One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on May 27, 2019, 06:57:58 PM
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Welcome to Tigerland, Marlion :)
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Broken finger?
at 27?
long term?
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Marlion PICKETT
Height 184 cm
Weight 84 kg
Age 27
Club: South Fremantle.
He has a broken finger and will miss the next 8-10 weeks so this is a selection for 2020.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/wafl/wafl-2019-marlion-picketts-mid-season-draft-chances-up-in-the-air-after-breaking-finger-in-south-fremantles-win-over-east-perth-ng-b881210996z
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For people who watched him is he inside or outside midfielder or both and his strengths and weakness.
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:clapping Widely regarded as the best ready made talent in the draft - except he won't be ready for at least another 8 weeks now - obviously the club think he still has a few years left in him yet and could still be a handy secret weapon to unleash come the finals... :shh
For people who watched him is he inside or outside midfielder or both and hos strengths snd weakness.
Mainly plays inside and also off hbf. I think...bit like an older, bigger version of Stack.... :shh
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:clapping Best ready made talent in the draft - except he won't be ready for at least another 8 weeks now - obviously the club think he still has a few years left in him yet and could still be a handy secret weapon to unleash come the finals... :shh
What current player would you compare him to ?.
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(https://www.westpix.com.au/wmpix/twa/005/twa-0052810-South-Fremantles-Marlion-Pickett-WAFL-Qualifying.jpg) (https://leseverett.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/marlionpickettactionsmall.jpg)
Marlion Pickett
25 PICKETT Marlion
Club South Fremantle
DOB: 1992-01-06 (Age 27)
Height 184 cm
Weight 84 kg
18.2 avg Disposals per game
4.6 avg Marks per game
0.4 avg Goals per game
https://www.wafl.com.au/player/marlion-pickett
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I suppose an injured finger won't affect his fitness so plenty of time to get him AFL fit and teach him the Richmond way.
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:clapping Best ready made talent in the draft - except he won't be ready for at least another 8 weeks now - obviously the club think he still has a few years left in him yet and could still be a handy secret weapon to unleash come the finals... :shh
What current player would you compare him to ?.
See my edited post above - should add I'm only going off reports and video highlights...maybe some WA posters here could probably tell you more... :shh
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Is plug-and-play Pickett the draft's next Tim Kelly?
AFL.com.au
Travis King
Nov 23, 2018
RECRUITERS have been urged not to overlook ready-to-play South Fremantle gun Marlion Pickett when the NAB AFL Draft resumes on Friday.
The 26-year-old hails from the same WAFL club as Geelong revelation Tim Kelly and, like his ex-teammate, Pickett is ready to impact at the elite level straight away.
Twelve months after Liam Ryan, Bailey Banfield and Kelly made it to AFL ranks, hard-nosed midfielder Pickett is the WAFL's most talked about prospect, with Gold Coast and St Kilda among the clubs interested.
"He's obviously got some attributes – super-quick, really strong for his size, hard at the ball, can play virtually anywhere," South Freo coach Todd Curley told AFL.com.au.
"He's probably had to earn an opportunity with consistent footy and he's improved along the way, but he's a different player to Tim.
"Tim is an out-and-out inside midfielder, whereas Marlion has probably got more versatility. He can play back, forward and midfield.
"Tim has the ability, which we probably saw this year, to accumulate consistently big numbers.
"Marlion can have a big impact on a game with probably not as many possessions just through the way he attacks the ball.
"He's a little bit older and a bit more mature and I think he'd be one you could pick and he'd be available for round one."
Pickett has turned his life around since he was jailed in his teens and was outstanding in his fifth season at South Fremantle.
The 183cm and 85kg tough nut averaged 21.8 disposals after asking Curley for a switch from half-back to midfield to replace Kelly.
Pickett's headline performance came in a thumping qualifying final victory over West Perth, when he torched the Falcons with four goals and 26 disposals.
"He had some great games for us," Curley said.
"His ability to break the lines and run and carry is a real strength. He's really improved his kicking but his ability to get it, burst away, carry and then distribute the ball makes him a real 90m player.
"He's spoken to a fair few clubs and we're hopeful that he'll get an opportunity because I think he certainly deserves it and we'd think he'd go all right.
"He'll do some things that you'll enjoy watching."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-11-23/dont-miss-plugandplay-pickett-wafl-coach-warns
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Be handy for vfl this year.
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Does anybody know the contract length and cost?
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70 k - contracted until the end of the year and we get first option to extend it after that... :shh
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70 k - contracted until the end of the year and we get first option to extend it after that... :shh
Thanks. That sounds like a good deal. :thumbsup
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Does anybody know the contract length and cost?
Pickett is replacing Grigg for this year only. So he will only have a contract until the end of the season. I'm presuming it's a rookie salary as he is similar to a promoted rookie replacing a LTIL player.
Edit: beat me to it, Dio.
Players selected in the Mid-Season Rookie Draft will be able to negotiate terms of a new contract beyond 2019 just like any other listed player... Any player selected in the Mid-Season Rookie Draft that is not retained by their club, or selected by any other at the end of 2019, will receive a financial sum of around $20,000.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-03-21/afl-reveals-key-dates-for-midseason-rookie-draft
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Another pre-National draft article from last year:
Pickett desperate for AFL chance
John Townsend
The West Australian
Monday, 3 September 2018
“I’ve got my hand up. I’ve had it up all year.”
Marlion Pickett has surely completed his AFL audition after a breathtaking display in the qualifying final showcased his brilliance, versatility and athleticism.
Several weeks after Gold Coast flew Pickett to Queensland to interview him ahead of this year’s national draft, the South Fremantle star elevated his prospects even further in the 98-point win over West Perth on Saturday.
Now entrenched in the midfield as the replacement for Geelong revelation Tim Kelly, Pickett revealed a package of skills unmatched by any other player in the State league.
The 26-year-old hauled in several spectacular pack marks amid his seven captures, drilled a series of 60m bullets among 21 kicks, landed four goals from a combination of long set shots and clever groundwork and, if that wasn’t enough, provided a couple of clear taps after spending time as a relief ruckman.
And he added a bump on West Perth captain Aaron Black that was notable for its controlled ferocity — although he was reported for it. It was a scintillating exhibition and the key to the Bulldogs’ biggest finals victory.
“I can’t do any more than what I have done this year,” Pickett said.
“I think I might go OK, but if it doesn’t happen this year I will be happy with what I’ve done. I just want to get an opportunity. I don’t care where I play, whether here, Melbourne or Queensland, just as long as I get a chance.”
Pickett asked coach Todd Curley to be moved to the midfield this year after several seasons at half-back where he was successful enough to play two State games.
But his football has gone to a new level this season as he tried to mirror Kelly with a breakout performance on the ball.
“I enjoyed it down back, but I enjoy the midfield even more,” Pickett said. “I’m probably enjoying myself more this season and enjoying the success of the boys. I can’t do my thing without the boys. Credit to them.”
Pickett has been the subject of intense interest from at least four AFL clubs. Curley was confident his rising star would succeed if given a chance.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/south-fremantle-football-club/afl-draft-marlion-pickett-can-follow-in-footsteps-of-former-south-fremantle-teammate-tim-kelly-ng-b88947699z
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Here's a highlights video of Pickett:
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2019-05-27/marlion-pickett-highlights
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70 k - contracted until the end of the year and we get first option to extend it after that... :shh
Think it’s 50k plus match payments.
Gets a further 20 if he’s delisted at season end.
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The Richmond of yesteryear would never have picked up a player like this. I know he has a finger injury but he has so much X factor it’s ridiculous. We are gathering a great group of indigenous talent down at punt road these days! It’s going to be one hell of a ride!
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Kelly column: My mate Marlion deserves mid-year draft call
Tim Kelly,
Geelong Advertiser
May 18, 2019
THERE is a player in the WAFL who can play almost any position on the ground.
He is brilliant off halfback, got pace to burn off a wing, strong for his size in the forward line and tough enough to excel as an inside midfielder.
A few clubs looked at him in last year’s draft and he was close, seemingly very close, to getting the AFL opportunity he deserved, but ultimately it never came.
He is my good mate Marlion Pickett, who plays for South Fremantle in the WAFL.
If you wanted the best example of the type of player who would benefit from the AFL’s mid-season draft, Marlion is your man.
He is mature-age and he is ready to go.
Clubs have again shown interest in him during the lead-up to the AFL mid-season draft and I hope he gets his chance because he will do everything in his power to make it work.
When I left South Fremantle to come over to Geelong at the end of 2017, he effectively took my place in the midfield and quickly flourished, taking his game to a whole new level.
...
Back on Marlion. I think he has the versatility and talent to slip straight into AFL life. I’d love to see my good mate out there later this year, even if he’s on the opposition.
https://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/sport/afl/tim-kelly-column-mate-mate-marlion-pickett-deserves-midyear-draft-call/news-story/9bb2727b41afe30da6788de145bcbc29
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Inspired selection.
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We should make a play for Tim Kelly now..... :shh
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Looks to be an astute selection. Smooth moving mid to help out with our depth. I think Shai has some Pickett blood running through his veins so this could be an additional bonus in our desire to sign up Shai :clapping
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Agent reveals why Tigers pounced on a 27yo with a troubled past
AFL.com.au
Marc McGowan
May 27, 2019 10:35PM
OPERATION: Get Marlion Pickett Drafted began, in some ways, about eight weeks ago.
Pickett had long tried to put himself on the AFL radar – and watched former South Fremantle teammate Tim Kelly do exactly that – but the stigma of his two-and-a-half-year jail stint as a teenager continued to linger.
Intervention was required to breathe life into his football dream, which was realised when Richmond selected the 27-year-old in Monday night's NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft.
Pickett approached his now agent Anthony Van Der Wielen, who he had known for six years through the WAFL, in a plea for help.
Van Der Wielen immediately began working the phones, figuring out firstly what had stopped the hard-as-nails midfielder from being drafted until now.
Retired Dockers champion Paul Hasleby and former Magpie and Bulldog Todd Curley, who have both coached Pickett at South Fremantle, were also enlisted.
"He needed to get his story told," Van Der Wielen told AFL.com.au.
"It was about him not just being the guy who did two-and-a-half years in jail, because that was six or seven years ago and that was something he did when he was 17 or 18 years of age.
"Once we were able to get clubs to sit down and meet with him, they saw he's got a lovely family and four good kids, he's as fit as a trout and really clean-living and never misses a training session.
"I think people took the stereotype out and just saw him for who he is."
The plan looked to have come unstuck on Saturday, when Pickett – a dual South Fremantle club champion – re-broke the right index finger that had ruled him out for all bar two games of the WAFL season.
The Tigers and Essendon were his keenest admirers, but his surgeon told him on Saturday night he faced another eight to 10 weeks on the sidelines.
The Bombers pulled out on Monday morning, but Richmond list manager Blair Hartley remained in contact and eventually let the Pickett camp know the good news just before the draft started.
"He's been impeccable since arriving at our football club and I'm rapt for him and it's been overwhelming all the responses on my phone," Van Der Wielen said.
"He deserves this and he's a readymade body and could step straight in, but I think it's more likely it'd be next year."
Pickett will fly to Melbourne on Wednesday, with his long-time partner Jess and their children remaining in Western Australia for the time being.
So what sort of player are the Tigers getting?
"He hits as hard as Byron Pickett but he plays with a lot of grace," Van Der Wielen said.
"He wears the No.25 at South Fremantle, which was worn by our greatest ever footballer, (Hall of Famer) Stephen Michael, and there are some similarities between them.
"He's very athletic and you certainly don't want to get in his way, but he reads the play beautifully, so he'll probably be a big-bodied midfielder or a running half-back in the AFL."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-05-27/agent-reveals-why-tigers-pounced-on-a-27yo-with-a-troubled-past
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New Tiger: How jail, footy changed me
Jon Ralph,
Herald Sun
May 28, 2019
New Richmond draftee Marlion Pickett says football saved him after walking out of a two-and-half year jail sentence in 2013 and signing up for South Fremantle.
The Tigers provided the jaw-dropping moment of the mid-season draft when they signed Pickett despite his troubled past and an 8-10 week finger injury.
Pickett spent 30 months in jail for a string of minor burglary offences but has been open with clubs about how he has changed his life through football.
He told the Herald Sun on Monday night from Perth that everything he did now was for his partner and four young children.
“This means a lot for my family. Everything I do is for my kids and partner so they don’t have to worry about growing up like I did. Everything I do is for them,” he said.
“I have been out since 2013, so the first week I go out I walked into South Fremantle.
“I have been honest with clubs. The past is the past and I can’t change what I have done but I can change who I have become.
“(Jail) was hard but it was a learning curve. If I didn’t go in there I might have got into worse trouble.
“My older brother was in there and he gave me a talking to. He said you shouldn’t be in here, he gave me a little clip. (To play an AFL game) would mean a lot, to represent my kids and my partner.”
Richmond recruiting manager Matt Clarke said the Tigers would put the right support structures around Pickett as a long-term prospect.
“We are pretty happy to embrace all types of people and cultures and personalities at the footy club. They have still got to fit our mould at the footy club. We think he does,” he said.
“We have liked his talent for quite a while. He has been in the system playing really good senior footy
“Going into the midfield last year with South Freo was a big step up for him and that gave us a bit more confidence to give it a crack. We think he can add to our mix.”
Pickett is unlikely to play this season after injuring his finger in the WAFL. Picture: Daniel Wilkins
Richmond’s determination to pick him despite the likelihood he won’t play senior football this year shows how much they believe in Pickett.
His manager Anthony Van Der Wielen said he believed Pickett’s hopes had been dashed by Saturday’s injury.
“We have had a lot of interviews with Richmond in the last few weeks and when he went down on Saturday with the finger, we really thought it might have been hard for them,” he said.
“I knew it was a great opportunity for him to get to Melbourne and go through the induction process.
“He is fit as a trout and with his finger he can train really hard. (List manager) Blair Hartley didn’t tell me until 15 minutes before the draft and I still didn’t want to tell Marlion (until his name was read out).”
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/new-richmond-recruit-marlion-pickett-says-his-stint-in-jail-was-a-huge-learning-curve/news-story/2ab8ca95f86d42877d70a708db270d8b
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Gee you read a lot of spin and rubbish
I hope he makes it ✅
He can play and is an X Factor
Will be 28yo next year
Reality is that he has played 2 average games this year and won’t play for at least another 10 weeks
Is no where near AFL fitness levels
Why draft now when he won’t play and if he did a pre season like Stack , pick him up next year and save $50k 🤔🤔
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Consider the next 6 months an extra long preseason. And an opportunity to get him and his family settled in Melbourne. I wonder if Dimma will make room at his house for Marlion, the missus and the four kids?
:lol
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Gee you read a lot of spin and rubbish
I hope he makes it ✅
He can play and is an X Factor
Will be 28yo next year
Reality is that he has played 2 average games this year and won’t play for at least another 10 weeks
Is no where near AFL fitness levels
Why draft now when he won’t play and if he did a pre season like Stack , pick him up next year and save $50k 🤔🤔
It's worth punt as we get first "dibs" on him for 2020. He will play VFL this season so it's a good chance for both sides to work together to make it work.
Our club isn't broke, financially we are one of the strongest, $50k isn't going to send us to the wall.
Have no issue with it, it's a good call and worth it
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I think it’s an ordinary call
No other club was going to pick him up for various reasons
Highlights tape is from 2018 you will find as his two games in year have been poor
Geelong issues with Kelly just highlights how hard it is to relocate with a family
Pickett has 4 very young children
He won’t be long term at 28 next year
Club could of drafted him next pre season after he spent time training with us as did Stack
Hope I am wrong
Have to wait and see
Won’t play AFL this year guaranteed
VFL at best
Missed way too much footy this year
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OK it looks like its going to be a great call then
Another big tick for the RFC
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Earmarked by Dimma for 2020 😉
Will miss 10 weeks
Might play one game to qualify for VFL finals on 17th Aug against Essendon
Following week is a bye
🤦♂️
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Earmarked by Dimma for 2020 😉
Will miss 10 weeks
Might play one game to qualify for VFL finals on 17th Aug against Essendon
Following week is a bye
🤦♂️
There's a huge difference missing 10 weks with a knee or soft tissue injury and missing 10 with a finger. He will be doing a preseason and learning team structures and he'll be right with 3 rounds to go. The guy is a gifted footballer. Don't be surprised if he becomes a bit of a weapon during the finals...... :shh
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Sounds like this guy has something to prove to himself and a lot of other people. If he comes in with some fire in his belly and a good work ethic on and off the field as reported then he is going to help us win and be a handy player for us for a while. Has low k’s under the bonnet and sounds like he is tough as nails.
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as a mature recruit he ticks just about every concievable box you can think of.It really is a no brainer pick when you tick off the boxes.
Lots of people making comparisons to Kelly i think hes better in a lot of areas than Tim but he certainly isnt as proficient weather tis stops him playing midfield at afl level or not time will tell.
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The reward far outweighs the risk IMO.
Good luck to him as it sounds like he has worked extremely hard to get this opportunity.
I’ll back what our recruiters are doing going off what they have been able to do over the last 3 or 4 years.
Why any Tiger supporter wouldn’t back this guy after what Sydney Stack has been able to do is mind boggling.
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as a mature recruit he ticks just about every concievable box you can think of.It really is a no brainer pick when you tick off the boxes.
Lots of people making comparisons to Kelly i think hes better in a lot of areas than Tim but he certainly isnt as proficient weather tis stops him playing midfield at afl level or not time will tell.
Haven't seen a lot of him live, but have a mate who watches every South's game.
He reckons that the Kelly comparison is overplayed by the media, and that a better comparison is Gilbert McAdam.
He tells me he has never seen a player with more explosive pace than Pickett. Extremely quick off the mark.
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I think it's worth a go, we can have a good look at him and see if he's cut out for the rigor of the Tigers.
Just because you have the ability doesn't mean you have the attitude
I hope he does
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I think it's worth a go, we can have a good look at him and see if he's cut out for the rigor of the Tigers.
Just because you have the ability doesn't mean you have the attitude
I hope he does
Post of the week right here 👍
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I think it's worth a go, we can have a good look at him and see if he's cut out for the rigor of the Tigers.
Just because you have the ability doesn't mean you have the attitude
I hope he does
Post of the week right here 👍
Our recruiting department now analyses things like that. of course the science isn’t exact but I’m backing them in if they think he’s got the right attitude. Why do you think differently?
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Interesting that he got through to our pick.
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Not really ...injury clearly put the other clubs off.... :shh
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Apparently will be living with Dusty. Great match-up there I reckon.
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‘Doing it for the kids’: Father-of-four Marlion Pickett finds his feet at Richmond
Adrian Barich
The West Australian
Wednesday, 30 May 2019
The South Fremantle star has been picked up by Richmond in the Mid-Season Draft.
From a jail cell to an AFL club – Perth’s Marlion Pickett is one of the great redemption tales.
Pickett touched down in Melbourne today to begin life as an AFL footballer with Richmond, who picked him up in the NAB Mid-Season Draft on Monday night.
The father-of-four was considered one of the country’s best non-AFL players before Monday, but off-field drama kept him out of the spotlight.
“I’m mainly doing it for my family. I’m not doing it for myself, doing it for my kids,” he told 7NEWS.
“(I’m) a bit nervous but looking forward to the challenge.”
Pickett spent more than two years behind bars as a teenager, but turned his life around.
Arriving in Melbourne today, Tigers stars Daniel Rioli and Sydney Stack rolled out the welcome mat, greeting the 27-year-old.
Pickett has been signed on a short-term $50,000 contract with the Tigers, but a finger injury picked up last weekend will rule him out of action until August.
“So when I’ve done my finger, I thought that was it,” he said.
“I wasn’t really watching the AFL app for me (on Monday night), I was watching for a couple of other boys but my name got called out. I wasn’t sure what to think.”
The new Tiger will live with Brownlow Medallist Dustin Martin as he finds his feet in Melbourne.
(https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/B881215205Z/1559127009188_GAF284HJ4.1-1.jpg?imwidth=1224&impolicy=wan_v3)
Marlion Pickett was greeted at Melbourne Airport by some of his new Tigers teammates.Picture: 7NEWS
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/doing-it-for-the-kids-father-of-four-marlion-pickett-finds-his-feet-at-richmond-ng-b881215205z
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D7xzaL-UYAA8s8A.jpg)
Tigers’ recruit Pickett to live with Dusty
Michael Ramsay
West Australian
30 May 2019
Dustin Martin is the definition of a rough diamond, so it’s only fitting that the AFL superstar is taking Richmond’s mature-aged draftee Marlion Pickett under his wing.
The Brownlow Medallist has opened his home to Pickett, who the Tigers snapped up in this week’s mid-season draft.
Highly rated at WAFL side South Fremantle for a number of years, a history of off-field issues - including time spent in jail - had contributed to the 27-year-old Pickett being overlooked for higher honours despite plenty of interest.
But the Tigers believe his issues are in the past, and still chose to select the father of four after he had surgery to repair a broken finger.
Pickett will spend about a week living with Martin, who himself had off-field troubles before changing his ways in recent years.
For Richmond coach Damien Hardwick, it’s all part of the club’s rich tapestry.
The Tigers have reaped the rewards of recruiting Sydney Stack, another talented indigenous WAFL player who was overlooked by other clubs because of perceived character issues.
Even the Tigers’ AFLW list has its share of surprises.
The Herald Sun last week revealed foundation signing Tayla Stahl had received a suspended prison sentence for serving as the getaway driver in a bank robbery on a military air base.
“The thing I love about our club is we sort of embrace those challenges,“ Hardwick said.
“It adds to the person’s story and adds to our club’s story along the way. The one thing I will say about footy clubs is they are fantastic at wrapping their arms around and giving people a chance.
“That’s the great thing about sport in general - it allows people to grow and thrive and get better as a result.”
Pickett’s finger injury will sideline him for up to 10 weeks.
But judging by Hardwick’s excitement at his highlights reel, he won’t have to wait too long before he gets his opportunity.
“Have you seen his tape? I would have picked him this week, I reckon, if he didn’t break his finger,” a grinning Hardwick said.
“I think he’s capable, there’s no doubt. Learning the system will take some time, absolutely, but the reality is good players are good players.”
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-tigers-recruit-marlion-pickett-to-live-with-richmond-superstar-dustin-martin-ng-b881215970z
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as a mature recruit he ticks just about every concievable box you can think of.It really is a no brainer pick when you tick off the boxes.
Lots of people making comparisons to Kelly i think hes better in a lot of areas than Tim but he certainly isnt as proficient weather tis stops him playing midfield at afl level or not time will tell.
Haven't seen a lot of him live, but have a mate who watches every South's game.
He reckons that the Kelly comparison is overplayed by the media, and that a better comparison is Gilbert McAdam.
He tells me he has never seen a player with more explosive pace than Pickett. Extremely quick off the mark.
Mini-me says he’s from a WAFL club some of her mates play at and they say he’s the best player they’ve ever seen
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Stealing this bloke from right under the noses of the two WA clubs will be known as one of the greatest heists in AFL history. :rollin
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Stealing this bloke from right under the noses of the two WA clubs will be known as one of the greatest heists in AFL history. :rollin
Right alongside stealing Stack.
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Wearing #50 this season
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Why Richmond is the perfect place for Pickett
By Andrew Slevison
SEN
31 May 2019
Andrew Krakouer says Richmond is the perfect place for Marlion Pickett to flourish.
The Tigers selected Pickett in Monday’s mid-season draft despite him having spent more than two years in jail for various offences.
Pickett, 27, has been in elite form in the WAFL for South Fremantle over the past few years, and according to Krakouer, is now in the right environment to succeed at the highest level, just as overlooked youngster Sydney Stack has done with the yellow and black this season.
Former Richmond and Collingwood small forward Krakouer is well-versed to make comment after enduring a stint behind bars during his AFL career.
“Because of Sydney and now Marlion, they’re (Richmond) doing the best job at the moment because they’ve got two players who haven’t had the best lead-up and preparation,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“Footy clubs do their homework. They understand dynamics around players.
“Marlion’s been drafted and he’s not going to play for 10 weeks (with a finger injury), so for Richmond to be able to do that, they’ve got great systems in place.
“It’s credit to them to understand that yes, these guys do have a few issues but we are going to back ourselves and the people we have around this footy club to help them on this journey and get them in the right state of mind.
“It’s a great story with Marlion. He’s not so young, he’s 27, so for him to be able to be on an AFL list from his journey… for him to be able to now get the opportunity is just an absolutely amazing story of resilience, persistence, determination and self-belief.
“You don’t really see too much of a future when you’re in jail. You’re not quite sure what the future holds so for him to have that dream and that drive is absolutely amazing and its a credit to him to get this opportunity.”
Krakouer added: “With Aboriginal people, if someone gives you an opportunity, all you want to do is repay the faith.
“Just to make them feel welcome and to bring them in. I’ve no doubt Sydney feels that and with Marlion as well, once he feels at home and he feels like he belongs, he’s going to be playing some great footy for them.”
