. The game changed from a suburban Melbourne parochial weekend game to a national, professional industry. It isn't a complete coincidence that this was the era of the greatest goal kicker and possibly the game's greatest enigma, Tony 'Plugger' Lockett.

Plugger was a player who in spite of his aversion to the spotlight, became the game's most recognisable figure. A country boy who remained living in regional Ballarat even while playing at St Kilda yet became the high profile savior of the troubled only club based in our largest city, Sydney.

Give me a player who was suspended for a total of 23 matches in his career yet also won a Brownlow Medal in 1987 for being the league's fairest and best player and I will give you the Cult personified.

Plugger was footy in the 80's. All tight shorts, barrel chest and mullet. You could imagine him in acid wash stovepipes and double plugger thongs smoking a Winnie red and downing a Big M at the local milk bar. In fact, you probably wouldn't have to ask too many people to find someone who saw that in the flesh.

And yet, the man could kick a goal. He was your lead-out-chest-mark-kick-a-goal kind of guy. Simple. Opposition players knew not to get in his road because Plugger was locked onto the red Sherrin kicked in his direction. And even then, kicking hundreds of goals on multiple occasions, his Saints were still s*** through most of the 80s.

Point of Entry: High

Tony Lockett was a goal-kicking machine. 1360 for his career, the most of any footballer in the VFL/AFL before or since. He won the league goal kicking four times and his club's goal kicking in 14 of the 16 seasons he played.

If you want to talk awards, there's that 1987 Brownlow Medal. Sure, it was an era when even Robert Dippierdomenico won one, but that same year, '87, Lockett also won his first Coleman Medal for goal kicking and kicked 117 goals in the regular season. And his Saints finished towards the bottom of the table – not Wooden Spoon territory, but nowhere near finals contention. So he wasn't handed them on a plate.

11 years later, Plugger won his fourth and final Coleman Medal, with another century tally of goals, in 1998 at the age of 32. This was for the Swans three years after he had acted as the AFL's messiah and almost single handedly saved the 'Sydney experiment' from going under.

There was the Saints match, against the Swans, where he was injured so a Sydney supporter smuggled a piglet into the SCG and let it out on the ground with the number 4 painted on it. There was the tribute song One Tony Lockett to the tune of Guantanamera that peaked on the Australian singles charts at number 38 in 1999. And there was the easily forgettable three-game come back at the age of 38 in 2002. In fact, forget I even mentioned that one.

There was the Saints match, against the Swans, where he was injured so a Sydney supporter smuggled a piglet into the SCG and let it out on the ground with the number 4 painted on it. There was the tribute song One Tony Lockett to the tune of Guantanamera that peaked on the Australian singles charts at number 38 in 1999. And there was the easily forgettable three-game come back at the age of 38 in 2002. In fact, forget I even mentioned that one.


But most of all, everybody knew Plugger and yet nobody had ever heard him speak more than a few words.

The Moment: St Kilda v Sydney, Round 7, 1994




They all seem to involve Sydney, don't they? Just the year before he became Sydney's favourite son, Plugger was it's greatest villain. This game, in his final season with St Kilda, showed the yin and yang of Tony Lockett. In it, he kicked 11 goals, won the game off his own boot after the Saints were behind by 51 points at one stage of the match, yet it is most remembered by the incident where he caved in the face of his opponent Peter Caven and received an eight week suspension.

Final words on Tony Lockett:

Tony Lockett being a man of few words, final ones are difficult to find. And then I came across this from four years after he retired (for the second time). For most of us, our sporting prowess generally gets bigger and grander as time fades the memory, but for Plugger, he couldn't give a s*** about his legacy, and was sceptical about how good he actually was.

"I was overweight, I was an asthmatic, I was a thug, I was useless."


As someone who was a massive fan of the game when Plugger was at his prime, I feel perfectly placed to rebut this quote. He might have been the first three, but he was never the fourth. Never.

[MC Gusto]

There are also two vids

[George27]

Happy 50th birthday next Wednesday to The Fat Boy. Truly a Legend.

[BigMart]

Great Player.

The reason I switched from Richmond to StK in 1985

[The Fireman]

saw just about every game he played for us live. Would change ends to watch him. Absolutely devastated when he left for Shytney.

[saintspremiers]

For the youngsters that may stumble here, imagine Rooey at his peak and how exciting that is to watch. Plugger was all that and even more!

