Unplugged: Tony Lockett's ill-fated 2002 AFL comeback

[@TONY_FEZ]

36 is old for any player but when you've been out of the game for a couple of years, almost impossible. As Paul Kelly said, still the best of all time.

[@josephphillips9243]

Thanks for the video and the nice touch of playing One Tony Lockett. Best memories were of singing that with the rest of the supporters when he kicked a goal. Ran onto the field when he broke the record and was at North Sydney to watch him with Bazza on the comeback. What Kelly said is spot on.

[@strauchanside]

The only way it might have worked was if Lockett was the sole focus up forward, and not playing second fiddle to Barry Hall. Ironically, this could have occurred if Lockett had taken Hall’s place back at this old club, the then struggling St.Kilda. He would have been just as warmly welcomed back by Saints fans as the ‘return home’ and he could have acted as a forward mentor to Nick Riewoldt, much the same way Dermott Brereton was for Sav Rocca in 1995.

[@xalstarx]

Sadly, he seemed to have turned his back on his original club. It kills me that he is more celebrated as a Sydney player. He played his first 11 seasons and kicked almost 900 goals in a St.Kilda guernsey.

[@stephenhoward358]

That's my thoughts and he lost his strength his baulk

[@cloudhigh6582]

​@@xalstarx Yep, same thing happened with Lance Franklin at Hawthorn and ironically Sydney.

[@johnclifford1537]

He wanted AFL Life Membership - had to get to 300 games all up ( including games, State games etc etc) That is why he came back and retired as soon as he reached it. That was his intention.

[@extraverse]

Interesting! I read 200+ newspaper articles from that time period and didn’t find one mention of that, which is not to say it isn’t true. I can see why he wouldn’t publicly say it though - it’s a bit of a selfish move. The premiership angle was better PR.

[@lsimmo78]

That is a reasonable point. I am not sure what post career accolades the AFL has given Tony but I would like to think being the leagues highest goal kicker would certainly qualify someone as a 'Legend'.

[@ploddingrunner]

he ended on 303 though, plus as if he wouldn't have got it for distinguished service

[@coke8045]

Was always fascinated with this return, didn't know a whole lot about it. Am 23 years old so didn't witness the glory days but was aware of the 2002 return and that's about it. Great video sir

[@extraverse]

Cheers mate, similarly I'm 25 years old so can only vaguely remember the 1300th goal and Plugger's retirement but I vividly recall having a Team Coach 2002 footy card with Tony Lockett #46 on it!

[@coke8045]

@@extraverse hahaha that's awesome! You mentioned in a reply to another comment that you read a couple hundred articles for this, that's great dedication to the craft. Much respect

[@extraverse]

@@coke8045 Thanks, yeah, plenty of scrolling through SLV, Trove, Wayback Machine etc. It helps me find stuff that other people (including myself!) may not know about. Hoping to have my next vid out some time this week. Cheers!

[@joshtodd2369]

This and Jagger Skilbeck are the best AFL shorts on KZbin 👏

[@joshp7059]

These videos are great. I still remember watching that wobbly drop punt go through for number 1300 on TV with my family. On a random side note, as a Dees fan I observed a young Alistair Nicholson and an ageing Shaun Smith in the snaps. Footy nostalgia is a bloody brilliant thing!

[@TONY_FEZ]

My fav moment from his comeback was at the SCG vs Geelong when a young Geelong player thought he'd have a go at some bloke wearing a jumper with a number in the 40s....then he turned around and it was Plugger who proceeded to bury his head in the turf! I am sure the Geelong player had nightmares for months after,.

[@donkiddick966]

At the time it looked like a failed experiment, looking back now, it still probably was lol. But gotta give credit when it is due, he may not have reached the goals set out for him, but to even have a go at that age and get back on the track is a pretty big accomplishment.. great vid btw.

[@bronxcheer1484]

Really enjoyed this video.

[@slothbin]

I remember the days of the crowd jumping the fence to do the goal signal and then sprint back. Imagine that these days

[@rhettpeter83]

Ah, there used to be fun in the world.

[@chasindigo]

Issue is the crowd member throwing a punch at the goalie, it is inevitable to happen.

[@Magpie_Mark92]

Thesr days you would get a 10k fine

[@Ckimax]

Happend last night

[@AlleyCat-em1ih]

Great vid mate there's literally nothing about his comeback on KZbin or even bigfooty I went to see a swans game against collingwood in about 2001 I remember the ball came to locket in the goal square he was playing behind the man and worked him under the ball and then dropped an absolute sitter of a chest mark it was so un locket like he just seemed a shadow of his former self and I remember feeling pity for him On a side note he actually asked for the number 4 when he came back but Ben Mathews told him no My dad told me lockett should have played on another year or 2 rather then retiring and coming back

[@extraverse]

Thanks mate, you might be talking about the contest at 5:14 in this video? It was so uncharacteristic for him to be dropping marks like that. You can see the relief on his face when he kicks the goal, this coming from a guy that very rarely showed any air of fallibility on the footy field. I think once everyone saw that, they knew Plugger was done. And yeah, props to Matthews for sticking tough and keeping his number. He won a flag in the #4!