Pickett, who is currently sidelined with a broken finger, will move in with Tigers superstar Dustin Martin as he continues to chase his AFL dream.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2019/05/29/why-richmond-is-the-perfect-place-for-pickett/
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Anybody know how Marlion is going/settling in/training etc?
:cheers
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Anybody know how Marlion is going/settling in/training etc?
:cheers
Heard his on the track and training the house down as we speak :shh
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Anybody know how Marlion is going/settling in/training etc?
:cheers
Was really pushed in his running the other day. Was doing a Stack and throwing up..... :shh
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Anybody know how Marlion is going/settling in/training etc?
:cheers
He'll have a wire removed from his finger next week. Return to footy is 4-5 weeks away.
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Secret weapon for finals (if we make it)?
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Anybody know how many (if any) games he has to play before he can play finals?
:cheers
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Anybody know how many (if any) games he has to play before he can play finals?
:cheers
Do you mean for VFL finals, '65? There's no restriction on AFL finals.
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Anybody know how many (if any) games he has to play before he can play finals?
:cheers
Do you mean for VFL finals, '65? There's no restriction on AFL finals.
I meant AFL, it's one game (I think) for the VFL.
:thumbsup
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Mid-season draftee Marlion Pickett (finger) is edging closer to his first game in the yellow and black.
"[Pickett] will play some game time next week, which is really exciting. We didn't think we'd have him for the majority of the year. Balmey's got him winning the Brownlow off the remaining five or six games, so we're really excited to see what he's got to offer.
"You can just tell this kid knows how to play the game. He has to play a little bit of VFL football, obviously, but I think we're all excited as a coaching staff to see how he goes."
Source: Dimma via AFL website (https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-07-18/tiger-out-for-season-abnormality-in-blood-vessels-causes-brain-bleed)
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That’s interesting, has done little at training in regard to contested work and only started doing competitive work and set plays today
Been in rehab group since he arrived
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That’s interesting, has done little at training in regard to contested work and only started doing competitive work and set plays today
Been in rehab group since he arrived
Are you saying that because of his he’s not ready for limited Game time in the VFL??
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That’s interesting, has done little at training in regard to contested work and only started doing competitive work and set plays today
Been in rehab group since he arrived
Are you saying that because of his he’s not ready for limited Game time in the VFL??
DO NOT question the groupie in all things training
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That’s interesting, has done little at training in regard to contested work and only started doing competitive work and set plays today
Been in rehab group since he arrived
Are you saying that because of his he’s not ready for limited Game time in the VFL??
DO NOT question the groupie in all things training
Seriously mate grow up
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That’s interesting, has done little at training in regard to contested work and only started doing competitive work and set plays today
Been in rehab group since he arrived
Are you saying that because of his he’s not ready for limited Game time in the VFL??
Done no competitive work until today
Missed a lot of footy
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That’s interesting, has done little at training in regard to contested work and only started doing competitive work and set plays today
Been in rehab group since he arrived
Are you saying that because of his he’s not ready for limited Game time in the VFL??
Done no competitive work until today
Missed a lot of footy
I don't think there is an issue here
Managed minutes means he is likely to play something like 10 mins across a half
What does it matter if he's only started competitive work today?
That's what managed minutes in the VFL is all about.
Also, it's not like were taking about some 18 or 19 years old here, we are talking about a senior player; granted from the WAFL but he is a mature bodied player. Best way to get match hardness is to actually play
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Been sitting in rehab group since he arrived
Facts are that he had very limited pre season in WA
Played round 6 in WAFL first game back 19 disposals
Then in Round 7 May 25th had 6 disposals and got injured
Running laps of punt Road is hardly competitive training for an onballer
Saying that will be great asset when fully fit
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Won’t play this week
Back in Perth
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Family tragedy apparently.... :shh
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Let the games begin: Tigers mid-season recruit to be unleashed in VFL
August 1, 2019
Josh Gabelich
FOX SPORTS
Richmond is set to unveil mid-season recruit Marlion Pickett in the VFL this weekend, providing him with at least a month to audition for a contract beyond this season.
Foxsports.com.au understands that Pickett has resumed full training and will be let off the leash at Punt Road Oval on Saturday if he gets through Friday’s captain’s run.
The 27-year-old WAFL star arrived at the end of May with a broken index finger that was expected to take most of the second half of 2019 to repair.
After spending his first two months at Richmond training in the rehab group alongside five-time All-Australian defender Alex Rance and three-time Coleman medallist Jack Riewoldt, Pickett is ready to play against the Casey Demons.
The Tigers have been very impressed with Pickett’s professionalism since arriving at the club and are set to re-sign him for 2020 when the time is right.
With a month to play in the home and away season, the door is slightly ajar for Pickett to make a fairytale ascent from anonymity to the September stage.
But given Richmond’s stunning depth, it would be a remarkable effort for him to break into Damien Hardwick’s side, especially when you consider the midfielder has only played two games this year due to the finger injury.
The West Australian is expected to play 60 per cent of the game this weekend, before having his workload gradually increased over the coming weeks.
Pickett has been on the radar of AFL club’s for most of this decade — the Gold Coast Suns looked at him closely last year when they flew him over — but has been constantly overlooked despite stacking up dominant performances for South Fremantle, where he won two best and fairest awards
A two-and-a-half-year stint in jail as a teenager turned some clubs off taking a chance on him in the past, as well as the fact he is a father of four children, so the investment from a welfare perspective is also significant.
But Richmond took a chance on him in May, just like they did on Sydney Stack in February — and hasn’t that worked out well.
After the success of Brownlow Medal fancy Tim Kelly at Geelong, who he played with at South Fremantle, Pickett could prove all the doubters wrong in the coming years, perhaps even the coming months.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/richmond-midseason-rookie-recruit-marlion-pickett-set-to-be-unleashed-in-vfl-this-weekend/news-story/a02a38c28244d3a57b6582cbaf1dc9b8
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So exciting to see Marlion Pickett's name in the @RichmondVFL side for his debut on Saturday, but I don't reckon it'll be there too long. I'm tipping he'll make his #AFL debut against Carlton or WCE. The bloke is that good, and can have a Tim Kelly-like impact.
https://twitter.com/NCreely
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So exciting to see Marlion Pickett's name in the @RichmondVFL side for his debut on Saturday, but I don't reckon it'll be there too long. I'm tipping he'll make his #AFL debut against Carlton or WCE. The bloke is that good, and can have a Tim Kelly-like impact.
https://twitter.com/NCreely
jeepers, he hardly played in the WAFL this year
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Grimesy on SEN compared Pickett to an "Andrew MacLeod-type" :o. Silky with a hard edge who can play inside and outside. Grimesy added that he hoped to see Pickett in the seniors before the year is out.
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Richmond defender eager to see "special" Pickett unleashed
By Andrew Slevison
SEN
8 August 2019
Marlion Pickett gave Richmond supporters a little taste of what he is capable of last weekend.
In his first VFL outing for the Tigers, the mature-aged mid-season recruit picked up 20 disposals and kicked a goal in the victory over the Casey Demons and immediately looked at home in yellow and black.
Pickett, 27, has been sidelined with a broken finger sustained while playing in the WAFL for South Fremantle but is working his way into form for a possible AFL debut.
Richmond defender Dylan Grimes spoke of Pickett’s impact while giving some insight into the type of player he is.
“We’ve only seen him play just the one game but geez, he was impressive,” Grimes told SEN’s Bob and Andy.
“He only played 70%, he’s coming back from his finger injury.
“He hasn’t played much footy at all this year but what he’s showed is pretty incredible.
“I’m trying to liken him to someone and I guess the closest player that would come to mind is that Andrew McLeod type. Dashing half-back/wing, a versatile attacking player.
“He’s got a real hard edge about him as well which is almost the best of both worlds. Could be inside, could be outside but from what we’ve seen, he’s pretty special.
“He’s had a really tough few weeks of transition, coming from where he was in WA to here, and his family with his young kids that are over there who he’s missing dearly, and a family tragedy as well.
“So for him to come out and play his first game, play really well and get through injury free was really exciting for sure.”
Asked if we could see Pickett in the Richmond senior side soon, Grimes added: “I don’t know but I’m bloody hopeful because he’s pretty exciting.
“What he brings is something else. People will really enjoy watching him. He’s a silky player but with that hard edge, it’s exciting to watch.
“He’s sort of like what we brought in with ‘Stacky’ (Sydney Stack). Bit of an unknown, has terrific skills and a hard edge.
“I’m hopeful to see him out there. I wouldn’t be surprised either way.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2019/08/08/richmond-defender-eager-to-see-special-pickett-unleashed/
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Grimesy could get his wish. Pickett has been named in the extended squad.
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After one game in the #VFL, Marlion Pickett is already in contention for senior selection 🔥
Some highlights of Pickett from last week: https://twitter.com/7VFL/status/1160365341748236288
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‘He looks an AFL player’: Richmond recruit Marlion Pickett pushes his case
Mitchell Woodcock
The West Australian
Monday, 12 August 2019 4:20PM WST
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says he has no idea which position is best to play Marlion Pickett if the South Fremantle recruit is able to force his way in to the premiership favourites’ 22.
The 27-year-old played just his second VFL game for Richmond on Sunday, having come to the club via the mid-season draft with a broken finger.
Hardwick praised the late bloomer, who could well make his AFL debut in the final two rounds of the home-and-away season.
“Ideally we would love to because when we look at him he looks an AFL player,” Hardwick said on Triple M yesterday.
“We are still trying to find out exactly where to play him.
“He went through half-back and on ball. He has got some significant upside for us, he is a terrific runner and uses the ball well.
“If we could squeeze him in we would love to (play him).”
Picket had 15 disposals off half-back yesterday for Richmond’s VFL team, a week after collecting 20 disposals and two goals on debut.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/he-looks-an-afl-player-richmond-recruit-marlion-pickett-pushes-his-case-ng-b881289098z
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Mark Stevens reckons Pickett is very close to a debut. He said Richmond want to get him into the side. We just have to figure out how to get Pickett in.
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Simple, cya bellis
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Simple, cya bellis
:clapping
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Simple, cya bellis
:clapping
:clapping :clapping
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After watching the VFL game I didn't see a player demanding a promotion to the seniors with big numbers.
Marlion showed glimpses of potential which were impressive but so did Balta, Menadue, Markov and Naish.
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Was Slomo was your b.o.g again? :shh
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if he is match fit he will play this week....simple as that
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:shh
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:shh
:shh :shh
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After watching the VFL game I didn't see a player demanding a promotion to the seniors with big numbers.
Marlion showed glimpses of potential which were impressive but so did Balta, Menadue, Markov and Naish.
✅
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:shh
:shh :shh
:shh :shh :shh
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:shh
:shh :shh
:shh :shh :shh
:shh :shh :shh :shh
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:shh
:shh :shh
:shh :shh :shh
:shh :shh :shh :shh
:shh :shh :shh :shh :shh
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After watching the VFL game I didn't see a player demanding a promotion to the seniors with big numbers.
Marlion showed glimpses of potential which were impressive but so did Balta, Menadue, Markov and Naish.
✅
:clapping
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Barrett from his "Sliding Doors" column:
IF ... the Tigers are going to tease us and name Marlion Pickett in extended squads for two weeks in a row ...
THEN ... please, this week, stop the tease, and put him in the 22 for a debut game against West Coast. Could be the finals X-factor.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-08-16/sliding-doors-round-22
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Hardwick wouldn't confirm if mid-season recruit Marlion Pickett would make his debut after being named in the 26.
"Every week he plays he gets match-fit. Ability-wise, we think he's capable of playing AFL football, there's no doubt about that, that's why we brought him to our football club.
"It's just a matter of trying to find the right game and the right intensity for him to play at. He's probably a step closer this week, we looked at him at half-back (VFL), we liked what we saw. Whether we through him in the deep end this week, we're not too sure."
Source: AFL website (https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-08-16/tigers-wont-hide-tactics-in-mustwin-clash-hardwick)
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BARRETT: Shades of Dermie in Tiger rookie's bid for finals debut
AFL.com.au
Damian Barrett
Sep 2, 2019
MARLION Pickett already owns one of the best storylines of the 2019 season.
Twenty-seven years old. Father of four. Jailed in his late teenage years. Given a place on an AFL club list in the mid-season draft.
Now, with a solid month of VFL football into his system, Pickett has challenged Richmond coach Damien Hardwick to make the most daring of team selection decisions going into the finals.
Just as Allan Jeans provided Dermott Brereton with a big-time debut in a final in 1982, Hardwick has reason to ponder doing the same with Pickett.
Pickett went close to senior selection in the final two rounds of the season, being named in extended squads, and was impressive again in the VFL on Saturday, kicking two goals and accumulating 21 disposals at Punt Road against Essendon.
The Tigers seem very settled, having won their past nine matches, so a curveball selection remains a long shot.
The form of Shai Bolton in the past four matches has been OK, but he managed just seven disposals and one tackle in the final match of the home-and-away season against Brisbane.
He tallied 11 disposals in each of his previous three matches. If he is to play in Saturday night's qualifying final, he knows he needs to lift.
When drafted by the Tigers in late May, Pickett was thought to be no chance of AFL selection in 2019, as he arrived at the club with a badly damaged finger.
While recovering from that injury, he worked closely with Alex Rance and Jack Riewoldt in the club's rehabilitation group, and has quickly earned the respect of everyone at Richmond.
Marlion Pickett fires off a handball at Tigers training in August.
A two-time best-and-fairest winner at South Fremantle, the Tigers felt Pickett would be best suited across half-back and in on-ball roles, but he can clearly play forward too.
On a sunny early September day in 1982 at the MCG against North Melbourne, Dermott Brereton, wearing No.47, managed five goals in his first game, the first of those five coming after a pass from Leigh Matthews in the second quarter.
Dermott Brereton, pictured in 1989, became a finals great after making his debut in September 1982.
Pickett might just have done enough to follow Brereton into a VFL/AFL debut in a final – against Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday night.
That would take some beating for story of the year.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-09-01/barrett-shades-of-dermie-in-tiger-rookies-bid-for-finals-debut
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'He's going to be an incredible player', but will Dimma pick him?
Roger Vaughan
AAP
Sep 3, 2019
RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick is reticent to give mid-season recruit Marlion Pickett a shock AFL debut in the Tigers' qualifying final against Brisbane.
Pickett took an outstanding mark in Saturday's VFL final win over Essendon and there has been speculation about whether the Tigers would promote him in September.
Hardwick said it is more likely that Pickett will play in the AFL next season.
The Tigers recruited the 27-year-old from WA in the NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft.
"You sort of, generally love the side you have now and there are a few pieces you can look at," Hardwick told Fox Footy.
"Marlion's one of those guys you love the look of and you think 'he'd be able to add something to us', but you're a little bit unsure.
"After another pre-season, he's going to be an incredible player for us. He certainly has a lot of upside."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-09-02/hes-going-to-be-an-incredible-player-but-will-dimma-pick-him
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MARLION PICKETT
Has a one-year deal in front of him with the Tigers on set terms as a rookie. Has moved his family over in the past fortnight and will stay in Melbourne over summer. Tigers couldn’t be more impressed with his attitude and professionalism.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/trades-unplugged-superfooty-trade-experts-look-at-where-the-big-names-will-be-playing-next-season/news-story/05d5f3999bdd0c8fb69882704c019905
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Another tick for our recruiters.
(https://www.aflphotos.com.au/images/thumbs/800/2019/09/22/717360.jpg)
(https://www.aflphotos.com.au/images/thumbs/450/2019/09/22/717259.jpg)
(https://www.aflphotos.com.au/images/thumbs/800/2019/09/22/717234.jpg)
https://www.aflphotos.com.au/galleries/results/?q=collection:VFL%202019%20Grand%20Final%20-%20Richmond%20v%20Williamstown&image_id=717244
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By Jay Clark
Herald-Sun
Premiership Tiger Shaun Grigg has backed his midseason replacement Marlion Pickett to deliver on the big stage, saying the electric utility is “built for finals”.
Pickett can become the first player in 67 years to make his AFL debut in a Grand Final after a sizzling best-on-ground performance in the VFL premiership decider on Sunday.
The Tigers are weighing up the huge call whether to pick him, Jack Ross or Sydney Stack to replace injured hard nut Jack Graham (dislocated shoulder) against Greater Western Sydney on Saturday at the MCG.
Grigg made the selfless decision to retire midseason, opening up a spot for the Tigers to draft the 27-year-old WAFL star despite an 11th-hour finger injury.
Grigg, 31, said he was thrilled the game breaker was in the selection frame.
“It does a bring smile to my face because I couldn’t help the team on the field this year, so I just wanted to do anything I could to help the club get better,” Grigg said.
“And if he does get in, you know he is a big-game player.
“We have seen what he did on the weekend and he’s built for finals.
“He is pretty contested, he is skillful and if he does play, I think he will have a couple of pretty special moments.
“For him to be even talked about as a selection option shows it is the right call (to retire).”
Pickett gathered 20 disposals, nine tackles and slotted one goal in the VFL premiership win over Williamstown on Sunday to bolster his selection chances.
It comes only three weeks after the South Fremantle product reeled in a breathtaking high mark running back with the flight in the VFL elimination final win over Essendon.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/live-rolling-footy-news-from-around-australia-for-tuesday-24-september-2019/live-coverage/30b1dd2e3765b6a49e37d5b1219a333c
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Richmond midfielder Marlion Pickett will make his AFL debut for the Tigers in Saturday's 2019 AFL Grand Final.
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2019-09-26/pickett-picked-for-grand-final-debut
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This is unbelievable!
Holy moly!
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Who's going to play Marlion in the movie??
This is unbelievable.
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Love it
Gutsy decision and it will pay off
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Reeks of a desperate move. Hope it comes off.
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Reeks of a desperate move. Hope it comes off.
Desperate? We are favourites I don't think desperate is the right word.
Ity's risky and maybe reckless. But when you think of alternatives, I think the pros and cons this selection has the most upside.
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Really hope it pays off. Wishing him the very best luck.
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Who's going to play Marlion in the movie??
This is unbelievable.
:lol
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Reeks of a desperate move. Hope it comes off.
The alternatives are an 18 year old boy who's played 7 games. ( think he's going to be a beaut though)
KMac - fringe player who's behind Brandon Ellis in the pecking order.
We're only replacing a player who's in our bottom six.
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Pickett said he was still “pinching himself” after hearing the news.
“I didn’t think my debut would come around this early but it has, and I’ll take it with both hands,” he said.
“Wherever I do play, I’ll give it my all and leave everything out there.”
Watch here: https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2019-09-26/pickett-selected-for-grand-final
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Pickett a redemption story made for Hollywood
Jon Ralph
Herald Sun
27 September 2019
Marlion Pickett’s astonishing journey from a Perth prison cell to an AFL Grand Final debut is the kind of story they turn into Hollywood movies.
AFL clubs just don’t throw footballers into that footy cauldron in finals on debut any more, let alone the biggest day on the AFL calendar.
Yet Pickett’s stunning rise from WAFL hopeful to best-afield in the VFL Grand Final has created Grand Final day’s most captivating story.
It would be brilliant if the only element was a debut on Grand Final day at the age of 27.
Yet the layers to this story make it beyond inspirational.
He will play on Grand Final day only seven years after being released from jail for a string of burglary offences.
He is on an AFL list only because the AFL’s new mid-season rookie rule brought in this year gave him a chance to realise his dream.
Stream the full or condensed replay of the 2019 Toyota AFL Grand Final on KAYO SPORTS. Get your 14 day free trial and start streaming instantly >
And the South Fremantle tyro will run out despite tearing a finger tendon only days before that mid-season draft as his manager Anthony Van Der Wielen frantically called in favours to get the best surgeons on the job.
Hollywood movie?
Might as well turn it into a ten-part Netflix series if Pickett can do what he always does.
Which is rise to the occasion and find a way to silence the doubters that have been there all the way along his journey.
Pickett isn’t just doing this himself after more than two years in jail, he is doing it for his partner Jessica and four children who have relocated to Melbourne along with him.
As Pickett told the Herald Sun only minutes after being drafted mid-season, it was the dramatic intervention of his brother in jail who set him on the right path.
“This means a lot for my family. Everything I do is for my kids and partner so they don’t have to worry about growing up like I did. Everything I do is for them,” he said.
“I have been out since 2012, so the first week I go out I walked into South Fremantle.
“I have been honest with clubs. The past is the past and I can’t change what I have done but I can change who I have become.
“(Jail) was hard but it was a learning curve. If I didn’t go in there I might have got into worse trouble.
“My older brother was in there and he gave me a talking to. He said you shouldn’t be in here, he gave me a little clip. (To play an AFL game) would mean a lot, to represent my kids and my partner.”
Pickett had only played two WAFL games this year given the initial finger tendon injury and the recurrence when the Tigers took the chance.
But Richmond had studied his form for years — including his slashing three-goal performance for South Fremantle in last year’s WAFL qualifying final.
As the minutes ticked down to the May 27 mid-season draft Van Der Wielen was petrified that the two interested clubs in Richmond and Essendon would go shy.
Yet as Richmond’s recruiting boss Matt Clarke said, Pickett had owned his story and long since repented.
Add his name to the list of reformation projects that include fellow WA indigenous talent Sydney Stack when no one else believed they were worthy.
His WAFL coach Todd Curley believes he will handle it like he has ever other challenge since walking into the South Fremantle football club on a mission to turn his life around.
His manager Van Der Wielen says of his playing style: “He hits as hard as Byron Pickett but he plays with a lot of grace”.
Richmond fans got to watch that on show in the VFL qualifying final when he took one of footy’s great marks, going back with the flight to mark while battered by a pack of players while seemingly closing his eyes.
Now he gets to do it on footy’s great stage with everything on the line.
After all he has achieved to get to the Tigers, don’t bet against him rising to the occasion one more time.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/marlion-picketts-journey-from-a-perth-prison-to-a-grand-final-debut-is-made-for-hollywood-writes-jon-ralph/news-story/fbeffc378db588be78cf60c9d83fef46
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Will Pickett follow Simpkin, King?
Tim Michell
Herald Sun
September 27, 2019
The last player to complete the VFL-AFL premiership double has urged Marlion Pickett to harness the faith Richmond has shown when he makes a remarkable AFL debut in Saturday’s grand final.
Ex-Hawthorn midfielder Jonathan Simpkin was a member of Box Hill and Hawthorn’s premiership teams in 2013, winning the Norm Goss Medal as the best player in the VFL decider before replacing an injured Brendan Whitecross for the AFL grand final.
Former Geelong ruckman Steven King also achieved the VFL-AFL double in 2007
Read more: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/marlion-pickett-in-frame-to-join-jonathan-simpkin-and-steven-king-with-vflafl-premiership-in-same-season/news-story/0a3749e8c64f68248497dcaaffa0f8c4
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Reeks of a desperate move. Hope it comes off.
What makes you think that mate?
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When Marlion was drafted, just about every media article mentioned that he was in jail.
Today when he got picked for a granny, probably the greatest moment of his life, all of the media articles had to mention that he was in jail.
Can they please put an asterisk next to his name in the footy record, just so we don't forget during the game that he was once in jail.
Fair dinkum.
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Got a feeling this bloke is going to rise to the occasion!
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Great for Marlion Jnr and all the indigenous kids at a local primary school I teach at. The Pickett kids all just started there a couple of weeks back. Imagine moving interstate, starting your new school, next minute dad debuts in the GF! Better get 100 games into dad as jnr has a nice sidestep.
Good luck to him
Marlion Jnr is a serious player!! Watched him at Freo City Dockers Juniors! We are all very proud of Marlion Snr over here!
https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/marlion-pickett-to-debut-in-the-2019-afl-grand-final.1229005/post-63038910
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Former coach backs "unflappable" Marlion Pickett to rise to Grand Final occasion
By SEN
26 Sep 2019
Marlion Pickett's former coach Todd Curley has spoken glowingly of his "unflappable" attitude ahead of his debut in Saturday's Grand Final against GWS.
The Tigers dropped a selection bombshell by naming Pickett - a mature age recruit in the mid-season draft - as the replacment for the injured Jack Graham.
Pickett, 27, played 98 games in the WAFL for South Fremantle, winning two best and fairest awards for the club and Curley has backed him to perform on the biggest stage of all.
“He’s got a pretty simple philosophy,” Curley said on SEN’s Bob and Andy.
“He’s probably the hardest person I’ve seen go at the footy and it’s just all about the footy to him.
“He’ll keep it pretty simple. He’s sort of unflappable, I don’t think he really would care if there’s 100,000 or 100 people out there to be honest.
“A first year player, but he’s probably a bit different in he’s 27, played 100 WAFL games, played state footy, played in some pretty big games in the VFL in the last couple of weeks, so he’s not your run of the mill first year player.”
Pickett is set to be the first Grand Final debutant since 1952 and just the sixth in the history of the league.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2019/09/26/former-coach-backs-unflappable-pickett-to-rise-to-grand-final-occasion/
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I can’t tell you why, but I don’t like this move of selecting Pickett.
