With Tony Lockett missing, Stewart Loewe found himself playing the "bear in the square'' role for St Kilda at the SCG.
But as the Saints confronted Sydney, it was an animal of a different kind that stole the show.
A pig dubbed "Pluga" in honour of the great Lockett cut loose and darted across the turf in Loewe's territory.
“It literally happened and then the pig was off the ground,” Loewe told Zero Hanger.
“We didn't really give it too much thought for the remainder of the game.”
Loewe may have shrugged it off, but the legend of "Pluga" lives on almost 33 years on as the Saints once again prepare to confront the Swans at the SCG on Sunday.
The moment sparked commentator Sandy Roberts at his best - quirky and lacing his call with a wonderful sense of humour.
The legendary Channel 7 caller captured the unique Round 18 moment superbly.
On seeing the animal running free early in the first quarter, an excited Roberts told the national TV audience: "There is a pig at full-forward! I wonder how far we've got to go back when time-on was allowed for a pig on the ground”.
Amid laughter in the box, Roberts continued and demonstrated expert knowledge: “It looks like a large white Landrace Cross”.
When the pig was stopped finally in its tracks by a crunching Darren Holmes grapple after evading capture for about three minutes, Roberts was highly praiseworthy of the Swans defender's action: “What a magnificent tackle”.
The prank of smuggling the pig into the venue and releasing it on to the ground was organised by several Saints fans, who went to great lengths to make it happen.
According to media reports published many years later, the animal was bought at a piggery in Bankstown west of the SCG.
The pig was transported inside a bag and the fans entered the venue through the media entrance after managing to convince an official at the gate.
The fans painted "Pluga" on one side of the pig and "4" on the other side as an apparent tribute to Lockett.
Maybe he didn't appreciate his nickname ‘Plugger' was misspelt or the implied message about his body shape at the time, but the champion full-forward was far from impressed.
As it turned out, Lockett was on the sidelines this day and the heavy lifting on St Kilda's forward line was left to Loewe.
Loewe had only a vague recollection of the unforgettable scene almost 33 years ago, but recalled it marked the first and only senior game of close mate Leigh Capsalis.
But it was one of Loewe's most memorable games. The star centre half-forward took an incredible 17 marks with his “bucket-like” hands, gathered 26 disposals, four hit-outs and booted 8.1 as the Saints cruised to a 37-point win.
Surely Loewe's scintillating display was enough to secure the three Brownlow Medal votes. Alas the umpires adjudged it was worthy of only one as Swans captain Paul Kelly polled three votes and Saints teammate Mick Dwyer gained two.
These days Loewe is heavily involved with his three sons playing at amateur club Old Haileybury, but keeps a close eye on his beloved St Kilda.
Loewe believes the Saints (5-7) are on the right track despite last week's insipid performance against Hawthorn as they face another tough task on the road against Sydney this weekend.
“We could have won a few extra games, but I think the kids are really improving,” he said.
“Ross (Lyon) coaches them to give maximum effort. We've got a pretty solid back half and just need a bit more help in the middle and up forward.
“We're playing a quicker, more direct brand so I'm very excited.”
So what happened to the pig? Later reports suggested someone in a corporate box bought the animal and donated the money to charity.
This was "Pluga" the pig's last run at the SCG and soon after "Plugger" Lockett would go on to become a hero to the Swans faithful, piloting them to a Grand Final appearance in 1996 and breaking the V/AFL goalkicking record in 1999.
But not before he played the villain during his final game in St Kilda colours at the venue, in round seven, 1994.
Early in the match Lockett flattened Peter Caven with an elbow to the head, leaving the Swans defender with a compound fracture of the nose and resulting in an eight-game ban for the big Saint.
Lockett then rubbed salt into the home team's wound, spearheading a remarkable comeback by St Kilda to win by a point.
He booted 11.2 and almost decapitated prominent Swans supporter Kenny Williams with a torpedo punt in the process.
