In his second year at the club, the 20-year-old became a mainstay in the Swans reserves’ back-six alongside Xavier Richards, Matthew Dick and Tony Armstrong.
Speaking to sydneyswans.com.au about his year, Lockyer said he was determined to come back fit and firing in 2014.
How did you sum up your season in 2013?
It was a bit of a slow start and I played twos for the entire year, but definitely form wise it was probably a slow start for me. The first half of the year I probably wasn’t playing my best footy, or what I think I can play, and definitely towards the end of the season I started to find a bit of form and play some good reserves footy.
I was lucky enough to play in the NEAFL Eastern premiership and we almost got there in winning the whole thing, so it was really good.
What improvements do you think you made this year?
I think just definitely my whole defensive game got better throughout the season. Crouchy (reserves coach Jared Crouch) put me down back and I ended up playing the rest of the season down back and it was really good.
What was the highlight for you this season?
Definitely winning the NEAFL Eastern Conference Grand Final. Just going out there, I think we were pretty undermanned with only ten or so Swans listed guys playing, so it was a great effort all year with all our injuries. Just going out there and having a crack that day and winning was awesome.
Despite being still very young, you were one of the more experienced players for the Swans Reserves this season. What was that like?
I formed a pretty good bond with Browny (Alex Brown), X (Xavier Richards), and Dicky (Matthew Dick) down in defence and of course Tony (Armstrong), so I think throughout the year, it probably wasn’t me personally in a leadership role but we were a really tight unit and we played really well together.
What things do you think you need to improve on next season?
Definitely I need a big pre-season, so I need to make sure I come back in good knick for the three kilometre (time-trial) on November 18. A big pre-season is definitely what I need.
What are your plans for the off-season?
I’m going to Bali for a week and other than that I’m just going home back to Perth.