I truely hope it plays out well, but it worries me.
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I can’t tell you why, but I don’t like this move of selecting Pickett.
I truely hope it plays out well, but it worries me.
That was my initial reaction when I heard about it too Slipper
Just thought this is a risk
Obviously rapt for the bloke but nervous too
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I think it’s an ordinary call
No other club was going to pick him up for various reasons
Highlights tape is from 2018 you will find as his two games in year have been poor
Geelong issues with Kelly just highlights how hard it is to relocate with a family
Pickett has 4 very young children
He won’t be long term at 28 next year
Club could of drafted him next pre season after he spent time training with us as did Stack
Hope I am wrong
Have to wait and see
Won’t play AFL this year guaranteed
VFL at best
Missed way too much footy this year
Insightful as always 🤦♂️
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just remember he is 1 of 22...its not tennis where everything depends on 1
whats the risk of playing hm instead of someone else? did you have expectations of ross or kmac coming in and getting 40 possesions and 10 tackles???? the risk is not greater or less no matter who got picked out of the 3.
gws are playing davis who could very well breakdown in the first 5 minutes...mummy is clearly stuffed...etc
As in the stockmarket...its all about the risk/reward ratio
No 12 is coming :thumbsup
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I can’t tell you why, but I don’t like this move of selecting Pickett.
I truely hope it plays out well, but it worries me.
That was my initial reaction when I heard about it too Slipper
Just thought this is a risk
Obviously rapt for the bloke but nervous too
I hope it works out but Sydney Stack deserved to play infront of all of Ross McIntosh and Pickett. This is Damien Hardwick trying to emulate Kevin Sheedy by creating stories and narratives.
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I can’t tell you why, but I don’t like this move of selecting Pickett.
I truely hope it plays out well, but it worries me.
That was my initial reaction when I heard about it too Slipper
Just thought this is a risk
Obviously rapt for the bloke but nervous too
I hope it works out but Sydney Stack deserved to play infront of all of Ross McIntosh and Pickett. This is Damien Hardwick trying to emulate Kevin Sheedy by creating stories and narratives.
Ok I am hearing you guys, the Sack Hardwick thread is officially on standby for a reboot at approx 5pmish this Sat
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You dont think Sydney deserved to play instead of this bloke?
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I can’t tell you why, but I don’t like this move of selecting Pickett.
I truely hope it plays out well, but it worries me.
That was my initial reaction when I heard about it too Slipper
Just thought this is a risk
Obviously rapt for the bloke but nervous too
I hope it works out but Sydney Stack deserved to play infront of all of Ross McIntosh and Pickett. This is Damien Hardwick trying to emulate Kevin Sheedy by creating stories and narratives.
Ok I am hearing you guys, the Sack Hardwick thread is officially on standby for a reboot at approx 5pmish this Sat
Stack struggled to run out the gf last week imo....if he was fit im sure he would have been in ahead of the others
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Watch his interview on tigers website cool as a cucumber.Start it basic for him pressure and tackle and he will find the footy.
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Straight through the middle from 50 at training.
Watch here: https://twitter.com/Richmond_FC/status/1177374830653362176
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Barrett from his 'Sliding Doors' column stating the obvious.
IF ... Marlion Pickett gets 30 disposals in the Grand Final or if he gets none ...
THEN ... regardless, it is one of the all-time great football stories. Can't get enough of it.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-09-27/sliding-doors-2019-grand-final
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'I'm a relaxed guy': Pickett will be undaunted in GF
Travis King
AFL Media
Sep 27, 2019
Marlion Pickett's former coach insists the Grand Final debutant won't be daunted by the big stage after his fairytale call-up for Richmond.
Pickett, 27, will become the first player in 67 years to debut in the season-decider against Greater Western Sydney – just days after the mid-season rookie draftee claimed the Norm Goss Medal as best afield in the VFL's showpiece game.
In just his sixth game for Richmond's seconds, Pickett collected 19 touches, laid nine tackles and booted a goal in the three-point nailbiter.
Now the ex-South Fremantle tough nut has been named for the biggest game of his life on the MCG in front of 100,000 spectators.
"The emotions are a bit of everything. When I was told I didn't believe it - I probably still can't believe it," Pickett said.
"I'm just looking forward for the weekend.
"I'm still pinching myself - I didn't think my debut would come around this early, but it has, and I will just take it with both hands.
"Wherever I do play, I will give it my all and leave everything out there."
Despite the enormity of what is happening, Pickett was taking it all in his stride.
"I'm a relaxed guy," he said.
"I was getting ready for a good pre-season, but then I got the call up.
"I'm still relaxed. A bit nervous, but it's alright."
"I'm just rapt, It's fantastic," South coach Todd Curley told AFL.com.au.
"Just so happy for Marlion and all the work that he's done. He's obviously worked really hard in the last four months and the Richmond footy club has been fantastic, so it's great for them and great for Marlion.
"I don't think (he will be daunted). He's a relaxed character.
"It's a Grand Final, but I don't think he'll be that fussed whether there's 100 or 100,000 (fans), he'll see the ball and get the ball.
"He's not your run-of-the-mill first-year player. He's played 100 WAFL games, he's played state footy, played some big VFL finals.
"Yeah, it's his first AFL game but I'll back him in. He won't let you down."
Pickett was flown to Gold Coast by the Suns last year and attracted interest from St Kilda before being overlooked in the drafts.
When a broken finger delayed his start to the WAFL season – and he then suffered a recurrence in his second game back only days before the mid-season draft – it appeared his AFL hopes were shattered.
"We spoke about it (missing out last year) but he was fiercely determined to get better, just knuckle down, train hard and just be the best player he could be at South," Curley recalled.
"He was obviously aware that with the mid-season draft there was still an opportunity if he got up and going early.
"Unfortunately he broke his finger, and the real doubts were probably when he broke his finger the second time.
"Thankfully, Richmond footy club were tremendously courageous to pick him.
"We've always been of the belief if we could get someone to be courageous enough to take him, once they saw him first-hand at clubland and had him within their system he'd really be able to show what he can do."
After starring across half-back, Pickett asked Curley to fill Tim Kelly's shoes in midfield last year once his teammate finally earned an AFL chance at Geelong.
It was a raging success, with Pickett claiming his second club champion award.
The devoted father's standout display came in the qualifying final win over West Perth when he kicked four goals from 26 touches.
After spending more than two years in jail as a teenager, Pickett has turned his life around and could complete one of the most incredible Grand Final stories if the Tigers clinch the flag this Saturday.
"He's a father of four, fiercely protective of his family and friends and teammates and footy club," said Curley, who will be in the crowd at the MCG.
"Once you support Marlion and you earn his trust he's a fantastic person and he's just a great man.
"He's really grown as a person.
"We're just so happy for him."
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2019-09-27/pickett-will-be-undaunted-in-gf
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You dont think Sydney deserved to play instead of this bloke?
I’m a massive fan of Sydney Stacks but it’s pretty simple to work out he isn’t 100%, not even close.
Sydney’s time will come but Pickett deserves his chance.
A brave selection by the club which in the past I reckon haven’t been that brave.
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He is going to play a role.
The role will be to apply pressure and tackle if he wins the ball we all know he can use the footy and he’s also pretty good at getting it if he needs to.
At the end of the day I think it was the right decision as MacIntosh nor Ross were banging the door down in the reserves.
Its a pity he had a hand injury and didn’t get to play before this big day because he would have.
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I can’t tell you why, but I don’t like this move of selecting Pickett.
I truely hope it plays out well, but it worries me.
That was my initial reaction when I heard about it too Slipper
Just thought this is a risk
Obviously rapt for the bloke but nervous too
Agreed.
Would have really been happy if they had picked Ross for the Graham spot..
More meat in the middle.
Mind you, I'm also happy for Marlion to be included as well, replacing Rioli.
Ross for Graham and Pickett for Rioli would have IMO been no risk at all.
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You dont think Sydney deserved to play instead of this bloke?
No chance Ramps
SS was average last week and had a limp in the VFL GF
It was Kmac v MP for me
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He is going to play a role.
The role will be to apply pressure and tackle if he wins the ball we all know he can use the footy and he’s also pretty good at getting it if he needs to.
At the end of the day I think it was the right decision as MacIntosh nor Ross were banging the door down in the reserves.
Its a pity he had a hand injury and didn’t get to play before this big day because he would have.
I agree. He will be playing the role that Graham does-to apply as much pressure as possible and tackle. It appears he get the hard ball. Although the VFL does not have the same skill level or fitness level that the AFL has I think the physicality is the same. I hope this puts him in good stead.
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You dont think Sydney deserved to play instead of this bloke?
No chance Ramps
SS was average last week and had a limp in the VFL GF
It was Kmac v MP for me
Then they should have gone with Kmac because at least he contributed to the senior side and had played some games.
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Was always between Pickett & Ross....was never McIntosh once Broad was declared fit... :shh
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Legendary coach slams 'dangerous' Pickett call
By Chris De Silva
wwos.NINE.com.au
27 September 2017
Legendary former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy has slammed Richmond's decision to pick debutant Marlion Pickett in its Grand Final side to play the GWS Giants.
Pickett will become the first debutant to play in a Grand Final in 67 years after he was brought into the side in place of the injured Jack Graham.
However, Sheedy, who won three premierships as a player with Richmond, said the move could serve as motivation for the Giants.
"I wouldn't have played a first-gamer in this grand final," Sheedy told 6PR Breakfast.
"You're sorta nearly giving (the impression) we think we've got you covered, so we'll put a kid in.
"(It's) very dangerous."
Pickett's selection bombshell caps a meteoric rise for the midfielder who was playing in the WAFL with South Fremantle in May when the Tigers pounced with the 13th pick at the mid-season rookie draft.
The father of four pushed his claim on a shock debut when he won the Norm Goss Medal as the best player on the field in Richmond's VFL grand final win over Williamstown last week.
"In the end, it's simply he's the best-equipped for what we needed and it was a coach's decision," Tigers football boss Neil Balme said.
"There are a few blokes who are pretty stiff, but you can only pick one and again, it's all on the back of Jacky Graham being hurt."
https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/kevin-sheedy-questions-richmond-marlion-pickett-selection/4aaab3ed-b732-4a3b-b7fb-ba653a0b1bf9
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I can’t tell you why, but I don’t like this move of selecting Pickett.
I truely hope it plays out well, but it worries me.
That was my initial reaction when I heard about it too Slipper
Just thought this is a risk
Obviously rapt for the bloke but nervous too
I hope it works out but Sydney Stack deserved to play infront of all of Ross McIntosh and Pickett. This is Damien Hardwick trying to emulate Kevin Sheedy by creating stories and narratives.
Ok I am hearing you guys, the Sack Hardwick thread is officially on standby for a reboot at approx 5pmish this Sat
:)
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LISTEN HERE, MARLION
Luke Hodge
Herald-Sun
28 September 2019
IF I were in Trent Cotchin’s shoes as Richmond captain, the message to Grand Final debutant Marlion Pickett is pretty simple: “Just go out and play footy”.
The thing about Pickett is he is 27, not an 18-year-old.
He’s still going to be extremely nervous playing in front of 100,000 fans at the MCG — but there will probably be 30 other players on the field in the same boat.
I’d be saying, “Don’t overthink it, just go out there and enjoy it”.
The key is getting an early touch — and that’s on both him and his teammates helping get him into the game.
If you get to the 15-minute-mark of the first quarter and haven’t had a touch it’s a natural instinct to think, ‘Is one going to come my way or not?’.
That will start to build the nerves.
Source: Herald-Sun (https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/luke-hodge-can-the-giants-tame-the-tigers-like-hawthorn-killed-the-shark-in-2008/news-story/bc12c93a657af5459135cef4d05712ac)
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Legendary coach slams 'dangerous' Pickett call
By Chris De Silva
wwos.NINE.com.au
27 September 2017
Legendary former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy has slammed Richmond's decision to pick debutant Marlion Pickett in its Grand Final side to play the GWS Giants.
Pickett will become the first debutant to play in a Grand Final in 67 years after he was brought into the side in place of the injured Jack Graham.
However, Sheedy, who won three premierships as a player with Richmond, said the move could serve as motivation for the Giants.
"I wouldn't have played a first-gamer in this grand final," Sheedy told 6PR Breakfast.
"You're sorta nearly giving (the impression) we think we've got you covered, so we'll put a kid in.
"(It's) very dangerous."
'us versus them', or 'have a look at those arrogant wankers' may have been displaced and probably even discredited by sports science, but I still reckon you could get an extra % or 2 out of players by hammering home the Pickett selection in the right way. As we know Kevin Sheedy is a master at this, probably even in his advanced years. Therefore I would prefer if he stayed away from the GWS rooms tomorrow, which he wont.
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IMV the choice of playing Pickett came down to two factors:
(i) Pickett was the form player at VFL level compared to Ross, Kmac & Stack. At least in a like-for-like replacement for Graham he was definitely ahead of Ross since the latter returned from injury. What would've hurt Ross was his ordinary game against the Eagles in a finals-like contest. Also it's going to be dry. If it was going to be a wet slog then Ross may have got the nod.
(ii) The first rule in the art of war is 'know thy enemy'. The fact that all of us who post on a Richmond forum and watch religiously Richmond games at both AFL & VFL levels don't have a clue how Pickett will go on GF day means GWS don't either. He's an unknown. Will he spud it up and be exposed in the pressure cooker environment and quicker tempo so he's nobody for the Giants to worry about and plan for? Will he just play his role and have no impact either way on the game so again a nobody to worry about and but they still need to plan for? Will he be a one game wonder who does a Dean Polo and flies under the radar having 25 disposals and kick 3 goals on debut?
In an era of footy when every aspect of the game is heavily scrutinised and every possible stat analysed to death, throwing an unknown at the enemy could end up being a surprise tactical advantage. We'll find out 5.30pm if it works or doesn't.
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Sheeds no longer has an official position with the Giants so as a servant of both clubs he should be happy with whoever wins rather than cheering for GWS to beat us. When he was at Essendon we were his 'second favourite' and now it seems we've moved down to third ::).
As for taking risks, the Giants are bringing back a player only 10 days after having his appendix removed and taking a chance their best key defender's calf will hold out in a GF despite him not training at all week.
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I can’t tell you why, but I don’t like this move of selecting Pickett.
I truely hope it plays out well, but it worries me.
Breathing much easier now
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He played well.
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Well Done :clapping
Legend status FOREVER :thumbsup
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his awareness and reflexes were excellent. Watched him pop out with the ball multiple times employing some sort of quantum physics trick, cool as you like. Was always deft moving the ball to advantage in the clinches just a real cat didn't look under pressure even when he was...Mercurial would be the appropriate cliche I spose.
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He was great. Was pure silk.
Media work needs a little polish 😂
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Incredible debut. Unbelievable really
Go Tiges
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Inspired decision by the selectors
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That blind turn then the kick to castagna was pure sorcery
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He was very good, you could see he needs to work on his kicking choice but geeze for a first game and a pressure game he was very good. Congrats to the selection panel and Marlion himself.
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Just another example of the excellent decision makers we have at the club now from drafting him to selecting him in the granny.
One of the best on debut it the biggest pressure cooker games of them all. Can’t ask for anything more :gotigers
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So I can remember people being aghast that Jack Graham became a life member of the club after 5 games.
Well Marlion has done it in 1.
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So I can remember people being aghast that Jack Graham became a life member of the club after 5 games.
Well Marlion has done it in 1.
Are they giving out more life memberships to this mob?
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The 6 who didnt play in 2017 ie. Soldo Bolton Pickett Short etc get life memberships
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So I can remember people being aghast that Jack Graham became a life member of the club after 5 games.
Well Marlion has done it in 1.
Are they giving out more life memberships to this mob?
Every premiership player automatically becomes a life member.
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'Footy is home': Marlion Pickett's grand final debut
Chip Le Grand
The Age
29 September 2019
From the first moment he walked out into the Melbourne sunshine and looked up at the towering stands of the MCG, he knew that he belonged.
"I felt at home," he said amid the crush of the jubilant Richmond rooms, a premiership medallion hanging round his neck. "Footy is home. It takes my mind off a lot of things. If I am playing footy I enjoy the game."
"Footy's footy. Doesn't matter if I'm playing local, WAFL or AFL. Footy's footy."
At the final siren, Pickett was standing casually on the sidelines, hands on hips, looking more like a man waiting for bus than a league footballer about to complete a journey so remarkable, it would sound fanciful had it not been told and retold so many times over the past two days.
He ran onto the ground to embrace his teammates but it was a little later that he got to savour the moment that will really count for this fiercely proud family man – looking up at the stands with his youngest son Levi and daughter Shaniqua cradled in his arms and his two older kids, Marlion jnr and Latrelle, milling at his feet.
Let's talk about those feet.
Early in the second quarter, when this lopsided grand final was still up for grabs, those feet had Lachie Whitfield, one of the most beautifully balanced footballers in the AFL, all at sea as Pickett came dancing and spinning out of the centre square.
Pickett had come charging away from a centre bounce with ball in hand when he was confronted by Whitfield. It wasn't so much a blind turn as a graceful, balletic spin, more Baryshnikov than Leon Baker, and it left Whitfield bemused and beaten in equal parts.
It wasn't so much a blind turn as a graceful, balletic spin, more Baryshnikov than Leon Baker, and it left Lachie Whitfield bemused and beaten in equal parts.
The smooth, left-foot pass that followed set up Jason Castagna for a nice little hanger and shot on goal. The three or so quarters that followed set up Pickett for what everyone at Tigerland expects to be a rich, late-blooming career.
"I think 'Dimma' [Damien Hardwick] said, 'he’s born for this stage," said Trent Cotchin. "I can’t wait for more of his story to come out because it’s a special part of today and our footy club."
Hardwick, the Richmond coach who made the bold move to select Pickett for his first game in a grand final, said he lost sleep on Friday night worrying about the decision.
"I thought 'I'm gonna look like either a dill, or a champ,'" Hardwick said. "The thing that he has, he’s just so composed with the ball. Our recruiters back him and said 'this kid can do it'."
Pickett started each quarter on the bench. Each time he ran on, he looked like a player at ease in his work. As the afternoon wore on, the bloke wearing No.50 looked like someone who'd been in the big league his entire adult life rather than someone who only walked into Punt Road midway through this season.
It was Pickett's little give-and-go and kick to advantage that gave Dustin Martin his second goal and Pickett who, in the third quarter, snuck forward so that Martin could return the favour. "I seen Dusty looking at me so I said just kick it here," was Pickett's matter of fact recollection of events.
His first goal in the AFL was equally nonchalant. He marked about 30 metres out, walked back and kicked it through as calmly as a kick at twilight in Manjimup, practising shots at the end of training.
Pickett's celebration was the only giveaway about what it truly meant. A straight fist salute, pointed to the sky, as his teammates buried him in an avalanche of yellow and black.
In the stands were Pickett's mother Angela and father Thomas, who flew from Perth to watch the match despite being confined to a wheelchair from the effects of emphysema. When Marlion greeted them the rooms after the match, he gave his mum a hug and gave his dad an affectionate pat on his newly bought Richmond beanie.
Thomas Pickett said he was lost for breath and lost for words. "I just can't talk at the moment. But he did good."
Angela said Marlion had taught everyone about the power of redemption and giving people a second chance.
"I was very proud of him," she told The Age. "I'm over the moon. He has come a long way from where he was.
"I am very proud for what he has achieved in life. He made a promise to himself that he won't go backwards and he will go forwards and he has done it.
"You give anybody a second chance and they can do this. Marlion is a role model for the Aboriginal children and white children who have been in jail. They can turn their life around and do this too."
Pickett's teammates need no convincing. Martin, who knows how difficult it can be to change people's assumptions about your background and character, applauded his club for taking a risk.
"The club's given him a second chance," Martin said. "People make mistakes. I couldn't be prouder of the club for taking the chance with him and he's a big-time player. I can't wait to see him next year as well."
For Pickett, his past mistakes are as much a part of him as his present triumph.
He doesn't remember much of what happened on the MCG on Saturday. He can't tell you much about the blind turn or the goal, the way he used the ball and the way he saw the game. But he can tell you why he was playing this game, rather than sitting in a pub somewhere, a dank commission flat or perhaps, a jail cell.
"It is the reason why I am here, doing what I am doing, because of the obstacles I have faced in life."
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/footy-is-home-marlion-pickett-s-grand-final-debut-20190928-p52vu6.html
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Marlion Pickett – 8
An incredible story became even more remarkable for the 27-year-old who produced a fearless display on debut. If he didn't have a teammate named Dustin Martin, could well have challenged for the Norm Smith Medal. Showed no sign of nerves early and helped take control of the game for Richmond in the second term with two involvements in Martin's second goal. Kicked one of his own in the third quarter. A day he'll never forget.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-09-28/player-ratings-richmond
MARLION PICKETT 8.5
The debutant was a little bit stiff to not take Norm home. But that’s three medals – VFL and AFL premierships and a Norm Goss – in six days. Blind turn a Grand Final moment for the ages. Tiger life membership after one game?
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/afl-grand-final-player-ratings-dustin-martin-and-bachar-houli-shine-toby-green-phil-davis-flop/news-story/3b13f40fe020027c0e71ae275f356ff2
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Marlion debut the best we’ve seen
Jon Ralph
Sunday Herald Sun
29 September 2019
The dancing feet of Marlion Pickett once spirited him away from the kind of trouble that he could not escape forever.
For 30 months those dancing feet were confined in a prison cell as his AFL dream was further from realisation than any player might have ever been.
In footy’s most audacious Grand Final debut, they carried him to a performance that echoed the deeds of indigenous greats like Cyril Rioli, Andrew McLeod and Shaun Burgoyne.
It is footy’s greatest story this year and maybe its most captivating this century.
This 27-year-old didn’t just provide the best moment of the Grand final, he doubled up for good measure.
A second-term blind turn as he darted out of the centre square was the jaw-dropping moment that couldn’t ever be eclipsed.
A star was born.
Best AFL debut ever? Damned straight.
As his father Thomas sat in his wheelchair in the rooms post-match, he told the Herald Sun he had always believed his son was capable of such glorious magic.
“I’ve seen him do it a few times. He can dance when he wants to dance. It looks good when he dances. He can make them feet move when he wants to,” he said.
In front of our eyes Pickett was not just living his dream, he was bamboozling GWS opponents and changing the course of a Grand Final.
As opponents dashed past him he froze in one perfect moment, spinning in a perfect pirouette to create a pocket of space and a second of calm.
Then came the day’s magical moment, one that elevated a game that had been over as a contest for some times.
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The first-gamer from South Fremantle made up for lost time by thrusting himself into the action with a handful of big plays.
Pickett’s blind turn as he came out of the centre square in the second term gave him space to set up Jason Castagna’s high mark inside goal range.
He missed the shot, but seconds later Pickett was flashing out of the centre and pumping the ball long to Dustin Martin.
Dustin Martin, the player wh o volunteered to host Pickett when Richmond shocked the footy world with his recruitment, hit Pickett with a darting pass inside 50m.
Martin had only had the ball in his hands after another one of Pickett’s jinking, darting runs on an afternoon where he would rack up 22 possessions, eight inside 50s, 559 metres gained and nine score assists.
The crowd held its breath, yet he waltzed into goal like a seasoned veteran and then nailed the goal with the same unnerving sense of poise that had got him to this Grand final.
Cue pandemonium as every single Tiger on the ground sensed the moment and found a way to mob their new cult hero.
Pickett still seemed stunned by what had unfolded in front of him, unable even to detail that silky spin move.
“I can’t really remember the moment, but the reason I am here doing what I am doing is because of the obstacles.
“I don’t class myself as a hero, I class myself as a teammate.
“I seen Dusty looking at me and he ended up hitting me up and thankfully I marked it and kicked the goal.
“I have faced in my life and my kids, I love them.
“I got told on Thursday. (Hardwick) called me into a room with Dusty and Cotch sitting there and I walked in there scratching my head. Dimma said I was playing.”
As teammate Nathan Broad joked, Martin wouldn’t have found many teammates with such a selfless pass but he was happy to oblige his former housemate.
Said Dusty of their relationship: “He is quiet and I am quiet. So we got along well.”
In a quiet corner of the rooms was Shaun Grigg, the man who sacrificed his list spot so Pickett could be selected.
“They have never seen the No.6 do that in 13 years, have they?” he laughed.
“The decision for me to retire mid-year, I asked the club if they would use the pick and they said it is for a mature-ager. It was such an easy decision for me.”
Teammate Kane Lambert couldn’t decide if the spin move or classy goal were the highlight.
“I might have been the first one there after the goal. What a selfless act by Dusty to pass it off and Marlion… what a story.”
Said assistant coach Blake Caracella of that spin move: “It was unexpected but it wasn’t at the same time.
“You can see the poise he has got with the ball.
“We debated for quite a while on who was going to play and there were lots of reasons why he should play and why others could play but Dimma said, ‘Let’s just do it, so we did it’.