[@jibba0jabba1]

As a footy fan, we like to pretend that his comeback never happened

[@lawso3798]

I literally had no idea this happened lol No one had ever mentioned it

[@TONY_FEZ]

Pretend what happened? :)

[@asterpin9888]

great video

[@shannonsutherland2450]

I was there that day and one of the first on to the ground :)

[@tigerwarsaw99]

Should have played NRL, one of the few AFL players ever tough enough. Legend.

[@LincolnHollowayy]

Could you make an updated top 50 goals and marks of all time? I really enjoyed them.

[@richarddobie3807]

Tony will always be the best.... Love screaming Pluggaaaaaaar!!! With my brother's and family , mums hot soup and rolls at half time 🇦🇺👍👍

[@AlleyCat-em1ih]

Also I remember finding it ridiculous my neighbour had all this memorabilia after he retired the first time with his games numbers and goals for his career Then he came back and added a couple more games and a couple more goals and my neighbours memorabilia wasn't accurate anymore lol quite ridiculous I don't think anyone bothered making any more fancy memorabilia after the second retirement lol and people like to make out that this comeback didn't even happen and attempt to erase all memories of it

[@lsimmo78]

I remember running around Lake Wendouree in February 2002 and passing Tony Lockett. As a Full Forward he didn't have to rely on aerobic endurance to succeed, but seeing him struggle with his pre season run the signs were not promising,

[@somegx]

Appears he was spent during the pre-season.

[@Oscar92839]

Gosh

[@lachlach3449]

0:18 - Quarter Time Siren, not Half Time. Lockett managed 3 in the first quarter.

[@extraverse]

Ahh, you’re right. Bugger. Should I reupload?

[@lachlach3449]

@@extraverse yeah nah your call

[@MrShadowman32au]

Hey where’s the great Matty Richardson on the list still playing! ? How could you have missed the great man

[@extraverse]

Love Richo, but he hasn't been missed. That's what the all-time list looked like after the Qualifying Final, 1999. At that point, Richo had kicked 374 goals. Obviously by the end of his career he got up to 800, but the purpose of the list I showed is to demonstrate how comparatively dominant Plugger was at that particular point in time.

[@kasey670]

This is a really good video. Do you have a full version of the Collingwood-swans preseason game from that season?

[@extraverse]

I don't sorry, not sure if that would even be available in the archives anymore; I got lucky finding those clips on a season-end wrap video.

[@JimmyRaptis]

With the way the current game is played, there is no way anyone will reach his record

[@extraverse]

I really want Buddy to reach the 1000 goal mark but with his current injury status I'm worried that won't happen. And then we won't have anyone get anywhere near that figure ever again :(

[@slothbin]

100% correct. When was the last time you saw a forward take a mark on a long lead from the goal square? But it's not even just the flooding, there is no emphasis on a big physically imposing forward anymore either. Why can't they still just leave a 1v1 in the goal square?

[@damobdaking]

@@extraverse I think this season is a blessing in disguise for Buddy. I think he will come back next year fully recovered and get to 1000 goals.

[@rogerramjet7246]

The big power forwards still exist like Josh Kennedy and Tom Hawkins it’s just they aren’t as bigger focal point as once was and the flooding defence closes out that space much more often unless it’s a quick turnover running entry

[@brainumb6078]

Doubt the record will be broken we have no more big forwards

[@billyjones4296]

How’d you get some of this old news and games footage , awesome ! You recon you could upload any more swans archives !

[@7s29]

An athlete knows when to stop. The Great Rocky Marciano thought about a comeback. He trained quietly out in a cabin, to see if he still had it. He found he was a shadow of his former self, and decided to pick up his bat and ball to head home. His legacy remains intact. Now that's what Tony should have done, train to see if he could cope at a hight standard, then give it away.

[@extraverse]

Interesting comparison and obviously we can all agree that the comeback was a failure. But do you think it tarnished his legacy in any way? I feel like it was such a short-lived return that people had forgotten about it and simply remembered the big goalkicker from the 80s and 90s.

[@user-oi9to7ux7k]

This is an excellent video. Well researched, well edited, and very knowledgeable. Really, really good work. However I wish you'd speak slower. At 0.75 speed it's about right. You're not calling a horse race! Please slow down your narration to a normal rate of speech so it's more enjoyable for viewers :)

[@extraverse]

Thank you for the kind feedback. I've addressed my fast rate of speech in a few different comments, and I'd like to think that I have slowed it down somewhat in my most recent couple of videos; it's an ongoing thing I'm trying to address. I also upload closed captions to every video so that people can follow along more closely if need be.

[@jonm2522]

no one will beat his record .Him or Dunstal.

[@ENDWOKEDEGENERACY]

There’s only one Plucka Lockett

[@kateotoole6690]

Tony Lockett Should Never Have Returned