[Enrico_Misso]

There are also two vids

Thanks MC G for those links.
I went to Adelaide for that game and it was and remains an outstanding memory.

[Sainternist]

Great Player.

The reason I switched from Richmond to StK in 1985

So you're actually a Richmond supporter?

Perhaps P66 was right to call you out all those times.

[saintsRrising]

. He was your lead-out-chest-mark-kick-a-goal kind of guy. Simple. .

???? WTF did the author actually ever watch Locket play?

Sure Winmar could hit him on the chest, but many of his team mates were hapless kicks.

Plugga often had to use his body beautifully to take marks due to the errant kicking, and not always from when in front as there was often an extra opponent playing in the death-zone in front of him (probably the least desied role in football then or ever!!). He could take high marks and also could gather and lick good snaps.

Dunstal was the guy that had the luxury of getting most of his goals from just leading out to beautiful kicking (normally on only one defender). Pugga had to scrap for many of his, virtually always playing on two opponents and in one Dons game 4.

[Jacks Back]

Great Player.

The reason I switched from Richmond to StK in 1985

So you're actually a Richmond supporter?

Perhaps P66 was right to call you out all those times.

P66 was often right but it was those pesky argumentative posts that cost him dearly - and those sticking up for umpires of course.

[BigMart]

I was 12 at the time... And my favourite player was Tasmanian born Disco Roach as I was a FF at the time.
Let's not forget that at the time of my switch... I'd supported Richmond (in a child's way) for about 3 years
StK had just won 2 spoons and were on the way to 2 more!!!!

More to the point
I found a better FF to worship... And team with an even prouder history of tasmanians

31 years a supporter... Over 20 a member

[Linton Lodger]

For the youngsters that may stumble here, imagine Rooey at his peak and how exciting that is to watch. Plugger was all that and even more!

As great as Rooey is, Plugger was twice as good. Best player I've ever seen.

[BigMart]

Twice as good

Dispectful to Roo

Tony played at Stk for 12 seasons
5gpg
11ppg
6mpg
3 x AA
2 X B&f
Brownlow + AFL MVP
2 x Coleman
11 x Leading goal kicker
Played 183 games and 3 finals

Roo has played for 15 seasons
2gpg
17ppg
9mpg
5 x AA
6 x B&f
AFL MVP
4 x leading goal kicking
299 games
17 finals

[Vazelos]

There is simply no one comparable to Plugger, he is the greatest freak I have ever seen. Maybe John Coleman may have been the only one to impact games in that way.
Lockett had everything, its a great pleasure to have seen him but a curse to know no one could thrill, inspire & entertain like he did.

[BigMart]

Wayne Carey

Gary Ablett Snr

Leigh Matthews

Or are we talking about Saints? Key Fwds??

[The Fireman]

The real Plugger..Champion didn't talk much...the other one....talked a lot.

[6621104]

The Brownlow, though often derided tips the scale for me - Lockett, Matthews, Ablett Snr in that order.

[bigred]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tee7Gkk ... UI7aqZ5n5g

[saynta]

I remember where I was when:

I heard JFK was shot.
I heard Elvis had died so young
I learned Princess Di had been killed in a fatal accident
I read Plugger had signed with the Swine.

4 of the greatest tragedies in my lifetime.

[stevie]

Happy 50th big fella

[Munga]

I hope he realises how much joy he's brought us.

[CQ SAINT]

My dad had mates that barracked for ither teams, that bought memberships and came to the footy with us, just to watch Plugger. That says it all.

[the dome]

I was always amazed at his incredibly accurate kick for goal. Always a very real chance to slot it from anywhere in and around the 50m. arc.
I witnessed many sweet kicks leave the Lockett boot and still it seems stunning that Tony Lockett slotted ' 1360 ' Goals.

[Dis Believer]

His season in 1991 was something to behold. I think it was 127 goals from a total of 17 games. It was our first finals appearance in about 20 years and his first game for the season after being out injured was against Adelaide - our first game against them. He kicked his first for the game about 20 seconds in, and ended up with the lazy twelve. The animal enclosure went off their collective nut.

His first three games that year yielded 34 goals and I think he kicked bags of ten or more in a game about six times that season. That was when Sheedy started stacking the backline to try and nullify Plugger.

That was simply the most dominant season I have ever seen from a forward, ever !

[BigMart]

He did kick nearly 500 for Sydney.