As Broad laughed while he cradled a celebratory Carlton Draft, Pickett didn’t need help to create one of footy’s indelible Grand Final moments.
“The spin move was pretty special. I was right behind him on the outside and I don’t know what I was thinking trying to get it off him. I should have sat back and watched.
“To both come from the WAFL and be overlooked about so many drafts, that’s the thing about this footy club, they care about the footballer themselves.”
So call the MCG the Pickett Palace, or label this journey from Jail to the Holy Grail.
Pickett must have thought about that magical blind turns when he was locked in his cell at the Wooroloo Prison Farm.
He must have imagined it when he watched all those stunning indigenous players strut their stuff in the intervening years and knew he was good enough to grace the field alongside them.
Now on a Grand Final that needed inspiration a player who only wanted to be the father his family needed so badly has created the stuff of AFL legend.
DREAM COMES TRUE FOR PICKETT
It was everything Marlion Pickett had hoped it would be.
A Grand Final debut, a premiership victory and a place in history.
“I can’t really (put it into words),” the 27-year-old said as his premiership medal dangled from his neck.
“I’m over the moon. Debuting in a granny — it means a lot.”
His proud dad Thomas, who ignored his fear of flying to touch down from Perth to watch the match, said he had made his family proud.
“It was worth coming for,” he said.
“I’m speechless and breathless but he did good.
“I’m just over the moon, hey.”
Pickett cost his coach Damien Hardwick some sleep in the lead-up to the club’s second premiership in three years as the Tigers weighed up whether to risk his first game on the biggest stage.
He had spent time in jail as a teenager and played for South Fremantle before Richmond took a chance and brought him to Punt Rd in the inaugural mid-season draft in July.
Pickett only played his first VFL match last month before completing a rare triple — a VFL premiership, the Norm Goss medal for best on field and yesterday's ultimate prize.
He said the hurdles he had overcome became key stepping stones in his road to the AFL.
“It’s probably the reason that I’m here doing what I’m doing, because of the obstacles I have faced in life.”
Many would have been overwhelmed by the biggest day in football. Not Pickett, who dashed any doubts with a blistering blind turn and a goal, thanks to his mate and former landlord Dustin Martin.
“I felt at home,” he said.
“Footy is home — it takes the mind off a lot of things. So you just play footy.
“If I’m playing footy, I enjoy.”
Martin hit up Pickett for the goal, having taken him into his Melbourne home after his mid-year drafting.
“It’s just awesome,” Martin said.
“Just the way he came in — he put his head down and worked hard and it’s a great story. I’m super proud of the club for giving him a chance and proud of him as well.”
(https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/c0c2d2e11bfb72900458b5c1ee5eee09?width=1024)
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/marlion-pickett-proves-richmond-on-the-money-with-stunning-afl-debut/news-story/1103afa986f3376db778c67c1eff576c
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Speechless 2 flags in one week he's something special.
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Always dreamed of having two Martin's - one in the guts & one up forward...finally saw it yesterday....(and if SPP comes we'll have three :shh)...almost best on, comfortably second best... :shh :shh
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“He is quiet and I am quiet. So we got along well.”
-Dusty
Had me in stitches this hahaha.
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Pickett is no one-hit wonder
By Glenn Mcfarlane
Herald-Sun
October 2, 2019
Richmond AFL grand final hero Marlion Pickett won’t be a one-game wonder with premiership teammate Tom Lynch predicting the 27-year-old will end up being “a super player” for the Tigers as they chase back-to-back flags next year.
Speaking on Tuesday at the TAB Spring Carnival launch, Lynch said he was still pinching himself about how he had gone from a Gold Coast player to a Richmond premiership player in the space of 12 months.
At this same function last year, he confirmed he wanted to switch to Punt Road, but even he couldn’t imagine the sort of year he and the club would have.
Lynch kicked 63 goals this season, including two in Saturday’s 89-point grand final win over Greater Western Sydney. He predicted the Tigers would still be a force next year with Alex Rance to resume from a knee injury and Pickett potentially set to take his game to another level in 2020.
“He’s going to be a super player (for Richmond),” Lynch said of the former South Fremantle midfielder who spent 2½ years in jail as a young man before transforming his life through football.
“To be honest, as soon as he was named a debutant, I wasn’t worried at all. But I didn’t know he was going to play as well … when he kicked that goal, I think Jack (Riewoldt) said he almost started to cry on the ground.
“It was amazing. I couldn’t believe the roar.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/pickett-is-no-onehit-wonder/news-story/ab0ac9cd69c6c7c510d6a5a924ac822d
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Marlion Pickett [has] signed a new deal to remain at Richmond.
Pickett, 27, has re-committed for season 2020.
New cult hero, Pickett arrived at Richmond through the AFL’s new Mid-Season Draft, after playing for South Fremantle in the WAFL.
After overcoming a broken finger, the midfielder starred in the VFL and claimed the Norm Goss Medal for a best-on-ground performance in the VFL Tigers’ premiership win over Williamstown.
Earning a senior selection call-up in what was to become the story of the 2019 AFL Grand Final, Pickett shone on the game’s biggest stage, claiming a premiership and earning Norm Smith Medal votes in his first AFL game.
“Marlion’s hard work and dedication has led him to Richmond, and we’re so proud of him for grabbing his opportunity with both hands," Richmond List Manager, Blair Hartley said.
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2019-10-03/edwards-pickett-ink-new-deals
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Anyone know the most number of indigenous boys to play for the same team at the same time?
Can see Edwards, Bolton, Rioli, Pickett and Stack all being named round 1. Eggy looks the goods too which would make 6 if they all played together. Surely that’s close to if not the outright record.
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Anyone know the most number of indigenous boys to play for the same team at the same time?
Can see Edwards, Bolton, Rioli, Pickett and Stack all being named round 1. Eggy looks the goods too which would make 6 if they all played together. Surely that’s close to if not the outright record.
I know Port had 4 in their 2004 premiership team - Wanganeen, Byron Pickett and both Burgoyne brothers.
The record is 7 apparently.
Most Indigenous players in an AFL game - equal record
Round 23, 2015 v Fremantle: Jake Neade, Patrick Ryder, Karl Amon, Chad Wingard, Jarman Impey, Brendon Ah Chee, Nathan Krakouer
https://www.portadelaidefc.com.au/news/2015-05-29/big-list-port-adelaides-indigenous-players
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BURNING SUMMER QUESTION
How good could one-game premiership player Marlion Pickett be with a full pre-season? I'm not too sure. Pickett is either very, very good or the competition has slipped. How can a 27-year-old come into the best competition in the country (without a pre-season) and perform so well in the most important game of the season.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/mick-mcguanes-ultimate-afl-trade-period-clubbyclub-guide/news-story/7c7a44ef782fe929de0db9a7c7b817fa
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Sam Mitchell came out of the VFL. No one said the competition had slipped when he was holding up premiership cups at Hawthorn. Some players are overlooked at 18 for a host of reasons (we know Marlion's back story as a youth thanks to the media going on and on about it) and need more time to mature and star at state league level to attract the attention of AFL club recruiters.
Pickett's busted finger ended up being a blessing. It would've turned other clubs off recruiting him because they were chasing players in the midseason draft who could have an impact in the short-term. We, on the other hand, were able to take the chance and be patient with his injury. That enabled him 8 weeks to do a mini-AFL preseason. So McGuane's wrong to say Marlion didn't have a preseason. Pickett's also 27 and has played in big games at state league level. He's not an inexperienced kid. As we are a system based team and he was in form having won the Norm Goss medal in the VFL Granny, we only needed him to come in and play his role in the AFL Granny as part of our midfield rotation. The more you think about it and of course based on hindsight, it made perfect sense for Dimma and the match committee to select him.
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(https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/B881338511Z/1570086388096_GB22EHLOO.1-2.jpg?imwidth=1224&impolicy=wan_v3)
Marlion Pickett, bottom left, was a part of the team which won the LSWFL Colts grand final in 2006, playing for the Tigers Football Club. Credit: Supplied
Former Manjimup Tigers colts coach Gary Hodgson believed Pickett was always an outstanding player and was not surprised by his composure and determination on the biggest stage of all.
“I was not surprised with how unflappable he was,” he said.
“Because he never used to show any nerves or doubts when he played in the colts games, even though he was only 14.
“He was always our first pick when we were short on players. Despite his age, he was just one of those guys you wanted playing for you.”
Hodgson fondly recalls club officials rallying around Pickett and his brothers on game day in order for them to showcase their skills.
“We were never reluctant as coaches to help get them to games or pay their club subscription fees so they could keep playing for us,” he said.
“We had this very talented group of brothers playing for the Tigers and we wanted to keep them in the game and look after them.”
Hodgson believed the father of four’s story was a great one which could fill a book.
“He has made the most of the opportunities he has been given and really turned his life around,” he said.
https://thewest.com.au/news/manjimup-bridgetown-times/marlion-magic-ng-b881338511z
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Son of WAFL legend & Richmond premiership player Colin Beard writes touching tribute to Richmond's WA export Marlion Pickett
Steve Butler
The West Australian
Friday, 28 September 2019
Colin Beard’s son Geoff sent a letter of congratulations to Pickett in memory of his father, who also had coached South Fremantle at one stage, guiding Indigenous greats Stephen Michael and the late Maurice Rioli.
"One of my last conversations with him was actually about you when your name was in the mix to get a game leading into the finals," Geoff Beard wrote to Pickett.
"What you may not know is dad has been a regular supporter of South Fremantle and has seen you playing over the past five or six years, and I can tell you he was a big fan.
"To this extent, he had taken the time to ring the club a few years ago to suggest they look out for you, as he considered you had a big future.
"The other thing that is very significant is he sent me an email the week before he passed away, when there was talk of a possibility of you being selected for your first game (at Richmond).
"What he did say is just like you, but 50 years earlier, he was a 27-year-old mature age recruit from South Fremantle.
"He played in a winning Grand Final in front of 119,000 people. He did think this was so uncanny and was very hopeful you could get the same opportunity – and now it becomes a reality.
"I do think if he was here today, he would be wanting to get a message to you, as your journey is very similar to his.
"I am sure he would say to you to embrace the atmosphere and don’t let it embrace you, and that Grand Finals are won by the side that plays the best as a team.
"I think he would also say the hardest thing to prepare for is the first quarter pressure, but once you get the feel for the game, then back yourself in and be confident in your ability and take some chances.
"I am sure that number 16 from the 1969 premiership team will be looking over you from above and wishing you all the best in the biggest game of your life."
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/wafl-legend-colin-beard-writes-touching-tribute-to-richmond-tigers-wa-export-marlion-pickett-ng-b881336938z
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From prison to premiership: the road to Marlion Pickett's AFL debut
Konrad Marshall
The Age
17 November 2019
The first glimpse the wider world got of Marlion Pickett was not on an Australian rules football field in Melbourne. He was neither bathed in sunshine doing a balletic blind turn in front of 100,014 spectators, nor buried by his Richmond Football Club teammates after a cool, calm but dramatic (almost cinematic) grand final goal. He was not wearing yellow and black. He was not 27 years old.
He was 20. He was 60 kilometres east of Perth. And he was behind bars.
Pickett was a character – identified only as “Marlion” – in a five-part 2014 TV documentary called Outside Chance, about an innovative 2012 criminal justice program, in which inmates of the minimum-security Wooroloo Prison Farm were allowed to play football matches against local teams in a regional league, outside their razor-wire confines. The aim was best summed up by the tagline of the series: “Winning their redemption, one game at a time.”
I watched the ABC show before I met Pickett in person, and it’s confronting. It opens with vision of inmates being strip-searched and foreboding iron doors slamming shut. It’s narrated by Andrew Krakouer, the former Richmond forward who went to jail for assault in 2008, before being released from prison, then returning to play in the AFL with Collingwood. A sentence from his opening monologue stands out: “One player, Marlion, looks like he has the goods to emulate my journey, and potentially make it big on the outside.”
Game footage comes next, and Pickett is instantly recognisable. That languid stride and loping gait. The way his slender arms cradle the ball and place it gently on the foot. Next, in a single snippet of vision, comes a breathtaking confirmation of his football identity. Call it the Pickett pirouette. The sweeping, circular, slow-motion spin is an exact replica of the old-fashioned evasive dance he did on the MCG against the GWS Giants that last Saturday in September, on his way to gathering 22 clean disposals and one premiership medallion, not to mention a place in sporting folklore as the first player in almost seven decades to make his AFL debut on grand final day.
The series doesn’t detail his crimes, nor does Pickett talk about them on camera, but he was sent away for 30 months following a string of burglaries in the Perth suburbs, where he spent his late teens. “I stuffed up in the past. Probably boredom,” he says on the doco, sheepish but honest. “Alcohol. Being brought up around drugs. Everything goes downhill from there. Guess you’ve got nothing to look forward to, so you start committing crimes, then from crime, you end up in here.”
The other players – with shaved skulls and rat’s tails and hollow eyes – spend much of their time stressing about making parole. On the field, they get sucked in when opponents taunt them as jailbirds and crims. Pickett, though, seems mostly immune from these pressures, launching endless scything runs, flicking nonchalant passes across his body, and flying for marks like a feather in the wind. In one scene, the players and coaches anonymously rate one another and Pickett finishes on top, with 89 of a possible 90 votes. He talks tenderly about his hopes, too, but with little belief in his voice.
“Hopefully I’ll make it to the AFL,” he says, eyes drifting down, glancing away. “That’s mainly my dream since I was a kid. Hopefully it comes true.”
The Wooroloo team plays well, sweeping all before them. The players enjoy the program, too. They eat junk food from club canteens. They visit their families on the sidelines. It’s an unprecedented level of freedom. One inmate calls it a torment – “Temptation Island” – and so it proves.
Late one night at Wooroloo, a player is discovered outside his cell. The prison officers toss his room and uncover contraband. A little marijuana. The player is immediately transferred to the medium-security Acacia Prison. His privileges are gone. No more footy.
“The real tragedy is that he’s the player with the most to lose,” says Krakouer. “Marlion.”
The jail goes quiet. The program is suspended. The documentary is cut short. In the last episode, Pickett fronts a camera. “I got caught with some poo over there. I got charged for it. Stuffed the whole team around I guess,” he says, shifting and upset. “I coulda done better, yeah. But you make mistakes in life.”
Seven years later, Pickett meets me in the players’ lounge at the Richmond Football Club, where we sit on curved couches by a fridge and fruit baskets and computer game consoles, chatting about life and mistakes. Pickett doesn’t make many mistakes in footy. That started when he was six. He was the right age for AFL Auskick, but was nudged instead by his father to join his big brother in the under-nines.
That was in Balga, a suburb of Perth, but the family – four boys and three girls – moved soon to Manjimup, 300 kilometres south of the capital, inland from Margaret River. It was all wheat and sheep there once, now it’s truffles and wine. They moved more than once through his formative years, to Midland and York and Lakeside, and he played football wherever they went. His brothers played the game, too, but Marlion was the standout talent of the family. At one point in his late teens, footy was an everyday affair: training in the afternoons on Monday through Friday, then playing for the Perth suburbs of Koongamia on Saturdays and Nollamara on Sundays.
School was never his strong suit. Pickett was what you might call a disengaged youth. Whenever a season ended he started drinking, and doing drugs, although he doesn’t say what. He found himself in fights. He broke into homes, and sold what he stole from within. “I had my first son when I was 18, Marlion junior. I was with him for nine months. I didn’t know, but my missus was pregnant at the time with my second, Latrell,” he says. “That’s when the police came.”
Pickett was arrested in 2010, and his time at Wooroloo began in early 2011. He had met Jessica Nannup when he was 15, and she stayed with him through the custodial sentence that came his way. His crimes weren’t violent, and Pickett owns his actions, but there are also mitigating factors to consider.
“There’s context to this that’s important,” says Aaron Clark, director of the Korin Gamadji Institute, an Indigenous education and leadership centre attached to the Tigers. “In places like where Marlion is from, there are quirky mandatory sentencing laws that send people to jail for minor crimes. There are women going to jail for unpaid parking tickets. There’s inter-generational trauma, juvenile detention problems, deaths in custody. It’s important to think about these things when you’re unpicking the story of Marlion and his incarceration, and his vulnerability, and the thousands like him. We need to dig a little deeper, beyond the tale of a kid who did bad then turned good.”
Pickett echoes the sentiments of some of the players from Outside Chance in noting that the best part of the prison footy program was also the hardest: when your child comes to see you play, and then it’s time to go. “I’d walk off the ground, give them a hug and a kiss, and then there was no looking back, and they start crying,” he tells me. “It got so hard at one point that I didn’t really want visits. I told them to come every four months. Make it easier on everyone.”
Getting shifted to medium security, he says, became a blessing. In the minimum-security environment he had too much time, too little structure. In Acacia Prison he was surrounded by more serious offenders. His older brother was there, too, and a handful of uncles, some of them fighting drug addiction. “Seeing them in that state made me want to change,” he says, sipping a bottle of water in this cushy space where the players come to relax. “I didn’t want to be in and out of there, like that. I wanted to change for the better, for my kids, and keep the dream alive. Hard times, but I think leaving the kids and the missus helped me understand what I could be losing.”
With 12 months left to run on his sentence, he watched an awful lot of AFL matches, and those of the lower-level state league, the WAFL. He quit drinking, and hasn’t had a drop of alcohol in seven years. “I made my mind up: ‘When I get out, everything is about footy and family.’ The first week I got out of prison, I walked straight into South Fremantle Football Club.”
That was 2012. The South Fremantle Bulldogs are a proud club, with strong historic ties to Richmond. Champion centreman Maurice Rioli was a star there before and after his playing career with the Tigers. Krakouer was recruited from there, too. There are many more but one among them stands out: Mal Brown, the former Richmond powerbroker (or at least provocateur), who played and coached at South Freo. Brown played a pivotal role in the rise of Indigenous footballers from Western Australia.
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Marlion Pickett with his children (from left) Marlion jnr, Latrell, Levi and Shaniquae. Credit:AAP
Have you heard of the Noongar nation? It is the largest language group or clan near Perth, perhaps in the country. If you follow football you’ll recognise the names of the nation. Hill and Yarran. Garlett and Narkle. The Jetta cousins. The Ah Chee brothers. Harley Bennell and Michael Walters are Noongar. Paddy Ryder and Lance “Buddy” Franklin, too. Before them came Peter Matera and Jeff Farmer, Nicky Winmar and Derek Kickett – not to mention Jimmy and Phil Krakouer. Or Barry Cable. Or the late great Graham “Polly” Farmer. Marlion Pickett is Noongar, too.
While most Indigenous language groups have a few players in the AFL at any given time, the Noongar routinely has more than two dozen – a full third of all Indigenous players in the league. Legendary AFL coach Kevin Sheedy called them “the Zulus of this nation”. I once spoke in a Fremantle cafe to the documentary maker Paul Roberts, who made a film about the Noongar called Black Magic, and he put it best. “It is a story of spectacular over-representation. An astonishing anomaly.”
In the late 1970s, most WAFL clubs had only one or two Indigenous players, but Brown fielded as many as eight a side. He loved their flair and instinct, but something else Brown said rings true with Marlion Pickett’s recruitment to Richmond. Brown recruited Noongars not just for their unfathomable manoeuvres but because they’d steeled themselves in hardened leagues, often in the country where big boys pour milk on Mallee roots for breakfast. “They had played against men. They knew how to cop a whack,” Brown says. “You get a bloke who’s physically stronger and quicker … and his mates become the people at the club.” He could be talking about Pickett.
I chat about this with Pickett’s manager, Anthony Van Der Wielen, inside the boardroom at Richmond’s Punt Road Oval, one day before the grand final. Van Der Wielen is a director at South Fremantle but has been helping promote Noongar players like Pickett for 15 years. He also represents star midfielder Tim Kelly, who was a Noongar teammate of Pickett at South Fremantle, until he was taken by Geelong in the 2017 draft. He remembers when Pickett walked into South Fremantle.
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Marlion Pickett aged six playing for the under-9s in Balga. Credit: Anthony Van Der Wielen
“Marlion never shies away from what he did,” he says, watching the Tigers train. “It was a string of things – not a one-off mistake – so it was probably a matter of time before he went away. But it might have been a blessing. He needed something to slap him into line and give him that wake-up call. Then he rehabilitated himself.”
Once Pickett did that, his seven WAFL seasons yielded 98 senior games and two best and fairest awards. He became a gliding, leaping mix of outer grace and inner brutality. “Everyone was poo-scared of Marlion Pickett when he played WAFL, mate,” says Van Der Wielen, laughing. “No one wanted to go near him. Physically he would dominate you, and then he’d rip you apart with skill, too.”
Matt Clarke, Richmond’s national recruiting manager, was paying attention, but WAFL games can be an unreliable gauge of ability, in part because they play on such wide grounds, without the same congestion or contact as in the AFL. Pickett was also positioned across half-back and on the wing, until Tim Kelly left for Geelong. Pickett took his spot in the middle, and went from gazelle to bull. “You could see the AFL traits,” says Clarke. “He’d hit bodies. He’s actually a natural collision player.”
The Tigers also liked that he had shown loyalty to South Fremantle – and faith in himself – by staying and playing WAFL footy, within view of AFL scouts, instead of joining a cashed-up country footy club. “He could have earned much more money playing in the bush,” says Will Thursfield, a former tall defender at Richmond who is now a recruiting officer for the club. “But year after year Marlion kept fronting up for the Bulldogs, which is a big tick for his character.”
Overlooked in five successive AFL drafts, his resolve was tested. Pickett says it only made him “hungrier” for his chance. “I know clubs doubted me,” he says, pausing, “because of my past,” pausing again, “and my criminal record,” he says, stopping a moment. “I just wished they would judge me on my footy.” But AFL clubs are notoriously risk-averse, and seemingly none wanted to gamble on his talent. Tim Kelly had been a revelation when selected as a 23-year-old, but Pickett would turn 27 coming into 2019. Being drafted so old is incredibly rare. “Tim got in much younger,” Van Der Wielen says, “and I think Marlion saw that and probably thought his dream had gone.”
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continued:
Pickett kept working but ripped the tendons in his right-hand index finger at the beginning of this year. An AFL mid-season draft was announced – the first one in 26 years – but Pickett couldn’t prove himself while on the sidelines injured. He took a calculated risk, returning to the field shortly before that mid-season draft, to show what he could do. A few minutes into his second game back, the finger broke again.
It was just four days before the draft, so Van Der Wielen leapt into action, reaching out to one of the best hand and wrist microsurgeons in Perth, Dr Jeff Ecker, before the game had even finished. Ecker was in theatre that Saturday and agreed to operate that night. Pickett was sent to a private hospital. South Freo picked up the tab. The surgery was successful and produced timely medical reports for any curious AFL clubs to consider. All of this was critical to the fairy-tale story that unfolded later.
Recovering at home with a finger full of stitches, strapped to a splint, swaddled in bandages, Pickett held no hope. “I thought my dreams were busted again,” he says. “I didn’t expect to get drafted.” He watched the draft unfold hoping only that his friend, the 22-year-old East Perth ruckman Ajang Ajang, might be selected by a team with diminished tall stocks. “Came to the 13th pick, and my name was called out,” Pickett says, smiling slightly. He was the third-last player chosen, and the Tigers’ only selection. “I stood up, started scratching my head.”
Richmond flew him east almost immediately, and dropped him off at the Port Melbourne home of Tigers superstar Dustin Martin, who had offered his spare room. Martin told Pickett he could stay as long as he needed, but Pickett wanted to be ensconced in a home with parents and children, so he moved out after a fortnight, to live with the host family (“Sue and Vin”) of young Indigenous half-back Derek Eggmolesse-Smith. “They were really supportive and really caring. I felt at home.”
He seemed to take the entire upheaval in his stride, having what people around him describe as an unflappable personality. “He’s affable, low-maintenance, unflustered, self-sufficient,” says Matt Clarke. “He’s actually a pretty adventurous character, too. I remember in his first week asking him what he was going to do on his day off, and he said, ‘I’m just gonna get on the trams and go and see Melbourne. Where do you reckon I should go?’ I told him St Kilda and asked if he wanted directions: ‘Nah, nah, I’ll figure it out,’ he said. He just wanted to take in his surroundings.”
He settled into the club quickly, just as his family appear to have now, on the Friday morning before the grand final. Inside the club offices at Punt Road Oval, I see Jess and their four children, Marlion jnr, 9, Latrell, 7, Shaniquae, 4, and Levi, 2, and they’re all wearing brand new guernseys with their father’s number – 50 – on the back. They’re climbing on couches and a table, and tossing little plastic balls at a game called Connect 4 Shots.
“What’s all this?” asks Richmond’s All Australian defender Dylan Grimes, as he wanders past. “Little Marlions running around everywhere.”
“Look at these Picketts, will ya,” says Tigers coach Damien Hardwick, coming out of his office. “You guys excited? Yeah, me, too.”
“Uncle!” they yell as young cult hero (and fellow Noongar) Sydney Stack enters the room. “Hi Uncle!” One by one Stack picks them up for cuddles.
