[1] He had a raking left boot and superb pace and run on the football field that made the crowd rise to the occasion when he got the ball in space.
His performances saw his name bandied around as a favourite to win the AFL Rising Star Award, though St Kilda's Justin Koschitzke proved a worthy winner.
However, Lonie bolstered his stocks with a stunning finals performance, which saw him return to his hard running, rebounding form, his ability to meet a challenge head on a feature of the Magpies' September.
Late in the season, Lonie was thrust into attack, where he prospered for a short while, with three goals scored against Port Adelaide under the MCG lights in another loss in round 21.
He suffered a minor knee injury against Fremantle in round 18, but reappeared in the final match of the year against the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome.
He survived the cull, and rebounded in impressive fashion, playing all 23 matches in 2006, though his trademark run and carry from defence had dried up somewhat, Lonie then acting as a linkman between the ball carriers.