Tarkyn Lockyer (born 30 October 1979) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Upon his retirement at the end of the 2010 season, he served as the head coach of the

Collingwood VFL Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The club w ...

. He then served as the midfield development coach at Collingwood. As of 2021, he served as the AFL national talent head coach as well as being a member of the 2021 Women's Under-19 All-Australian team selection committee.

Early life

Born in Albany,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, Lockyer attended Albany Senior High School and played for local club North Albany Football Club as a teenager before leaving to go to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

to further his football career. Lockyer played senior football with

East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

in the WAFL and was picked up by Collingwood as a third-round pick (Pick #39) of the 1997 AFL Rookie draft.

AFL playing career

Collingwood rookie listed Lockyer in 1998 and he made his debut in a Magpies win against Fremantle early in 1999. In 2000, Lockyer was the runner-up in the

Copeland Trophy The E.W. Copeland Trophy is an Australian rules football award given by the Collingwood Football Club to the player adjudged best and fairest for Collingwood during the year. The Copeland Shield, as it was formerly known, was donated by Ern Cope ...

Nathan Buckley Nathan Charles Buckley (born 26 July 1972) is a former professional Australian rules football coach, player and commentator. He is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. Buckley won the inaugural Rising S ...

. He averaged 17 disposals in 21 games. He played even better in 2001, missing two games, but having over 370 disposals at over 18 disposals per game, and also kicked 19 goals for the year off the half-back line. In 2002 he was appointed vice-captain. He played all 25 games for the season, including the Grand Final and had just under 450 disposals for the year. The Magpies made the Grand Final again in 2003, but Lockyer missed most of the season, when he suffered an

Anterior Cruciate Ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

injury in Round 3 and had to be stretchered off the ground. The injury required knee reconstruction surgery which ended his season. In the 2005 season he had 430 disposals in 22 matches, playing in every game. He played every game in 2006.

2007

Lockyer began 2007 with a goal against the

North Melbourne Kangaroos The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Kangaroos, is a professional Australian rules football club. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Kangaroos also ...

. Two weeks later, he had 32 possessions in a game against the Richmond Tigers. The opposition coach, Chris Connolly, claimed Lockyer would be the first player selected if

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

football was to be played this year.

2009

Lockyer played his 200th AFL game in his home state against the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football L ...

Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood. Subiaco Oval was the high ...

during Round 9 of the 2009 season. Collingwood won the game by 22 points, with Lockyer having 25 possessions and kicking 2 goals.

2010

In and out of the side for the 2010 season, including being named as an emergency for both the Grand Final and replay, he played 11 games before retiring at the end of the season. He was named as the Coach of the VFL Side for the 2011 season.

References

External links

Tarkyn Lockyer at the Collingwood Football Club website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lockyer, Tarkyn 1979 births Collingwood Football Club players Living people East Fremantle Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Western Australia People from Albany, Western Australia