Off to the side in his office is VFL coach Craig McRae: the first at the club to get a close look at Pickett’s talents in the yellow and black, in a handful of key games at the lower level. (The Richmond VFL side acts as a feeder team for the AFL side – a proving ground for players to show their worth and hopefully step up to the seniors.) McRae looks at the four kids running riot and smiles: “Look at all those 50s. It’s a heavy number, isn’t it?”
For the first five weeks Pickett was at the club, McRae says, he was in physical rehab, running with the injured Alex Rance. The gun defender was out for the season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, and encouraged Pickett throughout the gruelling fitness sessions – a mini preseason in the depths of winter. Pickett proved a quick study, and eager. “He’s quiet, but he’s also the sort of guy who’ll just turn up: ‘Have you got anything for me, coach?’ ” says McRae. “This is weeks before he was even playing – he was just craving, aching for feedback.”
When he started playing, says McRae, he would get the ball and turn right, when they wanted him to go left – but within a few weeks he started to “look like Richmond”. In every game Pickett played at the lower level, he lifted. “There are opportunities when the game needs someone to stand up, and Marlion has been the one – consistently – who says ‘Follow me’ with his actions. For a guy who doesn’t know the system or his teammates, it’s remarkable.”
He capped it off, of course, six days before the AFL grand final, in Richmond’s VFL grand final victory over Williamstown, his 20 possessions and nine tackles earning him the Norm Goss Medal for best on ground. Regular Tigers midfielder Jack Graham had injured his shoulder two days earlier, leaving the door ajar for a storied AFL debut, and Pickett’s performance proved a perfect audition. Clarke talked to him in the rooms immediately after that, when all the other boys were jumping around and celebrating. “He was laid-back, and I think he knew there was possibly another game for him to play,” says Clarke. “Marlion said, ‘I’ve gotta train this week, gotta contribute.’ He had already clicked into that mode.”
Thursfield believes Pickett never really leaves that mode, and is perhaps the very definition of single-minded. “He’s always engaged. He doesn’t say a whole lot, but he listens with great intent. He’s got this lovely look in his eyes, too. You know what he’s doing it for, and that nothing will stop him.”
Plenty could have stopped him. Once drafted by Richmond, his path to an historic debut was neither linear nor smooth. After his famous first goal in the third quarter of the grand final, in front of a televised audience of 2.94 million, you might remember him ambling forward with the barest smile on his face, raising one hand in the air. He wasn’t calling attention to his goal – he was dedicating it to loved ones, gone too soon. “I don’t really celebrate goals much,” he told me later. “I pointed to the sky, that was for the hard times, and the family me and Jess have lost along the journey. The celebration was for them.”
Pickett’s first months in Melbourne were marred by tragedy. Early on while he was training, close relative Darryl Walley – a man who’d been supportive of him as a child – passed away, succumbing to emphysema. Pickett flew back to Perth for the funeral in June. He flew back again a month later, in July, for the funeral of a mate who had died of a drug overdose. While he was there, grieving that loss, his friend and former cellmate Sam Nannup – brother to his partner Jess, uncle to his four children – took his own life, having only left prison a few weeks earlier. Pickett flew back again for that funeral on August 22 – three burials in three months.
“That was a lot of stress. Hard times for the missus and me,” is how Pickett describes it. Yet he returned to Richmond alone each time, to keep training in the wind and rain, while Jess remained in Perth with the kids, supporting her extended family. “I just tried to keep the family stuff aside, keep it away from football,” says Pickett. “But it was hard ringing up the missus. Real hard. I couldn’t do anything for her.”
Pickett says he did what had to be done to find his groove in the chaos. This is what he does, too, on the field. When he can’t gather the ball, he says, he focuses on tackles. “I try not to drop my head too much when it’s not going our way. I just focus on the little things, until it clicks. When I’m playing good footy, I’m happy.”
Thursfield knows all this – the recruiter even flew to Perth with Pickett for one of the funerals, so that someone from the club would be by his side – and he gets a little teary now. He lives in the same Thornbury neighbourhood as Pickett, and drives him to training most days. They’ve developed a clear bond. “We’re family for him now,” says Thursfield. “I don’t want to get too emotional, but he’s had a big impact on my life – in three months. Just seeing where he’s from, and the strength he has, to do what he’s doing for his family. I love the man. I really do.”
Once the big game was over and all the interviews done, the Tigers scattered to the four winds, as players do when the off-season beckons. You can find most of them on Instagram. Forward Tom Lynch at a cafe in Bali. Backman Alex Rance at Yosemite National Park in California. Nick Vlastuin kiteboarding in Indonesia. Sydney Stack winning a dance contest in Thailand.
Pickett, before the first long night of post-match celebrations had even really begun, went home early. His mother, Angela, and father, Thomas, had flown across for the grand final, his dad confined to a wheelchair owing to crippling emphysema, and he wanted to share the moment with them. Within a week, he’d quietly signed a new one-year deal with the club, staying in Melbourne and settling his four children and partner into their new surrounds. “Footy and family,” says his manager. “That’s all he wants in his life.”
Van Der Wielen has kept almost all media at bay during the post-season, too, not just because his client is looking for a sense of quiet comfort, but on behalf of Jess. “She’s a strong girl but a quiet girl,” he says. “And I think she would no doubt be struggling with the loss of her brother, and being away from her extended family. They need some time. But they’re happy with this life they’re creating in Melbourne.”
By all accounts, Jess is a determined woman, intensely proud of both her Indigenous heritage and the things her husband and family have come through. She writes messages online that speak to this strength: “The game of life is a lot like football – you have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points when you get the opportunity.” She pays tribute to Marlion, too, for the ride they’ve been on – taking the good with the bad: “I love everything that we have been through, because they made us the husband and wife that we are today. Thank you for this sweet and beautiful life.”
They chose their new patch carefully. The kids – whose names Pickett has tattooed on his left ribcage – are enrolled at the local primary school, which has an Indigenous Studies program. Jess, who minds the kids full-time, has joined a local footy team, too. She’s tiny – “lucky to be five foot tall” – but a speedy half-forward flank. From their modest home, she can walk across the street a few nights a week to train with the Fitzroy Stars, a local institution within a strong Indigenous enclave.
They’re making connections, and trying to shake a feeling of impermanence. The past six months have been nothing but lows and highs, separations and reunions – more than two dozen flights back and forth between east and west. They’ve been billeted out and stayed in Airbnbs. Neither owns a car, so they’re familiarising themselves with the number 11 tram and the Epping line train. Other than a short visit at Christmas, they have no plans to return to Western Australia.
Pickett is already back in training, too, itching for preseason to start, to show what he can do after a full summer of sweating and straining. Holding his place within a premiership side will not be easy, but no one knows how good he might be once exposed to the regimens of an elite full-time fitness and football program. He’s not taking anything for granted. A handful of players from the club live in his area, so the past few weeks he’s been boxing with them. Hitting the heavy bag with full back David Astbury. Holding up contact gloves for half-forward Kane Lambert. Sparring with back flank Jayden Short. He’s throwing his best punch.
Shortly before this new life began, he told me this was his plan. “Gotta put my head down, work hard, spend quality time with family,” he said, nodding, and smiling only with his eyes. “Gotta celebrate the journey we’re on.”
Konrad Marshall’s Stronger & Bolder: Inside the 2019 Finals Series with Richmond (Hardie Grant, $30) is out Monday.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/from-prison-to-premiership-the-road-to-marlion-pickett-s-afl-debut-20191111-p539eg.html
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Beautiful article :clapping :clapping
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Beautiful article :clapping :clapping
Yes it is :clapping
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Movie script..
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EJs82MaUcAEHK5f?format=jpg&name=900x900)
https://twitter.com/Tigers_of_Old
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"season highlights"
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2019-11-25/pickett-season-2019-highlights
#pisstake :shh
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Cult heroes: We explore every AFL team’s fan favourite
Grady Hudd
The Advertiser
Dec 2, 2019
Richmond – Marlion Pickett
When you win two premierships in two weeks, how could you not win the immediate adoration of your supporter base?
Pickett’s 2019 season really is one of fairy tales.
The 27-year-old played in Richmond’s VFL flag the week before becoming the first person in 67 years to debut in an AFL grand final, where he immediately looked at home – collecting 22 touches, a goal, and pulling off an evasive spin move that will be replayed for decades to come.
The AFL premiership instantly made him a Richmond life member, after just one game, and forever cemented his cult hero status at the Tigers.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/cult-heroes-weve-taken-a-look-at-every-clubs-fan-favourite-ahead-of-the-2020-afl-season/news-story/0f1f01fc93f11f159ce1fa34928c17f8
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I didn't notice it at the time but here's Pickett trying the 360 move in the VFL Grand Final but the Williamstown player was onto it.
https://i.imgur.com/wbpRSS1.mp4
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The biggest story of 2019 according to the AFL website:
1. Pickett delivers unforgettable debut on the biggest stage of all
There are many factors when weighing up the year's top story but one important element is whether it will be remembered for decades to come. Marlion Pickett's extraordinary 2019 belongs in that category.
No club was brave enough to draft Pickett a year ago and only one – Richmond – was willing to in this season's NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft, after he re-broke a finger the weekend prior.
The 27-year-old, who spent two years in jail as a teenager for burglary, diligently completed his rehabilitation and returned for the Tigers' VFL side late in the season.
Pickett quickly made an impression but it seemed he would miss out on Richmond's AFL finals run, at least until Jack Graham's untimely shoulder injury in the Tigers' preliminary final win over Geelong.
Kamdyn McIntosh and Jack Ross were held out of the VFL Grand Final to be on standby for Graham but Pickett had other plans. He received the Norm Goss Medal as the best player afield in the state league decider and forced his way into Richmond's team for one of the unlikeliest of AFL debuts in history.
Pickett became the first player since Collingwood's Keith Batchelor in 1952 to play his first senior game in a Grand Final. That was fascinating enough but then the tough, silky midfielder – from the same WAFL club, South Fremantle, as Tim Kelly – turned in a performance for the ages.
Pickett won 22 composed touches and his third-quarter goal capped a truly great display. Only Dustin Martin and Bachar Houli polled more Norm Smith Medal votes than Pickett, who won a second flag in as many weekends and became a Tigers life member in the process. We can't wait to see what comes next.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/364568/the-50-biggest-stories-of-2019-5-1
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Where do they throw … Marlion Pickett?
Straight in the midfield. Would take a brave coach to snub the grand final debutant in Round 1.
Source: Herald-Sun (https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/offseason-stocktake-will-your-club-make-a-flying-start-to-its-2020-campaign/news-story/40ae43b82d370eaf2183013383a6fe09)
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What does Marlion Pickett deliver this year?
Nick Dal Santo
SEN
13 Jan 2020
“We know what he did Grand Final day, we know where he’s come from, but what do we get from him next year?
“What does Pickett deliver if that (Grand Final performance) is the standard?
“I don’t even know if he’s in the best team when they are all up and going. That’s a compliment because of how much depth they have.
“There were some injuries and reasons he got that opportunity to start with. I just want to see how he goes this year.
“I’m just not quite sure what we get from him after such a small case study.“
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/01/12/the-three-big-questions-facing-port-adelaide-richmond-and-st-kilda/
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"We think he’ll be outstanding": Tigers bullish on flag sensation
By Andrew Slevison
SEN
6 February 2020
2019 premiership sensation Marlion Pickett is expected to feature prominently for Richmond in 2020.
The 28-year-old was the talk of the footy world in late September last year when he was called up for his AFL debut in the week leading up to the Grand Final, after just a handful of games with the Tigers at VFL level.
Pickett was fresh off winning the VFL flag where had taken out the Norm Goss Medal for best on ground before he contributed beautifully to Richmond’s 89-point thrashing of the GWS Giants with a balanced 22 disposals, composed goal and memorable blind turn in the centre of the MCG.
While it is no certainty that Pickett will return to the heights that almost saw him pinch the Norm Smith Medal from the grasp of the brilliant Dustin Martin, Balme is confident the unflappable West Australian has the temperament and class to deliver again in his second AFL season.
“For the sake of half a dozen kicks and the fact that Dusty was there, he might have won the medal on that day,” Balme joked on SEN SA Breakfast.
“He was amazing, but he’ll be bigger and better. He’s 28 so he’s quite mature. He’s got a very strong purpose for playing footy. He’s got a partner and four kids and he wants to make their lives a bit easier than his was.
“He’s a fantastic young kid, very down to earth, calm, approaches everything very rationally. He’s training well, looks fit as a fiddle, looks a lot harder, he’s a really strong kid.
“We think he’ll be outstanding, I don’t think there’s much doubt about that at all.
“It’s not as easy as it looks, he’s only played the one game, but a few things happened to him last year where he had a finger problem and a few other issues, it’s why he only played the one game.
“My own view is that we easily could have played him another half a dozen times. We’ll see a lot of him this year I reckon.”
Pickett and the Tigers will be in action in the Marsh Community series against Collingwood in Wangaratta on Sunday, March 1.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/02/06/we-think-hell-be-outstanding-tigers-bullish-on-flag-sensation/
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Pickett’s best is yet to come
By Chris Cavanagh
The Australian
February 12, 2020
Reigning Richmond best-and-fairest Dion Prestia believes “hugely talented” teammate Marlion Pickett only scratched the surface of what he is capable of last year and has grown significantly as a player over summer.
Pickett made a stunning debut in last year’s grand final with 22 disposals, three clearances and nine score involvements in the Tigers’ 89-point crushing of Greater Western Sydney. A mid-season draftee, the 28-year-old produced the performance a little more than four months after playing his last WAFL game for South Fremantle.
Prestia said Pickett had learnt plenty across his first AFL pre-season and there had been tangible signs of his improvement on the track. “I’d definitely be picking him in SuperCoach,” Prestia said from a shoot for Kayo Sports yesterday.
“He’s been absolutely amazing, really. Coming into the team halfway through last year and playing in the VFL and then the AFL premiership is pretty impressive. He hasn’t missed a beat all pre-season. He’s done every session and he’s looking pretty good. I can’t wait to see what he’ll produce this year having a full AFL pre-season under his belt.
“It’s pretty awesome for him to come into a midfield with (Trent) Cotchin, (Dustin) Martin, (Shane) Edwards where he doesn’t have to be the best player. He doesn’t have to stand out and make all the decisions. He can just be himself and play his normal game, which I think is going to be the best thing for Marlion.”
Prestia, who joined Richmond from Gold Coast at the end of 2016, said he knew from personal experience that it took time to adjust to a new club and a new system, adding that Pickett would benefit enormously from having had a full pre-season.
“It takes a while to get your head around the game plan and get to know our running patterns, how we defend and how we move the ball,” Prestia said.
“So for him to be able to do what he did on grand final day after only a couple of games with us was incredible. I know when I first came to Richmond it took me more than a couple of weeks to get used to that even after doing a full pre-season. Now he’s got a whole pre-season under his belt and I think that’s where he’ll get his improvement — knowing where to run and knowing the ball movement.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/afl-marlion-picketts-best-yet-to-come/news-story/733ad83ec9b5e1c616de2aa825727e6e
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“He’s got special talent”: Could Tigers sensation become a top 50 player?
By Alex Zaia
SEN
13 Feb 2020
Could Richmond’s Grand Final hero Marlion Pickett become a top 50 player by the end of 2020?
Tim Watson doesn’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility, describing the mature-age recruit as a “special talent”.
On debut, Pickett finished third in the Norm Smith Medal voting after collecting 22 disposals and booting a goal having been selected in the mid-season rookie draft.
“I wouldn’t bet against that,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.
“Let’s re-examine what he did: he stepped up and played his first game of AFL football in a Grand Final and was considered one of the better players on the ground.
“After a really disrupted year, he’s settled, he’s had a proper pre-season at AFL level, he’s got the talent, he’s 28 years of age, he has the confidence that now he belongs out there even after one game, I wouldn’t rule out that he could be a top 50 player.
“This could be one of the steels of the last century in recruiting. I think he’s got special talent.”
Garry Lyon wants to see an increased body of work before talking about Pickett as a potential top 50 player.
“I wouldn’t rule it out, but I need to see more,” Lyon said of Pickett.
“They smashed the Giants. Let’s cut to the chase, in the end it was a low-pressure game. A low-pressure game because of just how brilliant Richmond were.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/02/12/hes-got-special-talent-could-tigers-sensation-become-a-top-50-player/
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From Vlastuin's instagram page:
"Man can play"
(https://scontent-syd2-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/e35/84640957_829338097562818_1182786734348259552_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-syd2-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=110&_nc_ohc=_XoZ2vqd2noAX-cebTZ&oh=074d527f4ccafe0f58385f968d789193&oe=5EE88182)
https://www.instagram.com/nvlastuin/?hl=en
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Five clubs overlooked Marlion Pickett
Alistair Paton
Herald-Sun
5 March 2020
Five other clubs passed on the chance to recruit Richmond Grand Final hero Marlion Pickett.
The one-game wonder finished third in Norm Smith Medal voting after joining the Tigers in last year's mid-season draft. He revealed untold details of one of footy's great redemption stories on the ABC's Australian Story.
After a stints in juvenile detention and prison, Pickett was signed by WAFL club South Fremantle in 2013, picking up 26 disposals and kicking three goals on debut. In 2016 he won his second club best-and-fairest.
In those years he attracted the attention of a number of AFL clubs.
"I met with several different clubs – West Coast, Fremantle, Gold Coast, Essendon, St Kilda – but I got overlooked every year," Pickett said.
"It made me more angry that they are still worrying about my past."
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick revealed Richmond also looked closely at Pickett in 2016, but the club wasn't in a position to recruit him after a nightmare season in which Hardwick narrowly avoided being sacked.
"I became a shocking coach … A WA indigenous boy that has experienced what he has done, I would have just thought this is all too hard, there is no way this is going to work," Hardwick said.
"Sometimes you learn the toughest lessons of your life and in your darkest times. It certainly happened to me, it might have happened to Marlion as well."
Pickett said his life might not have turned out the way it has if not for his run-ins with the law.
"Some people say what happened to me is a fairytale. But if you're looking for change and a better life, it's up to you if you want to change it."
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/afl-daily-rolling-footy-news-from-superfooty-experts-across-australia-for-thursday-march-5-2020/live-coverage/a1f343687c469d14034383ef3012ce29
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Ex-Tigers star tips Pickett to be dropped to VFL
By Chris De Silva
wwos.nine.com.au
7 March 2020
Marlion Pickett may have starred in his AFL debut during last year's Grand Final, but former Richmond star Nathan Brown has suggested Pickett will spend time in the VFL in 2020.
After creating AFL history by making his debut in the Grand Final, Pickett was close to being named the best on ground in Richmond's thumping win, raising expectations for his 2020 season.
However, Brown, who played 82 games for the Tigers between 2004 and 2009, warned fans to be patient with Pickett's inevitable ups and downs.
"He's only played one game, Marlion Pickett, and I wouldn't be surprised if he plays some reserves football this year," he told Wide World of Sports.
"He had a great Grand Final and came in and was great, but there's going to be times, as there is with every young player, where it'll be up and down.
"They have a young kid called Collier-Dawkins who they think will be a great inside midfielder, and anyone who gets into that side is well worth their weight."
While he predicted Pickett would spend some time in the VFL, Brown suggested that the 28-year-old's emergence will help offset the loss of premiership players such as Brandon Ellis and Jacob Townsend.
"Yes they are depth players, but I just don't think they lose a lot," Brown said.
"I think what they've lost, they'll cover quite comfortably."
https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/nathan-brown-predicts-marlion-pickett-to-play-reserve-football-despite-stunning-debut-richmond-preview/7f566923-0f88-420f-9a92-a1f6e60f1988
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Maybe but marlion is 27 not a young kid at 18 making his way into footy.
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Agreed, he will either make it or be dropped. Not expecting him to steadily improve over the next few years. Ready made and should be aiming for 100 games or fade into memories.
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Marlion will have his ups & downs like any player, its not a big stretch to say he will play in the twos at times. The thing most likely to keep him out of the team is pressure from the youth below him. Injury can always put a regular player in the seconds, but seeing how well he overcame the finger injury last year to push into a premiership side tells me nothing will keep him down for too long. ;D
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Hardwick was bullish about what Marlion Pickett can produce in his first full season as a Tiger.
"I think he'll be a valuable role-player for us...he's a lot fitter, a lot leaner than this time last year," Hardwick said.
"He reads the play pretty real, uses the ball very well, so he'll play predominately through the midfield with stints up forward with as well.
"He's very flexible by nature, so he's going to be a valuable chess piece for us.
Source: AFL media (https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/573696/tigers-still-have-room-to-improve)
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I expect to get shot down for this but I'm still unsure if Marlion is best 22. Hope to be proven wrong and I am sure he will play round one.
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I expect to get shot down for this but I'm still unsure if Marlion is best 22. Hope to be proven wrong and I am sure he will play round one.
No shots fired from me. Happy to give him a run but he is a fringe player until he proves he can do it week in week out.
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https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/574481/pickett-s-grand-final-triumph?videoId=574481&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1583831400001
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Huh
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https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/574481/pickett-s-grand-final-triumph?videoId=574481&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1583831400001
Awesome!
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DAMIEN Hardwick has revealed the moment he felt Marlion Pickett may never achieve his dream of playing AFL, just weeks after arriving at Punt Road.
Speaking as part of the AFL's Season Launch video dedicated to Pickett's fairytale journey, Hardwick considered the chances of his new signing never returning to Melbourne after flying home for a funeral in June last year.
Follow Marlion Pickett's amazing story to the AFL and the MCG's September stage
"I thought it might be the last time I've heard of Marlion Pickett," Hardwick said.
"Yeah, I thought he might be staying in Perth."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/384440/watch-the-moment-dimma-feared-he-d-never-see-marlion-again
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I expect to get shot down for this but I'm still unsure if Marlion is best 22. Hope to be proven wrong and I am sure he will play round one.
No shots fired from me. Happy to give him a run but he is a fringe player until he proves he can do it week in week out.
Having a fringe midfielder who can rack up 20 possies is a good sign of our depth.
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I dont see him as top 22. He is in the next bracket from 23 to 26.
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If this guy is not best 22 were in a good space.
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Jeez....Pickett's comfortably best 22... :shh
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Jeez....Pickett's comfortably best 22... :shh
Or top dozen
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If this guy is not best 22 were in a good space.
Correct
Anyway we have to play him in the top 22 as often as possible. At least another 99 times. Then there would be 5 future father/kid pick ups.
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Pickett set to return to the MCG where he made his name
Peter Ryan
The Age
14 March 2020
The performance of Marlion Pickett in last year's grand final still astonishes.
Six days after winning the Norm Goss Medal in the VFL grand final he ran on to the MCG to collect 22 disposals, kick a goal and earn four votes in the Norm Smith Medal.
He did that despite being on the ground for just 66 per cent of the match, 23 minutes fewer than the medal winner Dustin Martin who also picked up 22 touches.
Only the Tigers' two ruckmen, Toby Nankervis and Ivan Soldo, and the Giants' Jeremy Finlayson, spent less time on the ground.
The twirl that saw him wrong foot All-Australian Lachie Whitfield and find Richmond's Jason Castagna inside 50 early in the second quarter was audacious.
It revealed the quickness of Pickett's feet as he took 10 steps inside an imaginary two square metre box within 10 seconds while remaining as balanced and aware of his surroundings as an Olympic diver leaping off the diving platform.
He had done that move before on a football field, as a child growing up in Western Australia, as a man trying to find purpose while inside prison, as a footballer for South Fremantle harbouring an AFL dream and as the VFL player that made every Richmond VFL match from August onwards in 2019 compulsory viewing.
Tigers skipper Trent Cotchin, who was alongside Pickett and Martin when Damien Hardwick told him he was playing in the grand final, said he had never seen someone move as smoothly as Pickett on a football field.
"He makes the game look easy and it is unfair really," Cotchin said.
The premiership captain was spotted laughing immediately after the move as he ran towards Pickett to show his appreciation.
Cotchin had not played alongside him until that day but he had trained with him and seen how Pickett seemed to eat up the ground like Pacman as soon as he grabbed the football, making the exhortation most players hear from coaches to take grass when space opens up, unnecessary for the first-game veteran.
As time has passed he has got to know him even better and Cotchin's admiration for the man called Marlion has only grown.
"He is older but he is also mature. He is a phenomenal person, to be completely frank. He is just a very humble human being, who has learned a lot of lessons throughout his life," Cotchin said.
Those lessons have led to Pickett being a guiding light for many.
Melbourne rookie Harley Bennell is known to have told others he was drawing hope from the quiet Tiger who wore No. 50 in the grand final as he tries to restart his career with the Demons.
Pickett is determined to build on that showing as he looks to spend as long as he can in the AFL, having been finally drafted in the mid-season draft at 27 on a base income of $50,000.
And the Tigers are equally bent on letting him find his way in the game free of the suffocation that can come when something that happens within two hours on a football field turns an otherwise normal existence upside down.
Some will question whether he can keep on keeping on but those close to him have no doubt.
