Hindsight is a beautiful thing, and in the world of football, we as fans tend to get caught up in the events of days gone by.
Every footy fanatic has that one player that they long to see take the field, however long gone their days of handling a Sherrin may be.
Whether it be Daicos or Doull, Ricciuto or Richardson, fans can usually point to a single figure that captured their imagination during their formative years of watching AFL football.
SEE ALSO:ย If your AFL team could bring back one player - Part 1
SEE ALSO: If your AFL team could bring back one player - Part 2
Similar to ourย 'If your club could steal one player...'ย series, this trio of pieces will go through all 18 teams in the league, pointing at the weak spots in their best 22 and picking one of four past players to slot into their lineup and remedy their club's ailments.
We conclude today with the last six teams of the competition based on alphabetical order.
St Kildaย
Option 1: Tony Lockett
Is this man the best player out of any player mentioned on this list of 64 players? We say yes.
With 1360 goals across a mere 281 games of AFL/VFL football, there is only one Tony Lockett. And having averaged almost five majors per game, the man was an absolute cheat code of a player.
Arguably the scariest thing about 'Plugger' was the number of times that he missed games through injury and suspension meant that he could have had even more goals to his name by the end of his career.
Lockett booted 100 or more goals in a year a staggering six times, a crazy stat considering that some great key forwards never managed the feat even once in their careers.
As the most prolific goalscorer in league history and the greatest forward to ever do it, Lockett was a certified freak of nature.
Option 2: Robert Harvey
One of the Saints' favourite sons, Robert Harvey is a certified legend at Linton Street.
With a total of 383 games of pure footballing brilliance, Harvey was the heartbeat of a St Kilda side that was starved of success for so long.
His individual brilliance was on display week in week out, with his short kicking game arguably one of the best the AFL has ever seen. This was epitomised through his incredible EIGHT All-Australian selections as well as back-to-back Brownlow Medals in 1997 and 1998.
The only accolade that evaded Harvey was a premiership with his beloved Saints,despite coming tantalisingly close in 1997 after finishing as minor premiers that year.
All-in-all, the famous number 35 is revered amongst the St Kilda faithful and 'Banger' will be a legend of the club forever.
Option 3: Lenny Hayes
Lenny Hayes was the embodiment of courage and endeared himself not just to Saints fans, but also to neutrals.
The born leader was a tackling machine and hard-nut through and through, holding the record for most tackles ever up until Matthew Priddis overtook him in 2017.
His finest hour came in the 2010 Grand Final against Collingwood where he put on an emphatic display to win the Norm Smith Medal despite the game being drawn, earning himself universal respect across the entire competition.
Retiring in 2014, Hayes racked up three Trevor Barker Medals and a trio of All-Australians to cement himself as an all-time great of the St Kilda Football Club.
Option 4: Ian Stewart
A two-club player, Ian Stewart is the only man to win a staggering three Brownlow Medals across a pair of teams.
Stewart spent the majority of his career at Moorabbin, winning the Saints first and only flag thus far in 1966, as well as two out of his three Brownlow Medals.
A skilful centre, Stewart was courageous and never backed out of a contest. Regularly blowing teams away, he provided service on a silver platter for his forward teammates.
The Tasmanian's career as a Saint came to a messy end as he eventually fell out with coach Allan Jeans, requesting a trade to Richmond where he won his third and final Brownlow. Despite this, Stewart is remembered as a St Kilda legend and sits in the club's Team of the Century in his natural midfield position.
Verdict
Although there are multiple areas where the Saints need to improve, it's almost impossible to say no to the highest-scoring player in VFL/AFL history, so it just has to be Tony Lockett.
Max King and 'Plugger' down in the forward-line would make it arguably the best key pairing in the game, with both providing elite targets for the Saints midfield brigade to hit up out of the middle. The tutelage that Lockett would be able to give King would be unreal for an up-and-coming forward, surely allowing Max to exceed his pre-ordained potential.
