WITH its superstar forward struggling to overcome the nervous 90s, Essendon enlisted the help of one of the all-time greats to help guide Matthew Lloyd past the ton for the first time in his career.

In his sixth AFL season and coming off an 87-goal haul in 1999, Lloyd was charging towards a century of goals during the Bombers' incredible 2000 season, only to stall late in the campaign.

>> WATCH EPISODE ONE OF SEASON TWO OF CENTURIONS IN THE PLAYER BELOW

Then came a surprise meeting with one of his childhood heroes – a man who booted 100-plus goals on six separate occasions.

"Round 20 and 21, I kicked one goal and two goals and I was just stuck in the early 90s," Lloyd recalls.

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Centurions: Lloydy on his tons, missed glory and fighting back

Essendon great Matthew Lloyd opens up to Damian Barrett about the ups and down of his career, in the second series of Centurions

Published on Mar 10, 2023

"The club came to me and said, 'We've arranged for you to spend the day with Tony Lockett.' Mid-week, leading into the last home and away round, I've been flown to spend a day with Tony Lockett, about the build-up.

"His big thing was from zero to one to 99 to 100, how is it different? Just strip it right back and don't let it eat away at you.

"Amazing, great day, and then after that he's written me a letter saying if you ever want to, for peace of mind and anxiety, just come and spend a day with me ever again, the offer's there and open to you so I think he enjoyed the day as much as I did."

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Lloyd added: "When he got inducted as a legend into the Hall of Fame, I waited and I waited and I said, 'Plugger, I'll never forget what you did for me that day.' He's such a generous person off the field."

On the way to the 2000 premiership, Lloyd kicked 19 goals in the final four games of the season, including seven as he broke the ton in the qualifying final thrashing of North Melbourne.

Lloyd, who backed it up with another century of goals the following year, opened up on his career in the first episode of the second season of Centurions.

He discussed his goalkicking exploits, how he dealt with physical defenders – and how he was close to tears early in his career, missed chances, his serious hamstring injury, suspensions and more.

Back for a second season, Centurions catches up with the rockstars of footy's past to unpack tales from the select group who've kicked 100 goals in a season.