The reality is that whatever happens now the game is richer for the presence of Pickett that day in his first AFL game, aged 27 years and 265 days, the first player to make his debut in a grand final since 1952.
And everyone is ready to enjoy whatever his talents can offer in 2020.
"He is an incredible family man and a bloody good footballer," Cotchin said.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/marlion-pickett-the-smooth-operator-who-makes-the-game-look-easy-20200313-p549om.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true
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Richmond's Grand Final hero Marlion Pickett was happy to wait until the second half of 2020 to open talks on a new deal. But Coronavirus could impact on these talks ...
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/sports-insider-column-coronavirus-could-impact-on-marlion-pickett-talks-while-melbourne-confident-of-securing-jack-viney-longterm/news-story/f15c0ca915a1eb32cd4a441569248a1e
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Marlion Pickett fairytale may never be possible again in the wake of coronavirus, Richmond CEO warns
April 4, 2020 3:39pm
David Zita
FOX SPORTS
Last year, Pickett was at the centre of one of the most remarkable stories in football history, working his way back from stints in prison to become the first player in more than half-a-century to make their debut in an AFL/VFL Grand Final, nearly taking out the Norm Smith Medal after an incredible performance in Richmond’s 2019 premiership team.
Gale, speaking on Fox Footy Live, was sobering in his admission Pickett’s redemption-arc may never be possible again in the wake of the coronavirus, as clubs cut staff in a scramble to survive.
“We take on more and more development because we’re actually good at it, clubs are good at developing potential and developing young men and women as people as leaders and as athletes, but there’s going to be some hard choices,” he said.
“The biggest story of last year’s Grand Final was Marlion Pickett you know and, I just wonder, I’m concerned if we’re going to make really hard choices on priorities clubs won’t be able to take those risks. Clubs won’t have those environments or the resources to bring on those sorts of people to develop and grow and realise their potential.”
Up to 80-per-cent of staff across the AFL and its 18 clubs have been stood down since headquarters announced a suspension on the competition until at least May 31.
Foxfooty.com.au senior reporter Tom Morris reported yesterday the AFL sees August as a more likely option for a potential return.
Gale feared the financial losses sustained during this period may deny clubs the opportunities to identify players like Pickett and be able to develop them personally and professionally.
“I think it’s a risk, I think as we try and forge a way forward in anticipation of significant reductions in revenue, you know clubs are going to have to really prioritise and the AFL priorities I guess the non-negotiable and tI guess the football ecosystem,” he said.
“That paternal care, that player development -personal growth, professional, that’s a real core part of what we do, but you know we’ve got the financial resources to be able to invest in that and develop that, which gives us the ability to take a Marlion Pickett… so other clubs may not be in that position, the AFL may see fit to do different things with the state-based comps or pathways, so we’ve just got to be really careful.
“At the end of the day we just develop great people. That’s what we do, develop not just great athletes but great people and I’m afraid, I do worry that some of those opportunities might be lost.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/richmond-afl-2020-marlion-pickett-tigers-coronavirus-afl-brendon-gale/news-story/594a44969548b9f59d48feec9b579d41
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The VFL/AFL players who needed just one game to enter footy folklore
April 8, 2020
Fox Sports
Sometimes, all it takes is one game of footy to define a career.
They’re not quite the equivalent of music’s one-hit wonders - that’s too harsh - but there are plenty of VFL/AFL players who have made their names in just one game.
MARLION PICKETT
Richmond
2019 Grand Final vs GWS Giants
So crazy it just might work.
With an injury to Jack Graham opening up a spot in the Grand Final side, Damien Hardwick looked past Jack Ross and Kamdyn McIntosh in favour of Pickett, a 27-year-old who had never played a game at the highest level.
In the process, he became the first player to make his senior debut in a VFL/AFL Grand Final since 1952. All of this after, as a teenager, spending two years in jail.
A week after being best on ground in the VFL Grand Final, Pickett tallied 22 disposals, one goal, a famous spin move and a premiership medallion. He finished third in the Norm Smith Medal votes.
Pickett’s is a story that will never be forgotten.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/the-vflafl-players-who-needed-just-one-game-to-enter-footy-folklore/news-story/5294c55f1f87c77e65f08a8a82c0b67b
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Richmond’s Grand Final sensation Marlion Pickett has been compared to a horse set to tackle his first elite level assignment this weekend.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/04/08/group-1-debutant-compared-to-richmond-finals-hero-pickett/
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Tiger in town
Briana Fiore
Harvey-Waroona Reporter
South-West Times
Tuesday, 21 April 2020 11:00AM
Richmond premiership player Marlion Pickett, who won a flag with the Tigers in his first league game, has been staying in Harvey with family.
Pickett had quite the day out in last year’s grand final. After being the first player in 67 years to debut and win a premiership, he also finished third in the Norm Smith Medal and became an immediate Richmond life member.
The mercurial Tiger was spotted in Harvey with his children earlier this month.
Pickett’s manager Anthony Van Der Wielen confirmed Pickett was in town and said he was “self-isolating after coming back from over east”.
Mr Van Der Wielen also said the Tigers’ midfielder was running laps around the Harvey Recreation Ground to maintain his fitness.
https://www.swtimes.com.au/news/harvey-waroona-reporter/tiger-in-town-ng-b881521631z
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The Tackle: Marlion Pickett returns to Richmond hellbent on picking-up career derailed by coronavirus.
Mark Robinson
Herald-Sun
11 May 2020
The Book of Marlion is ready for its next chapter. Arguably the greatest story of football’s grandest day returns to Richmond to restart a career that so far has yielded just two games. The first was the 2019 Grand Final in front of 100,000 fans. The second was Round 1, 2020, in front of zero fans. Then the virus arrived and Marlion Pickett’s remarkable football adventure was grounded.
The 28-year-old father of four, who was THE story of Richmond’s 2019 premiership team, was suddenly and painfully just another dad without an active job trying to make ends meet in an uncertain world. It isn’t so much a prince-to-pauper tale, but this season was supposed to be so different. Only six months before, Pickett was judged third best on the ground in the Grand Final win. He earned $50,000 for his truncated season.
The Norm Smith Medal winner was Dustin Martin. He earned in the vicinity of $1.2 million. This year, if Pickett played 22 games, his salary would have ballooned to about $230,000. Instead, without match payments — thought to be about $5000 per game — he is on the base rookie salary of $85,000.
That’s been cut by 50 per cent, meaning, when you crunch the numbers for the past six weeks, he has received a couple of thousand dollars a month, the same as the JobKeeper allowance.
Pickett’s manager Anthony Van Der Wielen said the low-end players in the AFL have been crippled by the salary squeeze and that while Pickett’s legacy moment — the blind turn — is being used to promote the return of the multimillion-dollar industry called football, his client is barely keeping his head above water. “You can’t turn on a television at the moment without seeing Marlion’s image,’’ Van Der Wielen said.
He is not whingeing, more emphasising the extraordinary journey of his player. We know the story.
Recruited in the mid-season draft by the Tigers, Pickett made his AFL debut on Grand Final day. He was 27. “Marlion’s handled it better than anyone else I know would’ve handled it and that’s because he’s come from fairly humble beginnings and he doesn’t want or need for a lot,’’ Van Der Wielen said.
“He’s more worried about everybody else and how they’re going than how’s he going. That’s Marlion’s way.
“I’ve been involved with Marlion at South Fremantle and that’s the way he is. He’s as tough as they come. He’ll get through. He and his family will get through, don’t ask me how, but they will.’’
This next period is crucial to Pickett’s future at Punt Rd. Manager and club have already spoken of a contract for the 2021 season, when Pickett would be elevated to the senior list, but that also is on hold. The length of — and financial reward within — that contact depended on Pickett’s performance this year.
“I’ve got open dialogue with Richmond, they love him to death and they want him to stay long-term,’’ Van Der Wielen said. “We were just going to wait and see how his form went through the year and that would’ve dictated a contract. “But the AFL is not allowing us to negotiate contracts at the moment. There’s a ban on everything. I understand why, but it’s just an anomaly in the system. “It’s not an easy set of circumstances, but I’m pretty confident it will all iron out by the end of this season, when we can get to a situation where we can put a contract in place.
“Marlion and Richmond are quite keen to do something. “Richmond has been excellent through this period.’’
For Pickett, his life has presented more hurdles than most others. This simply is another one. “This is an obstacle I guess, but the future is still bright and rosy for him,’’ Van Der Wielen said. “He’s had more obstacles than most of us have had. “He will take this in his stride. He’s an amazing man and I know everyone at Richmond feels the same about him. “His humbleness and his resilience and his hardness — he’s a role model for his people and for anyone who’s come against the obstacles in life like Marlion has.’’
When the AFL shut down and the country went into lockdown, Pickett and partner Jess and their kids returned to Western Australia. Most of the other “low-end paid’’ players, who are generally aged between 18 and 21, either headed home to mum and dad, or they bunked with a mate or a teammate.
The Picketts moved into a house at Harvey, a famous beef farming town about two hours southwest of Perth. There they isolated and were joined by Jess’s sister. After three weeks, Pickett moved the family back to Perth to stay with his mum and dad. All up, there was eight of them.
Today, they return to Melbourne, to their rented house in Thornbury. Three of his kids will return to Thornbury Primary School when the government allows and Pickett will start training — again, when the government allows.
Van Der Wielen said Pickett just wants football back and that the accrued fame from what played out on Grand Final day last year had not changed him. “He’s just the same bloke, there’s no change to him whatsoever,’’ he said. “He doesn’t love the fame at all. I wouldn’t say he’s uncomfortable with it, but he’s not the type who basks in it.
“He likes to play footy and he likes to be with his family and they’re pretty much the two things he likes to do and that’s all he does. “He trains. He goes home. He’s very much a hands on parent, both him and Jess.
“He doesn’t drink. On Grand Final night, he was sitting there drinking water and he just couldn’t wait to get home to see the kids.’’
Still, fame can’t be ignored.
Van Der Wielen has been approached by a publisher and been introduced to an author and the plan is to have a book written about Pickett, which will be available to the public by Christmas. “It won’t be just a football book,’’ the manager said.
“It will be about the trials and tribulations of the Marlion Pickett story, what he went through in his upbringing, his time in jail, his family, his kids. The Grand Final will be the culmination.’’ Or maybe it won’t. The Book of Marlion might have another couple of chapters — yet to be determined.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/the-tackle-marlion-pickett-returns-to-richmond-hellbent-on-picking-up-career-derailed-by-coronavirus/news-story/863ad5c9a015f0c77ffd4ec16f721a55
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Tigers' grand final hero forced to use hardship fund due to shutdown
Jake Niall
The Age
21 May 2020
Marlion Pickett, the Richmond player whose journey from jail to a grand final debut became the story of 2019, has been compelled to apply for money from an AFL players' hardship fund to make ends meet.
Despite becoming the face of the 2019 grand final and of the AFL's 2020 season launch, Pickett has found himself struggling financially during the AFL shutdown, as his wage has been cut from the AFL base by 50 per cent since late March, prompting him to seek financial help from the AFL Players' Association.
Pickett, 28, can only be paid a second-year rookie list player's salary this year, which is about $85,000, plus match payments, but the AFL's decision to cut player payments by half during the shutdown means he receives only half that amount – close to $3000 per month, minus tax and superannuation, over the period when football is not played.
When footy resumes, he will receive an additional match payment of $2000 per senior game (reduced from $4000).
Pickett has four children aged nine and under and his partner Jess is a full-time mother, meaning he is the sole breadwinner in his family. He struggled to scrounge an airfare to get back home to Perth for several weeks during the lay-off.
The Pickett situation differs from that of most players, because of his late debut at age 27, low payments as a rookie, and large number of dependents.
He rents a home in Melbourne's inner north, where for a period of time, in addition to his partner and four kids, there were three other people living with him.
Richmond have been trying to source money for him, as has his manager Anthony van der Wielen, who pointed out to the AFL that the league had reaped promotional benefits from Pickett's extraordinary story following the grand final, but that he had been placed in a financially challenging position due to the across-the-board pay cuts of 50 per cent that impact far more heavily on lowly paid players with dependents.
Richmond's attempts to source money for Pickett have run into difficulties because earnings have to be independent of the club to avoid being counted in the club's salary cap.
Pickett has applied for money from the AFLPA's hardship fund, which has $500,000 available for current players experiencing difficulties, but typically hands out only four figure sums – which is what Pickett will likely receive from that fund.
Knowing the impact of across-the-board pay cuts on his client, van der Wielen lobbied the AFL and AFLPA to have a higher minimum for the lowest-paid players – for a player in Pickett's position to be guaranteed threshold of, say $70,000 and not to have the 50 per cent pay cut.
A player in Pickett's position relies greatly on match payments to increase his pay, thus the loss of games during the shutdown hurts him.
Pickett's situation is known to the AFL hierarchy, including chief executive Gillon McLachlan, who struck a pay deal with the Players' Association that saw players' pay cut by 50 per cent for the remainder of 2020.
Under the deal, the players will get about 70 per cent of their annual contracted amount.
Pickett was the central story of the AFL season launch back in March, and his story of redemption, from jail to grand final hero, has been widely celebrated.
Drafted by the Tigers in the mid-season draft of last year, he did not make his debut until the 2019 grand final, when the Tigers thrashed Greater Western Sydney and Pickett's debut was the biggest talking point of the match, as he received votes for the Norm Smith Medal.
Pickett does not yet have a contract for 2021, though the Tigers wanted to sign him, as he and his management wanted him to play some games and get a measure of his worth before committing.
Pickett spent time in juvenile detention as a teenager in Western Australia and was subsequently jailed for 18 months for several non-violent offences, including burglary.
He debuted for South Fremantle in 2013 following his release from the Wooroloo Prison Farm and while he settled down and became of the WAFL's best players, he was passed over in each draft and did not get picked until the mid-season draft of 2019, when Richmond selected the then 27-year-old.
He was the first player to debut in a grand final in 57 years, replacing the injured Jack Graham in the Richmond line-up, as he gathered 22 disposals and booted a goal.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/tigers-grand-final-hero-forced-to-use-hardship-fund-due-to-shutdown-20200521-p54v8l.html
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Totally unnecessary article
Wonder if Marlon is happy to read his private personal financial situation in the Age
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Totally unnecessary article
Wonder if Marlon is happy to read his private personal financial situation in the Age
It does seem a little invasive to plaster people's personal financial situation in a newspaper. I wonder how the journos would feel if the same was done back to them? :P
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Totally unnecessary article
Wonder if Marlon is happy to read his private personal financial situation in the Age
It does seem a little invasive to plaster people's personal financial situation in a newspaper. I wonder how the journos would feel if the same was done back to them? :P
It's in the Herald-Sun as well.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/salary-squeeze-forces-marlion-pickett-to-apply-for-financial-aid/news-story/568ac451422bb14db9491cbd5c08d42b
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Someone has set up a gofundme page.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-tiger-army-supports-marlion-pickett
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Pickett’s redemption journey from jail to Grand Final hero was the central story of the AFL season launch back in March. It’s why Pickett’s manager, Anthony Van Der Wielen, is keen to see his client rewarded.
As pointed out in both stories run by The Age and the Herald Sun, the issue isn’t a case of ‘whingeing’, rather one of highlighting a celebrated player with an extraordinary story in the attempt of securing a better outcome.
Van Der Wielen said Pickett’s humility and resilience had helped him develop into a “role model” for the indigenous community, as well as anyone who’s faced similar obstacles.
He added you “can’t turn on a television at the moment without seeing Marlion’s image’’.
“Marlion’s handled it better than anyone else I know would’ve handled it and that’s because he’s come from fairly humble beginnings and he doesn’t want or need for a lot,’’ Van Der Wielen told the Herald Sun.
“He’s more worried about everybody else and how they’re going than how’s he going. That’s Marlion’s way.
“I’ve been involved with Marlion at South Fremantle and that’s the way he is. He’s as tough as they come. He’ll get through. He and his family will get through, don’t ask me how, but they will.’’
Like all players around the competition, all player contract talks have been put on hold.
Van Der Wielen said he was “pretty confident” another Richmond deal for Pickett would come to fruition by season’s end, claiming the Tigers “love him to death” and want him to stay long-term.
Upon learning of Pickett’s situation, Tiger tragic Matt Weiss felt compelled to start up a GoFundMe page dubbed ‘Help Marlion Pickett’.
“Lets help out a man and his family who gave us so much joy in a tough time,” Weiss wrote.
Weiss then added via Twitter: “I would like to offer help and hope others will also - How it looks if for others to judge.
“Club and AFL cant do anything but the people can help. Six months ago everyone feasted on what a great story... now he and his family deserve better.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2020-marlion-pickett-news-gofundme-page-players-hardship-fund-finance/news-story/a428f9527022aac66bfbacb248445ba3
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Tigers reveal plan to help flag hero – and why the AFL should reward his ‘million-dollar’ story
Ben Waterworth - Foxsports
& SEN & The Age
22 May 2020
Richmond is attempting to lock in some “genuine opportunities” to assist Marlion Pickett in the midst of an “uncomfortable” short-term period for the 2019 premiership hero.
It emerged on Thursday night that Pickett, who’s on a reduced rookie wage at the Tigers in 2020 due to the league-wide player pay cut, had applied for assistance from an AFL players’ hardship fund amid the season shutdown.
Speaking extensively about Pickett’s situation on SEN Breakfast on Friday morning, Richmond football boss Neil Balme confirmed the club was working fastidiously to assist its much-loved player, who debuted – and starred – in the Tigers’ premiership triumph last year.
“We’ve been doing a lot of work with the AFL particularly and I’m pretty sure that will be resolved,” Balme told SEN Breakfast.
“The whole rookie thing is quite a challenge, particularly given these circumstances as well. And particularly a kid like him who’s got a wife and four kids – it’s not as though he’s just on his own.
“We’ve been working hard behind the scenes and we’ve got a couple of genuine opportunities for him to do which are valuable for both him and the community and our club which we’re pretty sure the AFL will respond positively to.
“I do feel for (the AFL) a little bit because everyone’s got a great idea to spend money outside of the (Total Player Payments) and a lot of them (the AFL) do have to knock back.
“They’ve been quite challenging on making sure that these are bona fide and I’m pretty sure we’re in a position where that will happen.
“If it doesn’t (happen) I’ll come back on the show next week and give them a cook. I think we’ll be able to do something for Marlion as well.”
Melbourne great Garry Lyon asked if these opportunities had been sourced outside the footy club.
Balme said Pickett would also likely join Richmond’s Korin Gamadji Institute which describes itself as “a unique educational and training facility that supports and incubates leadership and employment pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”.
"They’re associates of ours, particularly with KGI we can get him to do a hell of a lot of stuff.”
Balme added: “In reality the Marlion Pickett story is just unbelievable in itself. The AFL should almost be giving him $1 million for his story in reality because nearly everything we’ve spoken about for two weeks after the grand final involved him, so it’s a bit of an anomaly in that sense too.”
Balme confirmed the Tigers would love to re-sign Pickett to a new deal but, like every player-club scenario around the league, couldn’t begin negotiations due to the shutdown restrictions.
“He’s a bit of an unusual one too because he was so late in getting picked up and we only signed his contract six weeks before the grand final initially in the first place anyway so we’ve been trying to re-sign but we’re not allowed to at the moment because of all the COVID restrictions. In the end that will work out for him but it’s been a bit uncomfortable for him in the short term, but I’m sure he’ll be right,” he said.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2020-marlion-pickett-news-richmond-work-opportunities-plan-financial-hardship-wage-salary/news-story/641c77a4623638f5fc2706c1ed26ffc2
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-should-give-pickett-1m-tigers-working-to-help-premiership-star-20200522-p54vgc.html
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/05/21/tigers-waiting-for-afl-approval-to-find-work-for-pickett/
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AFL unlikely to allow Pickett to access GoFundMe donations
Peter Ryan
The Age
23 May 2020
Richmond's Marlion Pickett is unlikely to be allowed by the AFL to access donations from a GoFundMe page that has already raised almost $6000 since being set up on Thursday to help the premiership Tiger.
The GoFundMe page titled Help Marlion Pickett sprang up after The Age reported he had applied for financial help from the AFL Players' Association's hardship fund. The mid-season draft selection, who lives with his partner and their four children in inner Melbourne, was due to earn a rookie wage of $85,000 but the 50 per cent pay cut negotiated with players means he has been earning about $3000 per month minus tax and superannuation as he waited for the game to resume.
The salary cap is a key plank of the league's competitive balance policy and clubs must abide by the rules or face significant penalties. Although the AFL assesses each circumstance on its merits, the league confirmed on Saturday that it would be unlikely to allow players to receive money through crowd funding as the potential for abuse of the system would be too great.
Richmond's efforts to boost his finances have been the subject of ongoing discussion with the AFL as Pickett's earnings must be independent of the club to stay out of the salary cap. The Tigers were working with the AFL to gain permission for Pickett to work as a mentor.
Under the AFL's return-to-play protocols players have been told they are not allowed to work a second job, however the league understands Pickett's situation and is attempting to find a solution within the rules.
Richmond's Neil Balme told SEN on Friday the club was hopeful of getting a resolution.
"We’ve been working very hard behind the scenes, we’ve got a couple of genuine opportunities for him to do which are valuable for both him and for the community and for our club which I’m pretty sure the AFL will respond positively to," Balme said.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-unlikely-to-allow-pickett-to-access-gofundme-donations-20200523-p54vqb.html
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On this day in 2019, Marlion Pickett's AFL dream came to life after he was selected by Richmond in the NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft. As we acknowledge the start of Reconciliation Week, be inspired by the now premiership player's story.
🎥 Watch: https://www.afl.com.au/video/439720
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WA’s premiership hero Marlion Pickett granted AFL assistance to work part-time at Richmond
The West Australian
Friday, 29 May 2020 8:25PM
There's good news for WA's grand final hero Marlion Pickett with the AFL approving his application to work part-time to supplement his restricted income.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/was-premiership-hero-marlion-pickett-granted-afl-assistance-to-work-part-time-at-richmond-ng-b881562973z
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Marlion Pickett
Kane Cornes
SEN
19 June 2020
“Is Marlion Pickett a one-hit wonder?
“Disposal count since the Grand Final: 14 Round 1 against Carlton, seven last Thursday night in about 39 minutes of game time - can’t even get on the field - and 10 last night and no influence.
“He does look to be struggling to pick up the pace of the game. That is a concern.
“A lot of people thought Richmond’s improvement will come from the likes of Marlion Pickett who is going to improve. Well, he’s really struggling.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/06/19/the-five-concerns-for-richmond/
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At this stage he doesnt look like being anywhere near the level. Deserves to be dropped.
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Tries to look pretty when percentage football is required....also looks unfit to me...:shh
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Marlion Pickett to mentor troubled kids in Victorian youth justice
Having used football to turn his own life around after leaving prison in 2013, Richmond footballer Marlion Pickett said sport had the power to communicate.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news./victoria/sports-stars-to-mentor-troubled-kids-in-victorian-youth-justice-centres/news-story/559269f1fb12f5a7d479b7ec7a37f284
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Is Marlion Pickett a one-hit wonder?
Catherine Healey
The West Australian
21 June 2020
AFL commentator Kane Cornes fears Richmond’s grand final hero Marlion Pickett is a “one-hit wonder” as he continues to struggle in 2020.
Pickett stunned the AFL world with his near best-on ground performance on debut in the 2019 AFL Grand Final after the Tigers snapped him up months earlier in the Mid Season Draft.
He picked up 22 disposals and kicked a memorable goal in the final – but has failed to match those figures in his three games for 2020.
As Richmond continue to struggle post coronavirus shutdown, Cornes singled out the WA rookie.
“Is Marlion Pickett a one hit wonder?” he said on SEN.
“Disposal count since the Grand Final: 14 round one against Carlton, seven last Thursday night in about 39 minutes of game time — can’t even get on the field, and 10 last night (against Hawthorn) — no influence.
“He does look to be struggling to pick up the pace of the game.
“That is a concern and is concern number one.”
Pickett, who was plucked from South Fremantle in the WAFL in the middle of 2019, has 21 disposals from three games at Richmond in 2020.
Cornes said the 28-year-old had been earmarked as a future talent for the Tigers, despite his mature age, but has failed to live up to the hype so far.
“A lot of people thought ‘well Richmond’s improvement will come from the likes of Marlion Pickett who will improve’, but he’s really struggling,” he said.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/kane-cornes-questions-if-richmonds-wafl-recruit-marlion-pickett-is-a-one-hit-wonder-after-incredible-grand-final-debut-ng-b881584287z
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ABC24 is right now replaying the Australian Story episode on Pickett.
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Yep i think he will go down in history as the luckiest premiership player of all time. He looks like a reserves grade player.
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Barrett's say on Pickett in his latest Sliding Doors column:
IF ... the fantasy was Grand Final day last year ...
