Last Friday night, the two prolific forwards met for the first time at the Sydney Swans Club Champion dinner.
Lockett’s appearance came as a surprise to the almost 1000 guests in attendance at the Star Events Centre, and the crowd was on their feet as the AFL’s all-time leading goalkicker headed onstage to present Franklin with the 2014 Coleman Medal.
Franklin, who booted 67 goals for the home-and-away season, was clearly star-struck to meet Lockett, who won four Coleman Medals during his career and kicked over 100 goals on five occasions.
“It’s unbelievable – were you averaging four-point-five (goals per game) or five?” Franklin asked Lockett backstage.
“I didn’t have any expectation of Tony coming here tonight, but for him to come down and present me with the Coleman is something very special, and I’ll never forget the night.”
Franklin wasn’t the only one in awe at the event, with Lockett admitting he was a huge fan of the Swans’ current number 23 and what he had achieved in his first season at the Swans.
The 1987 Brownlow medallist, who moved to the Sydney Swans from St Kilda ahead of the 1995 season, said he was impressed with the way Franklin had dealt with a similar move to a new team in a new city.
“It was fantastic,” Lockett said about Franklin’s 2014 season.
“When anyone ever comes up from Melbourne there’s going to be some expectations, but he’s handled it terrifically and he’s been fantastic for the club and he will continue to be so.”
Lockett, who lives a quiet life these days in the Southern Highlands town of Bowral, was without a doubt the star of the Club Champion event, with nearly ever player, coach and fan making their way over to the former number four to pose for photos and chat with the club legend.
The 48-year-old, who retired from the Swans in 2002, said it was a thrill to be able to return to the club and catch up with numerous old team mates and friends.
“It’s been great,” he said.
“It’s been good to get back and see a lot of old people who I haven’t seen for a long time, so it’s really good.”
Lockett confessed that while he hadn’t watched every Swans match this year, he still very much had his finger on the pulse when it came to the team’s overall performance in 2014.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t watch every week, but I do keep a pretty close eye on things,” he said.
“It was a great year and it was disappointing in the end, but that happens and that’s footy.”
Following the club’s Grand Final disappointment, the man affectionately known as ‘Plugger’ said he backed the team to come back firing in 2015.
“You’ve only got to be five per cent off and you’re in a bit of trouble, and that’s what happened in the Grand Final,” he said.
“But you’ve just got to re-group and say that we know what we did wrong and that it’s not going to happen again.
“This club is good enough to do that.”
