EVEN in an era when star forwards booted big bags every week and multiple players cracked the 100-goal mark in a single season, Tony Lockett's belated start to the 1991 season was awe-inspiring. 

Injury and suspensions meant Lockett had played just 31 games in the three years since his stunning 1987 campaign, when he booted 117 goals to win the Brownlow and Coleman medals as a 21-year-old. 

A back injury held the St Kilda champion out of the first six games of 1991 but his return was more than worth the wait. 

Lockett's first outing, against Adelaide in the Crows' first trip to Moorabbin during their debut AFL season, reaped 12 goals and six behinds as the Saints romped to a 131-point win in round seven.

'Plugger' then backed up with another 10 goals in a 69-point win against Brisbane the following week, before spearheading the Saints to a six-point comeback win over Sydney at the SCG in round nine. 

That incredible three-week burst kickstarted Lockett's charge to a second Coleman Medal. He finished the year with 127 goals from just 17 games, at an average of 7.47 goals a game. 

Lockett kicked a goal in every game, with his lowest tally being one major against Collingwood in round 19. He booted 13 bags of five or more throughout the season as the Saints made their first finals series in 21 years. 

Remarkably, 45 of his 127 majors came against the Crows and Swans, after he backed up his early-season feast on those two teams with hauls of 10.6 against Adelaide in round 22, and 11.1 against Sydney in round 24. 

Plugger's purple patch in 1991