THEN ... the reality was Thursday night team selection this week. Out: Pickett. He's overcome far more adversity in his life than senior team omission, but this year has been a football reality check on so many levels.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/456994/sliding-doors-if-the-fantasy-was-grand-final-day-last-year-then
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Well Barrett has nfi
We can now confirm Pickett isn't the issue :shh
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Poor game. He was completely off tonight.
No tackling or pressure and his disposal was all over the place. Disappointing.
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Poor game. He was completely off tonight.
No tackling or pressure and his disposal was all over the place. Disappointing.
Had a good patch from about the midpoint of the third quarter to the middle of the last.
Still seems to go the man rather than the ball and when receiving a kick or handball waits for the ball to arrive rather than attack it.
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Poor game. He was completely off tonight.
No tackling or pressure and his disposal was all over the place. Disappointing.
Had a good patch from about the midpoint of the third quarter to the middle of the last.
Still seems to go the man rather than the ball and when receiving a kick or handball waits for the ball to arrive rather than attack it.
Some poor efforts. I dont rate him. Doesnt tackle just trys to bump. VFL player only.
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with ramps here. Has anyone seen him lay a hard tackle. I mean he wasnt the only one but wtf is with this half arsed tackles/bumps?
dimma was wrong we were out tackled last night. F50 pressure non existent again
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Pickett is going ok. Kicks those 2 goals and he is in our top 5 players on the night
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It’s hard to take , but for a bloke who’s only played 10 games + - to be our first or second mid is tough going
He played well in the GF as an extra 4th man in
The opposition are now onto how he plays and are manning up on him
The good news is he keeps at it and is learning and will get better, will enjoy it when Cotch and Meatball are back
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The problem here is Hardwick is going down the Sheedy track of "creating" great stories. Picketts an VFL standard player, he should have been dropped already for poor performance. Only getting a game coz they want a feel good story at RFC. Thats all.
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Pickett is going ok. Kicks those 2 goals and he is in our top 5 players on the night
Didnt kick them. He was poor again yesterday.
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Wed night was by far Pickett's best in 2020, especially his first half impact when the game was won. There were signs the week before but this week his disposal was much better so there were less errors. The closest he's got to his GF heroics.
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Yep, good game from him the other night.
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Marlion Pickett, Richmond, has been charged with Forceful Front-On Contact against Sam Powell-Pepper, Port Adelaide, during the fourth quarter of the Round 11 match between Port Adelaide and Richmond, played at Adelaide Oval on Saturday August 8.
In summary he can accept a $1500 sanction with an early plea.
Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Careless Conduct, Low Impact and High Contact. The incident was classified as a as a $2500 sanction as a second offence. The player can accept a $1500 sanction with an early plea.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/483190/match-review-lion-banned-for-dangerous-tackle-teammate-charged-for-groin-kick
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Wow that's soft. He came to a stop and tried to avoid it imo
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On a rookie contract severely reduced because of COVID, a $1500 fine is no insignificant amount.
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Thoughts on Pickett's game?
18 disposals (11k, 7h, 4c, 15u, 61% eff.)
6 marks
2 tackles
2 intercepts
9 inside 50s
602 metres gained
3 score involvements
1 goal assist
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Thought it was his best game of the year
Though his 3 back to back panic handball in the final are when the Bumblings were pressing were a concern. Against a side like the Eagles they wpuld hand pounced and punished us
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Stats show he was ok. Will retain his place but I want to see more intensity.
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Reckon people mistake his laconic manner for a lack of intensity.... :shh
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Reckon people mistake his laconic manner for a lack of intensity.... :shh
Spot on! doesn't lack intensity at all.
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Last two weeks have been solid
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Been critical of his place in the team especially with some of the names set to return but he has been steadily improving game by game and I thought he was one of the best tonight.
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Marlion had our second-most possies. It is his highest return since his debut in last year's GF.
19 disposals (10k, 9h, 9c, 10u, 73.7% eff.)
3 marks
3 tackles
2 clearances
351 metres gained
4 insides 50s
4 intercepts
4 score involvements
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Been critical of his place in the team especially with some of the names set to return but he has been steadily improving game by game and I thought he was one of the best tonight.
Agree, he just missed out on votes this week.
His best game for us. I reckon better than the GF
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Getting better every week. He owns that role on the wing. Not sure how Caddy gets a game now unless forward.
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Better game as a dedicated wingman. He needs to improve his inside 50 service. Although it was obvious that the forwards especially our two big forwards for some reason refused to lead for most of the game instead just insisting on the useless ineffective high ball over the top. Doesn’t work.
If the forwards would just lead and use momentum maybe the suppliers might have something to aim for because it’s much easier to stop a already stationary object than try to stop a player that has serious momentum and a strong leap (even an American showed us this)
Our last quarter only proved that when a forward Is actually prepared to lead then he will be given the opportunity (mostly) and honoured for the hard work.
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I still get nervous when he has the ball and takes time to dispose of it.
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Not the hardest bloke going round just quietly... :shh
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..or the cleanest... :shh :shh
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One of Barrett's "most memorable" GF moments. Spot the error?
29: One game, one premiership, one famous pirouette: Marlion Pickett's 2019 GF
It was actually an act of beauty, executed almost in slow motion and against one of the game's most skilful players. In his debut AFL match, which just happened to be the 2019 Grand Final, Marlion Pickett grabbed the ball in the centre of the MCG. Instinctively upon seeing the exquisitely talented Lachie Whitfield run to him, Pickett nonchalantly did a 360, and casually passed to teammate Jason Castagna, who goaled. Game over.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/509743/barrett-s-most-memorable-finals-moments-30-21
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One of Barrett's "most memorable" GF moments. Spot the error?
29: One game, one premiership, one famous pirouette: Marlion Pickett's 2019 GF
It was actually an act of beauty, executed almost in slow motion and against one of the game's most skilful players. In his debut AFL match, which just happened to be the 2019 Grand Final, Marlion Pickett grabbed the ball in the centre of the MCG. Instinctively upon seeing the exquisitely talented Lachie Whitfield run to him, Pickett nonchalantly did a 360, and casually passed to teammate Jason Castagna, who goaled. Game over.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/509743/barrett-s-most-memorable-finals-moments-30-21
He was passed the ball?
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Obviously not that memorable.... :facepalm
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One of Barrett's "most memorable" GF moments. Spot the error?
29: One game, one premiership, one famous pirouette: Marlion Pickett's 2019 GF
It was actually an act of beauty, executed almost in slow motion and against one of the game's most skilful players. In his debut AFL match, which just happened to be the 2019 Grand Final, Marlion Pickett grabbed the ball in the centre of the MCG. Instinctively upon seeing the exquisitely talented Lachie Whitfield run to him, Pickett nonchalantly did a 360, and casually passed to teammate Jason Castagna, who goaled. Game over.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/509743/barrett-s-most-memorable-finals-moments-30-21
He was passed the ball?
Technically, Soldo did handball it to Pickett from the centrebounce so you're right Mintie about that too ;).
But nah not that. Something far more obvious Barrett has got wrong.
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Got it... :shh :lol
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:jump
I'll leave this one for Ramps to respond too :lol
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Im 50 years old and on dialysis. Even i could have done a piroette or whatever its called against the witches hats last year. Completely overrated moment. Luckiest player since Darryl Freame and Georgie Boy to ever win a premiership medallion lol.
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Im 50 years old and on dialysis. Even i could have done a piroette or whatever its called against the witches hats last year. Completely overrated moment. Luckiest player since Darryl Freame and Georgie Boy to ever win a premiership medallion lol.
LOL
Not talking about Pickett but the error Barrett made
Another one of your favourite topics regarding a particular player ;)
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The best game from a small forward you’ll ever see minus the goals
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dont understand the angst against a premiership player.
i think he is a fair player. Are there others better, sure who knows, but a premiership player nonetheless.
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Im 50 years old and on dialysis. Even i could have done a piroette or whatever its called against the witches hats last year. Completely overrated moment. Luckiest player since Darryl Freame and Georgie Boy to ever win a premiership medallion lol.
LOL
Not talking about Pickett but the error Barrett made
Another one of your favourite topics regarding a particular player ;)
And Georgie Boy did what he does best. Missed the goal. Lol.
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Im 50 years old and on dialysis. Even i could have done a piroette or whatever its called against the witches hats last year. Completely overrated moment. Luckiest player since Darryl Freame and Georgie Boy to ever win a premiership medallion lol.
LOL
Not talking about Pickett but the error Barrett made
Another one of your favourite topics regarding a particular player ;)
And Georgie Boy did what he does best. Missed the goal. Lol.
Not on that occasion
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George doesn't miss the goals, the goals miss him....:shh
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Im 50 years old and on dialysis. Even i could have done a piroette or whatever its called against the witches hats last year. Completely overrated moment. Luckiest player since Darryl Freame and Georgie Boy to ever win a premiership medallion lol.
LOL
Not talking about Pickett but the error Barrett made
Another one of your favourite topics regarding a particular player ;)
And Georgie Boy did what he does best. Missed the goal. Lol.
:clapping :clapping
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Marlion Pickett
Just doesn’t look like the game-breaking success story he was in the Grand Final last year. Has had his ups and downs across the season and got a bit of the footy, but it just wasn’t damaging.
Rating: 5
Source: Foxsports (https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-finals-2020-richmond-player-ratings-vs-brisbane-lions-second-qualifying-final-reviews-stats-tigers-best-and-worst-players/news-story/156df1b76297836ac1f12af8237ff86c)
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Would’ve given him a 2 maximum. Poor performance and butchered the ball more than anyone.
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Would’ve given him a 2 maximum. Poor performance and butchered the ball more than anyone.
We can’t have two blokes who turtle their heads and have short arms when standing under the ball in the same team.
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Would’ve given him a 2 maximum. Poor performance and butchered the ball more than anyone.
We can’t have two blokes who turtle their heads and have short arms when standing under the ball in the same team.
Two of Cameron’s goals could’ve been avoided by a proper tackle Pickett both occasions electing to push or bump or failing to just tackle him.
Next to Chol’s game I rate Pickett as our second worst on the field for being ineffective and detrimental to our chance of winning.
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Marlion Pickett
Pickett ran the wing for most of the game matched up on Bradley Hill, but had just nine touches. He might be one of the vulnerable players if Hardwick considers making a change for next week’s game against Port Adelaide .
Rating: 4
Source: Foxsports (https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-finals-2020-richmond-player-ratings-vs-st-kilda-second-semi-final-reviews-stats-best-and-worst-players/news-story/afdeaa6b7f13cced41d21c91e03b900e)
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Marlion Pickett
Pickett ran the wing for most of the game matched up on Bradley Hill, but had just nine touches. He might be one of the vulnerable players if Hardwick considers making a change for next week’s game against Port Adelaide .
Rating: 4
Source: Foxsports (https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-finals-2020-richmond-player-ratings-vs-st-kilda-second-semi-final-reviews-stats-best-and-worst-players/news-story/afdeaa6b7f13cced41d21c91e03b900e)
Laughable stuff- took Hill out of the game resulting in Hill being moved to HF as a last shot at getting into the game. Who writes this stuff :wallywink
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I don't think his tackling technique is great, (when he does elect to tackle) he goes too high.
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Just not doing enough for me and doing some silly acts in process needs more impact.Maybe he can do a shutdown job on Port player.
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Marlion Pickett
Pickett ran the wing for most of the game matched up on Bradley Hill, but had just nine touches. He might be one of the vulnerable players if Hardwick considers making a change for next week’s game against Port Adelaide .
Rating: 4
Source: Foxsports (https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-finals-2020-richmond-player-ratings-vs-st-kilda-second-semi-final-reviews-stats-best-and-worst-players/news-story/afdeaa6b7f13cced41d21c91e03b900e)
Laughable stuff- took Hill out of the game resulting in Hill being moved to HF as a last shot at getting into the game. Who writes this stuff :wallywink
Pretty sure Hill took himself out of the game.
He’s had a poor year.
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Yep Hill was mainly just crap all by himself and whatever job Pickett may or may not done on Hill was nullified by the rubbish he served up with the ball - even that bump should've been a tackle and only served to keep the ball alive fur St.Kilda and in the same passage he gave the ball back with an horrendous hack kick - was also lucky not to give away another 50 early on... :shh
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if he did nullify Hill then its a pass.
if he didn't then i'm not sure how he plays next week.
It was by fluke that one of his half arsed one handed tackles in the third stopping a certain saints shot on goal paid off.
Otherwise these tackle attempts are rubbish
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Adam Cooney just said Marlion was huge in the last qtr.
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He was and he bloody well needed to be... :shh
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Adam Cooney just said Marlion was huge in the last qtr.
100% he was involved in everything doing the dirty work to.
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Marlion Pickett
Covered a stack of ground but when he had the ball he looked rushed and used it poorly. Lifted in the final quarter
Rating: 4
Source: Foxsports (https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-finals-2020-richmond-player-ratings-vs-port-adelaide-first-preliminary-final-reviews-stats-best-and-worst-players/news-story/5a240d072bb6873234eb176397899eaf)
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Essentially started the game from the second quarter as his first was terrible. I thought he was solid and played an important role late in the game by contesting the down the line exit kicks to ensure Port didn't take marks. Plays next week for sure!
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Richmond cult hero Marlion Pickett has revealed he was talked out of leaving the Tigers hub just before the finals. Facing family heartache back home, Pickett was forced to make an agonising choice.
@TomBrowne7 #7AFL #7NEWS
Watch here: https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1318460519510994944
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The heartbreaking phone call that stopped flag hero from quitting before finals
Glenn Valencich
7Sport
20/10/2020
Marlion Pickett has revealed he almost left Richmond’s hub on the eve of the AFL finals - until a phone call from his father Thomas set him straight.
The 2019 premiership hero is managing some calf soreness ahead of the Tigers’ clash with Geelong on Saturday night at the Gabba.
But he’s expected to line up for what will be his second grand final in just his 20th AFL game.
It wasn’t that long ago that he was in serious doubt of finishing the season, struggling mentally after a death in the family while his dad’s battle with illness continued.
“It’s been hard. There were times when I felt like I wanted to head home to be with my dad,” Pickett told 7NEWS on Tuesday.
“Just being in hub life for a 100 days, I kind of got a bit depressed at the time.
“I was kind of wanting to head home but I didn’t really want to leave the club and let the club down.”
Thomas, battling lung disease, has been in and out of hospital this year and was due to check out on Tuesday.
He rings his son every day he can, calls that continue to ease Pickett’s mind alongside help from Richmond’s wellbeing manager Nadine Haidar.
“Before the finals started I was talking about booking my ticket,” Pickett said.
“Then I ended up ringing my dad, speaking to him, and he said ‘just stick it out, I’m ok’.
“Day before the first final I was on a Zoom call at the funeral making sure he’s alright.”
In the end, the pressure of the finals offered Pickett a distraction from overthinking his situation and allayed his concerns about being away from his family for at least another few weeks.
Despite plenty of consternation over his place in the side the 28-year-old managed to play 15 of 17 games in the home-and-away season, and all three finals to date.
But questions surrounding his week-to-week future were nothing compared to what he was dealing with off the field this year.
“I had to overcome adversity out of footy,” Pickett said.
“There’s a lot of people saying I was a one-hit wonder, stuff like that. But footy’s footy.
“You’re always going to have critics outside of footy, but it’s not what the critics think - it’s what your teammates and coaches think about you.”
Pickett will now get the chance to replicate the heroics that earned four votes in the Norm Smith Medal.
He hasn’t watched a replay of the 2019 grand final since the day after, but one of his sons will be thrilled if he pulls out another 360 spin away from traffic.
“(He) keeps playing that!” Pickett said.
“It was a good feeling to play, my family was there, surreal feeling and to play in my second one in 20 games is amazing.”
https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/the-heartbreaking-phone-call-that-stopped-flag-hero-from-quitting-before-finals-c-1422665
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Pickett a year after his dramatic debut
By Michael Gleeson
The Age
October 23, 2020 — 11.30am
Marlion Pickett enjoyed the celebrations in the rooms but the fuss and attention on him was a bit embarrassing.
In the euphoria of the most extraordinary debut in the history of the game, he celebrated with his new Richmond premiership teammates for a while then quietly excused himself.
He went home to hang out with his four kids.
If he went to mad Monday no one can recall it. His was a mild Monday. Again, he wanted to be with his partner, Jess and their kids.
Pickett doesn't drink. Not any more. He knows what is good for him and what isn't.
He came into the AFL as a mature-aged recruit, to Richmond with life experiences unlike anyone else in the game. He had spent two-and-a half years in jail, had four kids. He was not just an old recruit, he was by now a mature one.
You surely know that his first game of football was just over 12 months ago in the AFL grand final but it bears repeating. Imagine your first game being the biggest game of the year, in front of the biggest crowd. Right now it's hard to remember being at a game with a crowd.
The feel-good nature of this story demands that after that breakthrough moment life would open up and get easier. That after spinning with the ball on light dancer's feet, after kicking a goal on that grand final day, he would follow through on the promise he showed in that one game and become a top 20 player in the competition, with a wealth such that all life's troubles would melt away. It hasn't happened.
Still on rookie wages after his one game, he was ready to sign a new contract that would have given him the financial comfort he has chased along with his playing dream. Richmond had one there for him. Then COVID hit and contracts were frozen, player wages cut and everyone was thrown into turmoil and hardship. Pickett was one of the players quickly identified as an obvious case for hardship assistance when the sweeping wage cuts hit players.
Since that grand final debut, when he played in front of a full MCG, his next game was in front of an empty MCG. He has co-written a book, he's been the subject of an Australian Story documentary, he's gone into a hub and played a full season.
Having moved his young family from Perth to Melbourne to pursue his football dream, they went into lockdown for months in a small home in Melbourne then joined him in a hub in Queensland.
Meanwhile, home in WA, his dad was struggling with lung cancer and the pull on him to leave the hub and get back across the country to see him was becoming acute. He said recently he nearly left the hub - and with it any real hope of playing finals with Richmond – to get back to see his dad. His dad didn't want him to do that.
For people who work closely with him at Richmond, this spoke to the essence of Pickett. He wanted to be with his family. Football meant so much to him but he was putting someone else first.
When he was asked this year how he was coping with the hub and everything going on, he'd shrug and smile. "I'm all good," he said.
Pickett never comes to the club with a complaint, it's only ever a question. And it's never about him, it's always about one of the other players who now fall under his wing.
"Is Stacky [Sydney Stack] OK? What can we do?" he'd ask.
"I'm worried about Shai [Bolton]. I think we need to…"
They are used to the calls. If the other players have concerns it's Pickett who wants to fix it.
"That's been the environment, that's how he's been from the start, he always thinks of others," said assistant coach Xavier Clarke.
"It speaks to the person he is, he wants to make sure everyone else is OK. He calls me old fella but I am learning from him. I have a two-year-old now and I am learning from him about how he is with his kids."
This year has been an adjustment for everyone. From the outside, Pickett's football has looked inconsistent. Maybe it's the high bar he set in his first game, and the excitement it generated for how good he could be, that everything afterwards has felt like a slight letdown, but it hasn't been as consistently electric as that first game. Really, how could it be as exciting?
The difference is largely explained by the fact on grand final day he came in and played on the ball and half-forward. It was easier to fit into that role as a see-ball, get-ball midfielder and forward playing on instincts.
With Brandon Ellis going out he has taken a position on a wing, which at Richmond means learning and understanding a very specific way of playing the position to fit into a structure.
This year he has learned that role.
"You can't judge him on numbers. He offers us so much with his running power and grunt. He is very important to us," an insider said.
His background has made him ready to deal with the difficulties he has faced in the last year, from the grand final to the dislocation of the hubs and juggling the kids in a flat away from home.
"Nothing fazes him. He has been through so much in his life it's like football is easy," said one Richmond football insider.
It's a turn on the famous line from Keith Miller, the great Australian all-rounder and former World War Two fighter pilot, who put elite sport into perspective when he was asked once about pressure to perform.
"Pressure?" Miller asked. "There's no pressure in Test cricket. Real pressure is when you are flying a Mosquito with a Messerschmitt up your arse!"
For Pickett, there is no pressure in AFL. When you have been through what he has been through, footy is just a game.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/pickett-a-year-after-his-dramatic-debut-20201022-p567o8.html
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Marlion Pickett – 7
One of Pickett's best games for the club. When the Cats were pressing hard in the first half, he worked incredibly hard on the wing, continually pushing back into defence to help his teammates. A few shaky moments and gave away an undisciplined 50, but used the footy well.
Source: AFL website (https://www.afl.com.au/news/521174/tigers-player-ratings-no-passengers-on-the-tiger-train)
Marlion Pickett
Stood on Blicavs early, had a few average moments including giving away a 50m penalty in the last quarter in a poor moment. He ended with 14 disposals, but it wasn’t a repeat of 2019 for Pickett.
Rating: 4
Source: Foxsports (https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-grand-final-2020-richmond-vs-geelong-dustin-martin-player-ratings-tigers-stats-best-and-worst-players-afl-finals-gabba/news-story/2c23bd9c6b85150e3f828938dc9c0006)
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I thought he was fantastic made a few blews, but runs all day.
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Stormed home in the second half like most.
Good for him too, first half was a stinker.
He's a good player this guy and kicks well either footy. Has real skill and genuinely tough.
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That chase down of Junior was brilliant
His 2nd half was excellent
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Wont forget that his direct opponent was the most dominant player in the game especially the first half.
Next to Rioli Pickett was close to the worst player on the ground and his second half not much better as the 50 metre penalty could have been disastrous but his pressure was a lot better as the team lifted and he didn’t get as much of the ball in the second half so he couldn’t turn it over as much.
It was the tweeks to our structure and increased pressure as a team that saved him in the end.
I still think a fit Caddy would have been a better contributor overall especially decision making and goal kicking ability as a wingman than Pickett during the whole finals series.
Anyway he’s a dual premiership player and good on him
:gotigers
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His pressure acts were highlights of his game.
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I think a few need to pay more attention to the game instead their own agendas! I watched a replay today & what really stood out was how involved Marlion got, especially in the second half. Marly was into everything up to his elbows! None of it was pretty football either, he did all the hard things that rarely gained him a possession, but his workrate was through the roof. He ran, chased, smothered, crashed, bashed, scragged & belted his way through them all night! :thumbsup
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I think a few need to pay more attention to the game instead their own agendas! I watched a replay today & what really stood out was how involved Marlion got, especially in the second half. Marly was into everything up to his elbows! None of it was pretty football either, he did all the hard things that rarely gained him a possession, but his workrate was through the roof. He ran, chased, smothered, crashed, bashed, scragged & belted his way through them all night! :thumbsup
:clapping just :clapping
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I thought he played a good game. Lots of tackles and pressure. Easy 7/10 for me.
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It was a game of two halves. In the first quarter you thought “oh poo” but the whole backline was rattled. After Martin scores that ridiculous resuscitating goal everything kind of clicked for everyone. It was similar to his game against port where early on he was fumbly but then settled as the game wore on
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Pickett's random acts of kindness
By Daniel Cherny
The Age
October 26, 2020 — 2.31pm
They are the random acts of kindness that sum up Marlion Pickett's attitude towards life. Pickett is a dual premiership player after just 20 AFL games, with Saturday night's grand final win for Richmond yet another chapter in his scarcely believable tale of redemption and emergence.
Pickett is unflappable on and off-field, and his generosity of spirit shone through on a couple of occasions in grand final week.
One came when he was out for dinner on the Gold Coast and approached for a selfie by a fan.
"One fella asked for a photo, so we took a photo out there," Pickett said on Monday.
"We started talking and stuff. He's going through a really hard time at the moment about him and his partner having a big fight. He got kicked out of his house. Has two kids. I was talking to him, trying to make him feel a bit better. Just to make sure he was all right and work a way through it. He was a really nice guy to talk to. I don't like leaving people that aren't in the right state of mind by themselves, especially when they're going through a hard time."
Pickett got his new acquaintance's details and plans to keep in touch.
"I messaged him the other day, just before the granny to check if he was all right and stuff like that. I'll probably message him this week just to see how he's going.
"I'm always there for someone if they need talking to. It doesn't matter if I know you or I don't at all."
The other instance came when Pickett was asked by friends if he could help with spare grand final tickets. This is a man with four kids and on a COVID-19-slashed rookie wage, but there was no thought of him asking for recompense.
I'm always there for someone if they need talking to. It doesn't matter if I know you or I don't at all.
"Instead of making some extra bucks and making some extra dollars off them, I ended up giving them away," he said.
"The people that were coming from Darwin wanted to pay for them but I don't really like selling things to people, if I'm not using them and I don't need them. It makes me feel better just to give them away.
"One of them is like an old mate. He asked if he could buy them off me and I said ,'Nah, don't worry about it. I'm not using them and I'm not going to trade you for something I never paid for so just take them.'
"I'm not the kind of person to overcharge for tickets that are hard to come by."
Pickett, 28, is set to remain at Richmond for at least another couple of seasons with a new contract imminent.
Having won his second AFL flag on Saturday he has kept things low-key ahead of a return to Western Australia on Wednesday where he will be reunited with his unwell father.
