Lockett v Dunstall

[Mac]

I’m a bit late to this thread. But my two cents.

‘Good bloke’ ratings aside...


Dunstall was an all time great. Fast. Strong. Great kick from all angles and distances. Sitting close in the pocket, I saw a second year Dunstall thrash a still very competitive Doull in the 1986 grand final. And while Doull was about to retire, he was still pretty darn good. Dunstall was simply sensational.

Given the two very different teams Dunstall and Locket played for, I don’t think it’s equitable to compare their successes. Or team play/ selflessness. You’re only as good as your team can take you. I will say however, that while Dunstall still would have been great in a lesser team, I‘m not so sure he’d be able to carry a team quite to the extent Lockett did.

Lockett was amazing. Pretty much one of the most unstoppable players I’ve ever seen. A heavy weight beast with strength, bulk, speed, agility and feather light skill. Incredible and prodigious kicking prowess. Add brutality to that and you have a combo that is better than Dunstall. And I rate Dunstall very, very highly.

Too hard to say who is the ‘best player ever’ and I’ve intentionally not commented on other players as this is just a comparison of these two greats.

Lockett for me (but Dunstall still great)

 

[Mr Brightside]

It's all conjecture. Dunstall was a superstar no question, but he came into a side in the middle of its seven grand finals in a row. Arguably the best team of my time, maybe ever. Champions on every line. Goals were shared more, sure, but there were a stack more opportunities.

St Kilda won 15 games - total - in Lockett's first four seasons. In his second year, aged 18, he kicked 77 goals from 20 games in a side that won 5 games. The next year he kicked 79 from 21 in a team that won 3. He turned a State of Origin game as a teen after being thrown in the ruck at half time. He kicked a ton and won the Brownlow at 21. In 1989, he was on target to smash Pratt's and Hudson's season record before a knee(?) ended his year on 78 goals from 11 games.

Yeah, he kicked a high proportion of his team's goals, because until Loewe came along, they had no one else. I remember him kicking 12 of 14 in a side that lost by 10 goals. He kicked 10.7 (out of 13.18) with Silvagni hanging off him one day (Lockett 1 free for, 8 against!) and Robert Walls said he didn't dare shift SOS or Plugger would have kicked 20. He still lifted the Saints to a 4-point win.

He was unstoppable at his best. Bigger than Dunstall, stronger, just as quick, at least as good a mark, better kick, and much meaner. I rate him better than Carey.


Richo's accuracy looks better because they don't take out-on-the-fulls into account.


That's the argument people put forward to rate Bill Russell above Wilt Chamberlain. It's nonsense. Jake Stringer has more flags than Gary Ablett Sr.

though I don’t rate Plugger better then Carey, I don’t rate Carey better then Plugger, I have him right there as best I’ve seen, I think sometimes people forget how much he destroyed gun full backs .
Harvey once said he was the best field kick his seen on both sides of the body ,like a lot of champions the stuff they doin on the training track is that little bit more special that the public don’t see.

would be one of the greats in any era . Dunstable no doubt a champion of the game, however I say Plugger is arguably the games greatest

 

[Spirit of Jack]

Lockett, Dunstall, Ablett Snr and Carey - incredible to have so many legends in the same period. Hard to split them all, but Dunstall would be fourth picked for me - which is insane.

 

[Mac]

I'd take Carey before both of them.

He and Ablett Snr are the best I've seen, I think both of them would be the top two goal kickers had they played every game of their careers at full forward.

Ablett Sr is one of the best I’ve seen too. I never label any one player The Best because I don’t think that player exists. And I never saw Royce.

Lockett v Carey - I can see why there’d be a split of opinion on those guys. Both great. You can have Carey though....I’ll still have Plugger thanks

(I disagree with your hypothetical on goal numbers....moot point...they weren’t those types of player)

 

[Ossie]

I'd take Carey before both of them.

He and Ablett Snr are the best I've seen, I think both of them would be the top two goal kickers had they played every game of their careers at full forward.

I find myself somewhat torn on Ablett Snr. Watched him tear us apart so many times, including 14 goals 5 from a rotating forward/wing role, destroying poor old Wayne Peters! Obviously also saw the games on TV where he just dominated. An early State of Origin game in Perth when he kicked 8 with some from the wing was just outer world stuff. The thing that stops me declaring him the best ever was I watched him live play three fairly average Grand Finals (92, 94 & 95). Performances in the biggest games of the year influence my opinion a fair bit.

 

[Bernie]

Huddo is a massive Richmond hater.
In the summer of 94 i saw him over a few nights out in Merimubla and the shiit talk he was giving us about supporting Richmond was unbelievable.
My constant come back was Geelong not only were the hand baggers but the bridesmaids of the AFL.

I will need to ensure the bloke is run out of town if he ever returns. There’s quite a few willing Tiger supporters here!

 

[Streak]

Lockett could do everything! I think he even chased down Richo on the wing one day out at Waverly???

Must have thought he'd pinched Pluggers pie!