Coach Tony Jewell recalled that the first time he trained with the team he said: "Why would I want to play with all those big heads?" From the moment the ex-North Ballarat boy booted a goal with his first kick in League football St Kilda knew they had something special. His vice-like marking and overwhelming strength soon rocketed him to stardom and he gave a hint of things to come with 77 goals in his second season.
In 1987 he booted 117 goals to head the goalkicking and became the first full-forward to win a Brownlow. Lockett found the glare of being in the spotlight intrusive and over the years his relations with an inquisitive media were frequently strained. Although his weight was a recurring problem he had tremendous pace over the vital first five yards and once he secured front position was virtually unstoppable.
Lockett's breathtaking style made him one of the few men who could attract crowds on his own. In the years immediately after his Brownlow win he was dogged by injury and a series of other misfortunes breaking his ankle in 1988 and having his season cut short by suspension and groin problems in 1989. He was in devastating form early in 1990 until injuring a knee and prior to 1991 was the fittest he had ever been. When he seriously damaged the wing vertebrae in his back it seemed that he was jinxed yet again but he overcame the delayed start to the season by booting 12 goals in his return game against the Crows. He went on to kick 127 goals and earn another Coleman Medal. His tremendous form lifted St Kilda to its first finals appearance in 18 years. He subsequently kicked 15 goals in a game In 1992 he booted 132 goals including a new club record 15 against Sydney but the following year he was again dogged by injuries and missed the latter part of the season when he aggravated his back injury.
Ian Stewart praised Lockett for the way he took young players under his wing when they arrived at the club. He said that he had heard of cases in Sydney where Lockett had driven 50 kms out of his way to give a young player a lift after training. In Sydney good judges such as Craig Davis considered him an ornament to the game for his promotional work. Sydney recruited him because of the fame he could bring them while he accepted because of the anonymity that Sydney would provide him in return. Lockett himself admitted that he liked Sydney "about 50 times better than he thought he would. He was happy not to get the same media attention that he had received in Melbourne. He was regarded along with his mate Paul Kelly as a perfect role model and was credited with preventing Australian Rules from going downhill in Sydney.
He operated better without the suffocating nature of Melbourne's footy public hanging over him. His weight was not scrutinised the same way in Sydney apart from people saying what a great lock he would have made in rugby league. In the 1996 finals the ongoing saga of "Plugger's Groin" chewed up hundreds of centimetres of editorial space. He missed the first fortnight of the finals series but was on the field for the preliminary final in which he kicked the point after the siren that won the game and ensured entry to the Grand Final. He won his third Coleman Medal in 1996 with 114 goals.
A major reason for his success in Sydney was his rapport with coach Rodney Eade. Groin problems dogged him in the early part of 1997 and Sydney had to ease him into the game. In 12 games he kicked just 37 goals and at times looked extremely restricted. His best in a game was 16 straight against Fitzroy in 1995. He won St Kilda's best and fairest in 1987 and 1991 and won Sydney's in 1995. He was an All-Australian player in 1991 1992 1995 and 1996.