"I know it's a big game and what not but it's just another game. I haven't really been celebrating, I've just been with my family and enjoying time with them. Just probably a bit of family time after a good win. The kids have been struggling a bit. It's time to get them out and about," he said.
"[Dad's] all right. Struggling every now and then but doing the best he can do."
It is only 17 months since Richmond recruited Pickett in the mid-season draft despite a finger injury. Having spent time in prison during his youth, his restorative tale has been part of football legend since his grand final day debut last year.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/pickett-s-random-acts-of-kindness-20201026-p568kp.html
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Hope he goes to Freo. Turnover after turnover. We are better off playing a kid on the wing. Ralphsmith a better option going forward.
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Hardness
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Pickett's game was better than first thought on a second viewing as you notice more of the stuff he did off the ball. His pressure & chase down tackling stopped the Cats at a number of key moments.
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Pickett's game was better than first thought on a second viewing as you notice more of the stuff he did off the ball. His pressure & chase down tackling stopped the Cats at a number of key moments.
Yup noticed that too when I watched again last night.
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'I got off lightly': Marlion Pickett opens up on dealing drugs before footy career
7Sport
19 November 2020
The rise of Richmond hero Marlion Pickett hasn’t been an easy one – with the premiership player overcoming a string of trials along the way – including a fateful dalliance with the drug ice.
Pickett, who has successfully transformed his life following stints behind bars to become one of Australia’s most beloved and successful footballers, reveals in his new book Belief how he overcame the dark influences of his past.
Describing an extended family environment while growing up in Western Australia that was tainted by drug abuse, Pickett confesses that illegal substances were a presence in his life from an early age.
“Everything would start well,” Pickett remembers of the family get togethers that were a feature of his childhood.
“There was lots of food and laughing. A lot of drink and drugs too.
“We kids would be running around with our cousins having fun, riding bikes, playing games. It always ended in a fight. The uncles would be fighting or Dad would be fighting.
“I just accepted it, you know, as normal. The drugs, alcohol, fights, that was just what happened. Mum and Dad were good and all, but in terms of family members, it was alcohol and drugs all the time.”
By the time Pickett was 18, drugs had become a direct part of his own life.
Drinking alcohol and experimenting with the drug ice, Pickett’s life began to spin out of control.
With the drug all over Freemantle, he found it hard to resist.
“Gave me a rush at first, then I felt calm,” Pickett recalls.
“Your problems didn’t matter anymore. At least, not till the next smoke.”
He would take the drug and then sleep for days.
Soon he graduated to dealing to fund his lifestyle – although he refused to sell to anyone under the age of 18.
“Older people, people my age, men, women, some white people. It was everywhere,” Pickett said.
His experiment with dealing came to an end with his growing distaste over the business – and he didn’t want drugs around his young family.
But the ice lifestyle played into his ill-fated decision to participate in a break and enters at a shopping centre.
“Somebody said ‘Let’s do some shops’, something like that,” Pickett recalls.
His first serious run-in with the police was at the tender age of 15, with the future footy favourite finding himself sentenced to six months in juvenile detention for committing grievous bodily harm and robbery.
A young Pickett was sent to Western Australia’s Rangeview Remand Centre while on remand and awaiting trial – his first time in a detention facility.
“They made you strip off and shower, then they gave me my prison uniform,” Pickett recalls of the initial shock.
Locked in a spartan cell, the star admits he wasn’t yet ready to accept responsibility for his plight, and instead says he was consumed with anger over being falsely charged with theft on top of his GBH rap.
“Mainly I was angry at being charged with stealing,” he said.
Pickett was so green at the time, he was unaware of detention centre procedure, and the next morning had to be told by officers to clean his cell, mop the floor and make his bed.
Found guilty of GHB and robbery, the future icon was sentenced to six months at Rangeview – a run that would include Christmas and his sixteenth birthday.
“I tried not to think too much about outside,’ Pickett said of his reaction to the grim news, adding that others he knew had ended up with serious sentences in adult jails.
“I guess I got off lightly.”
Pickett spent his time in detention in the most productive ways he could – including working out and having push up competitions with other boys.
“I’d exercise whenever I could, play basketball and footy, jump on the trampoline.”
The centre also offered woodworking classes to help the young detainees earn skills for once they were returned to society.
But Pickett couldn’t help but notice the grim reality of the situation he found himself in.
“I reckon about eighty per cent inside were Indigenous boys,” he said.
When Christmas came around, there wasn’t much to celebrate about, “except we all got a hat for a Christmas present”.
His sixteenth birthday was spent mopping out his cell, making his bed and doing push-ups.
“One of the older prisoners in self-care had the same birthday and he cooked up a couple of cupcakes,” Pickett said.
“He came to my cell with one for me.”
While the future footballer attempted to return to normal teenage life after he was released, more trouble was on the horizon.
He was convicted of a series of non-violent offenses, including burglary, resulting in two and a half years in jail.
His first days behind bars this time were spent with his body attempting to adjust to life without drugs, and he slept heavily.
This time thoughts of his partner Jess and their two young boys weighed heavily upon him, both plunging him into a bleak frame of mind, and motivating him to get out and do something with his life.
“It was all getting too hard. It sent me into a depression,” Pickett said.
“I kept it inside. What was the point of being a dad if I wasn’t there when my kids were growing up?’”
Things got so tough, he attempted to take his life four times. But his dream to make something of himself eventually won out.
When his life began to come together after his release, he realised just how dark things had gotten – and how much better they were about to become.
“When I was in jail, I told myself I was going to try and make it in the WAFL,” Pickett said.
“I felt good about myself.”
The stint in prison was enough to straighten him up, and set him on the road towards redemption.
Pickett had had enough of the “rubbish”, and as his football career beckoned, alcohol and drugs were consigned to the past.
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/i-got-off-lightly-afl-player-opens-up-on-dealing-drugs-before-footy-career-c-1605882
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Marlion has cleared his instagram account.
https://www.instagram.com/pickett_marls50/
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Hasn't been at training of late to hopefully all well.
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Hasn't been at training of late to hopefully all well.
Word is he was back at training today :thumbsup.
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Hasn't been at training of late to hopefully all well.
Word is he was back at training today :thumbsup.
Anyone know how Marlion is going??
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Hasn't been at training of late to hopefully all well.
Word is he was back at training today :thumbsup.
Anyone know how Marlion is going??
Is Marlion playing in intraclub?
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Yes. Pickett had the job chasing Dusty around for most of the intra-club.
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Yes. Pickett had the job chasing Dusty around for most of the intra-club.
Thanks for the info MT
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The new Grigg ;D.
Seriously though Marlion was really good tonight.
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Thought he was brilliant
His best game for the Club :clapping
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Thought he was brilliant
His best game for the Club :clapping
100% I said that earlier also.
His ruckman was grigg like but with soldos precision.
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Thought he was brilliant
His best game for the Club :clapping
2nd that!
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Agree with all. His general around the ground stuff still frustrates me greatly but was very impressed with his ruck work and how he competed once the ball came to ground.
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Hardwick on Marlion Pickett’s surprise move into the ruck tonight
We had a good discussion at match committee and we looked at the back ruckman and the forward ruckman and we threw it to him.
We were told he had played ruck before and he thought he had jumped over Zac Clarke.
He went well and jumped in and competed hard and I think that was terrific and we have found something we did not know about before the game which was positive and whether we use it every week, I’m not sure, but it was positive.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kane Lambert told Channel Seven tonight that he could see Marlion Pickett filling that same role in 2021 should be continue to handle the back-up rucking duties like he did tonight.
“He is a great athlete and it was innovative to chuck him in the ruck and it might be a bit of a Shaun Grigg in 2017,” Lambert said.
(https://static.ffx.io/images/$width_1600/t_resize_width/q_62%2Cf_auto/a898c6ed81ab6b467a9aaa33a27043c528add2b6)
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/afl-2021-live-updates-st-kilda-richmond-face-off-in-maddie-s-match-20210415-p57jh9.html
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Also my sentiment (best game).
His goal was great.
Seeing him jump like that at first I thought was a bit of a joke like when Rioli rucks but it was highly effective and as Khosh said his recovery at ground level after the contest and ability to compete immediately is a massive win. I like Balta for the ground recovery aspect too but using him is stuffing with our backline too much.
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Lol he will get killed at some stage if we persist with him rucking. Thing is unlike Grigg he actually competed in the air.
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Luckily we were only up against Paul Hunter, let's see if it works against Max Gawn next week.
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It will come undone if he goes against Gawn Grundy or Natanui. Grigg vs Grundy in the prelim is a reminder we need a legit second Ruck.
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Luckily we were only up against Paul Hunter, let's see if it works against Max Gawn next week.
We won't go up against Gawn.
He will go up against their 2nd ruck whoever that is on the day
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Along with his goal, this is my favourite Marlion moment from Thursday night:
https://twitter.com/AFL/status/1382662206064513029
Game won in last quarter yet he's still switched on applying pressure from the mark and he gets the smother which sets up a goal :thumbsup.
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Along with his goal, this is my favourite Marlion moment from Thursday night:
https://twitter.com/AFL/status/1382662206064513029
Game won in last quarter yet he's still switched on applying pressure from the mark and he gets the smother which sets up a goal :thumbsup.
Can see why he’s in the team regardless of some of his frustrating decisions with ball in hand. He’s always running, chasing, tackling and pressuring, exactly what the coaches love.
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Marlion Pickett does the unthinkable with 2.08m AFL giant
(https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/ab5730ad7ac4fb99227b4e47f2527d44?width=650) (https://twitter.com/7AFL/status/1385909504936710145)
Click to watch: https://twitter.com/7AFL/status/1385909504936710145
Marlion Pickett has done it again.
The Richmond star isn’t exactly small, but at 184cm, he’s hardly walking among the giants in a competition full of tall timber.
That isn’t stopping him making a mockery of the AFL’s big men though.
Earlier this month, Pickett dominated St Kilda’s stand-in ruckmen and on Saturday night he got one over Melbourne’s Max Gawn — although the Demons had the last laugh with a sensational 12.10 (82) to 6.12 (48) win over Damien Hardwick’s troops.
Gawn, widely regarded as the premier ruckman in the league, is 2.08m tall — that’s 24cm further off the ground than Pickett — but he was made to look tiny when the Tigers livewire joined him in the centre circle.
Midway through the second quarter Pickett set up a Richmond shot at goal with some outstanding ruckwork as he climbed all over Gawn’s shoulders to tap the ball to himself and ignite the fuse for an entry inside forward 50.
Pickett channelled his inner Michael Jordan by leaping high off the turf, well above Gawn, and gaining possession for his team, starting a chain that saw Jack Riewoldt mark in front of the sticks.
Riewoldt couldn’t convert, registering only a behind, but the commentators were quick to point out the excellent contribution of his teammate.
“Give Marlion Pickett the credit there,” Matthew Richardson told Channel 7. “That was what he did last week.
“He’s very good at jumping and taking the ball out of the ruck. He tapped it to himself then.
“He did it a lot in the WAFL. Richmond’s been using him that role the last couple of weeks.”
https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/marlion-pickett-does-the-unthinkable-with-208m-afl-giant/news-story/e2953617717012d30f4574a2bf28fd90
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Tried harder than most
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Tried harder than most
Agreed, he and Bolton I’d have as our best two players from a very very ordinary performance.
Lynch Aarts MacIntosh Rioli Martin all very very terrible.
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Guess he wasn't lying about jumping over Zac Clarke in the WAFL... :shh
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Those two frees he gave away in the D50 were poor, elsewise he had a crack. Get the feeling you wouldn't want to pick a fight with this bloke. Notice the Dees hard units went after Mansell instead haha.
Genuinely think if we have to play them in September we will beat them.
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we play them in september we win.
not fussed about last night
i am fussed about poor efforts from the usual suspects
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Got to get to September first... :shh
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Got to get to September first... :shh
:clapping :clapping :whistle
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Its not panic stations we will make finals. Even if we finish 8th id back our guys to win 4 finals in a row.
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Assistant and midfield line coach Sam Lonergan talking about Pickett:
Marlion Pickett’s versatility
“I thoroughly enjoyed last week the off-hand hit over Max Gawn at the centre bounce, which is extremely hard to do.
“He has given us a mix of what we can go to at particular parts of the game. Whether we use it all year, we will wait and see, but we certainly know that we have got that option.
“He has got that opportunity when it hits the ground to be an extra mid for us and can explode and use his natural grunt around the contest (as well), which is really sharp.
“He is, without doubt, one of our stronger runners in the group; the work the guys do, whether it is Marlion or Kamdyn McIntosh on the wing, is just exceptional, they cover mass amounts of ground, and certainly on the weekend, Marlion saved us a couple of times.
“He was unlucky with a couple where they ended up kicking the goal on the goal line, but his work rate is incredible, and he is a fantastic person. We know that he is always going to get back and support the defence and give it his all.”
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/922782/coaches-corner-midfield-with-sam-lonergan
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Reckon we're missing a trick not playing him on ball...especially with Prestia out... :shh
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Reckon we're missing a trick not playing him on ball...especially with Prestia out... :shh
Tend to agree
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Another very good game.
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Another very good game.
Awesome tonight. Agree he gives us that "X" factor in the midfield.
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Excellent game tonight. Really competes in the air and tough/brave.
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Agree he was excellent. If he is in the side needs to be as a midfielder and not as a wing/half back or whatever role he was playing last season and up to a few weeks ago.
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6. Marlion Pickett (Richmond)
“His ability to play on the wing, he can play inside mid, he can play half back, he can play forward, we’ve seen him recently playing in the ruck as well and he has held his own in some of those centre bounces.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/05/03/who-are-the-seven-best-multi-position-players-in-the-afl/
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Gut the bad Marlion tonight...his fumbles & skill errors killed us. :banghead
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Gut the bad Marlion tonight...his fumbles & skill errors killed us. :banghead
Got his head taken off but no free kick (because he didn’t flop like a dead man) and took immediately took out Starcevich who flopped like a dead man
Marlion got reported, I think the replay will show that it was a candidate for an academy award.
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Agree but that had stuff all to do with the fact he was crap all night.... :shh
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One of the most frustrating players. Can do things were you say wow that was great and immediately follow it up by missing a 3m handball or 15m kick.
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Here's the incident where Pickett was reported for striking:
(https://www.aflphotos.com.au/images/thumbs/450/2021/05/21/849407.jpg) (https://twitter.com/AFL/status/1395714864539000832)
https://twitter.com/AFL/status/1395714864539000832
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Nicw reply there where you can see Pickett getting smacked in the head with not even a free kick.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1395715584155738113
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Nicw reply there where you can see Pickett getting smacked in the head with not even a free kick.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1395715584155738113
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E16UijcVIAMUDQ4?format=jpg&name=900x900)
(https://i.imgur.com/QROmHlY.png)
Of course it's a Richmond player so it isn't a free kick :thumbsdown.
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Nicw reply there where you can see Pickett getting smacked in the head with not even a free kick.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1395715584155738113
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E16UijcVIAMUDQ4?format=jpg&name=900x900)
(https://i.imgur.com/QROmHlY.png)
Of course it's a Richmond player so it isn't a free kick :thumbsdown.
Apparently 10sec before he whacked Starcevic. Obviously had an axe to grind.
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Here is the MRO's report:
Charge laid:
Marlion Pickett, Richmond, has been charged with Striking Brandon Starcevich, Brisbane Lions, during the fourth quarter of the Round 10 match between the Brisbane Lions and Richmond, played at The Gabba on Friday May 21, 2021.
In summary, he can accept a one-match sanction with an early plea.
Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Careless Conduct, Medium Impact, High Contact. The incident was classified as a one-match sanction. The player can accept a one-match sanction with an early plea.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/617817/match-review-one-game-ban-for-tiger-s-high-hit-on-lion
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Totally BS.
Should challenge it. Low impact, no harm done.
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Lool while Bailey cloths lime him seconds before not even a free wouldn't got to this stage if these peanuts applied the same rules.
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Ridiculous just ridiculous
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so apparently tex is on report. Anyone see it? If so please post the video.
Id love to compare the one week MP received vrs the nothing to see here that Tex will receive.
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so apparently tex is on report. Anyone see it? If so please post the video.
Id love to compare the one week MP received vrs the nothing to see here that Tex will receive.
https://www.afl.com.au/video/618107/tex-reported-for-dangerous-tackle-on-star-demon?videoId=618107&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1621670042001
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so apparently tex is on report. Anyone see it? If so please post the video.
Id love to compare the one week MP received vrs the nothing to see here that Tex will receive.
https://www.afl.com.au/video/618107/tex-reported-for-dangerous-tackle-on-star-demon?videoId=618107&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1621670042001
Throw it out. Total garbage
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Both of them? Totally agree.
Doubt Tex will play anyway given the short turnaround after our game
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so apparently tex is on report. Anyone see it? If so please post the video.
Id love to compare the one week MP received vrs the nothing to see here that Tex will receive.
https://www.afl.com.au/video/618107/tex-reported-for-dangerous-tackle-on-star-demon?videoId=618107&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1621670042001
So Tex got reported for that?
Pickett for a coat hanger
If Picket received the free kick he should have prior to his coat hanger then there wouldn't have been a coat hanger
Short cops a whack behind play, nothing. Tiger player takes a mark and is collected front on after taking the mark and no fifty.
:help :banghead
Game is becoming a joke
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If he's out at least it might force us to play a second ruckman which is an even bigger joke
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he is not out, but they might leave him at home for the pies game.
tell me something as i didnt see the aftermath. The bloke pickett "hit" did he come off? Was he subbed off?
all i say was a stager lying down like he had been hit by Barry Hall.
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Didn't see Friday night, but just watched the Pickett incident. Wouldn't bother challenging, he deserves the week.
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Richmond are going to challenge the Pickett suspension.
Source: Sam Edmund on SEN.
:thumbsup
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They should challenge the fitness of Christian, Richarsdson & SHocking for their jobs.... :shh
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Official confirmation from the Club:
Richmond will challenge Marlion Pickett's one-week sanction at the Tribunal tomorrow night.
https://twitter.com/Richmond_FC/status/1396647020236967937
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Official confirmation from the Club:
Richmond will challenge Marlion Pickett's one-week sanction at the Tribunal tomorrow night.
https://twitter.com/Richmond_FC/status/1396647020236967937
As we should
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Pickett's case is second up tonight at the tribunal.
First up is Carlton's Lachie Plowman at 5pm AEST, who is contesting a rough conduct charge on Hawthorn's Jaeger O'Meara. The Match Review Officer assessed the incident as careless conduct, high impact, high contact, and slapped Plowman with a two-match sanction.
Richmond's Marlion Pickett is next up after he was charged with striking Brisbane's Brandon Starcevich and received a one-match sanction.
Gold Coast's Nick Holman will be the final case of the evening after receiving a two-match ban for a dangerous tackle on Geelong's Mitch Duncan. The incident was assessed as careless conduct, high impact, and high contact despite Holman receiving a free kick from the umpire.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-from-5pm-aest-as-three-clubs-fight-bans
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Riley Beveridge on the AFL website reckons Pickett won't get off as we won't be able argue it wasn't a strike and we won't be able to downgrade any of the classifications including medium impact.
https://www.afl.com.au/video/620587/tribunal-triple-header-how-plowman-and-holman-get-off
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Of course he wont get off. The AFL wont want to lose all three cases.
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They could use the defence that he had been clotheshanged himself seconds before and was not in his right mind??
Is there any action the club can take if he doesn’t get off?
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They could use the defence that he had been clotheshanged himself seconds before and was not in his right mind??
Is there any action the club can take if he doesn’t get off?
Not without precedent - Lollingwood said DeGoey was concussed and hence he forgot he wasn't allowed his phone during game time!
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They could use the defence that he had been clotheshanged himself seconds before and was not in his right mind??
Is there any action the club can take if he doesn’t get off?
They do that and it raises the issue of concussion and the current protocols not being followed
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Ross Howie is the Tribunal chairman. Our Tribunal members are David Neitz, Richard Loveridge and Wayne Henwood.
Hearing 2: Marlion Pickett - An unsuccessful challenge will cost Richmond $10,000 out of the soft cap.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-tribunal-2021-live-live-blog-updates-lachie-plowman-marlion-pickett-nick-holman-start-time-suspensions-news/news-story/5b2af39373a8c35829b2efa5a162649b?recommendedCount=0
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I'm finding it harder and harder to watch AFL. If Nick Holman gets suspended for that I don't think I'll be any more interested. His tackle should be rewarded. Marlion I'm not so sure of.. BUT if he had received a free for high contact just prior we wouldn't be here. But there you go
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Tribunal is not in a lenient mood tonight. Plowman failed with his challenge. Jury took nearly an hour to deliberate.
Lachie Plowman has been found guilty and will serve a two-match suspension.
Chair Ross Howie says the panel believe Plowman came to the contest at speed, was aware of the presence of O'Meara and executed a bump, and is therefore guilty of rough conduct.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-three-clubs-fight-bans
Pickett's case is up next.
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PICKETT SEEKS DOWNGRADE
Marlion Pickett's hearing has just started and he is seeking to have the impact of his strike downgraded from medium impact to low.
MEDICAL REPORT
The Brisbane medical report shows Brandon Starcevich required no ongoing treatment as a result of Pickett's strike and was not expected to miss any training sessions or matches.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-three-clubs-fight-bans
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PICKETT'S EVIDENCE
Marlion Pickett says he was attempting to tackle Starcevich when he made high impact to the Lions' defender.
"I'm trying to get there as soon as possible to put pressure on or interrupt the kick," he said.
"I slow down so I don't slip over. He steps to the right and makes me change direction towards him.
At the point of impact, Pickett says he is attempting to tackle Starcevich "around the chest".
"I'm trying to grab his jumper."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-three-clubs-fight-bans
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POINT OF IMPACT
Pickett says the point of impact was to Pickett's shoulder and armpit before "a bit" of high contact.
Contact was made high on his chest and lower neck, Pickett says under questioning from his counsel.
He says the majority of the force was to Starcevich's shoulder before high contact was made.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-three-clubs-fight-bans
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pickett: I'm trying to make contact around his chest, grabbing his jumper or the inside of his sleeve.
The first contact was my under-pit shoulder part, which made contact with the side of his shoulder. As I make contact, then the arms come across.
Pickett: I thought most of the force came onto his shoulder.
Pickett says he made some high contact, with "the high chest and lower neck".
Pickett is asked how forceful the high contact was. "Not really high."
The Tigers' cross-examination of Pickett has finished, now for the AFL.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-tribunal-2021-live-live-blog-updates-lachie-plowman-marlion-pickett-nick-holman-start-time-suspensions-news/news-story/5b2af39373a8c35829b2efa5a162649b
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CROSS EXAMINATION
AFL counsel is now questioning Pickett. Jeff Gleeson is suggesting Pickett was attempting to increase the force of the impact to Starcevich when he made contact. Pickett disagrees.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-three-clubs-fight-bans
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Gleeson also suggests there was a swinging arm motion from Pickett, which the Richmond midfielder says was part of a tackling attempt.
That's all from Pickett.
A MATTER OF IMPACT
All the jury needs to decide in this case is whether the impact was medium or low. We're hearing summaries now.
Gleeson is highlighting that the lack of injury to Starcevich doesn't mean the strike can't be graded medium impact.
He is arguing "a forceful round-arm swing" that makes head high contact can be graded higher based on the potential to cause serious injury.
"It was more good luck than management that Starcevich was able to get up and play out the game."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-three-clubs-fight-bans
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Pickett concedes he hit Starcevich at a reasonable speed.
AFL argues rather than trying to minimise the impact, Pickett was trying to increase the force of the impact when he collided with Starcevich. Pickett disagrees.
AFL questioning Pickett's evidence about making minimal to no contact to Starcevich's face. "I suggest you did make impact to his head as the footage shows." Pickett disagrees that the footage shows he hit Starcevich's face, partly because of how blurry it is.
AFL argues Pickett made a swinging arm action. Pickett says he disagrees and that it was a tackling motion, and if he swung the arm it was when he made contact with the shoulder.
Pickett says Starcevich dropped slightly as he went to kick the ball, which was at the same time the contact was made.
Pickett's cross-examination is complete and that is all of Richmond's evidence.
The AFL speaks to the issue of whether the impact was low or medium. Gleeson points to the guidelines - extent of force and injury. "There's no injury as such but you know from the footage ... Starcevich hits the ground pretty hard, stays down for a fair while, looks as if he's in some stage of distress ... though he ultimately takes the kick."
AFL points out the guidelines say there being no injury can still result in a grading as harsh as severe.
AFL points to the guideline that says "strong consideration will be given to the potential to cause injury", which specifically mentions "a forceful round-arm swing". "It was a round-arm motion and it was forceful and it made head-high contact with the player. It's quite open to interpretation that contrary to Mr Pickett's evidence there was meaningful and significant contact made to the head of Starcevich. It's difficult to conclude there was no forceful contact to the head."
AFL: It's quite open to you to conclude that a swinging action like this, with momentum and speed and with the way the contact was made, will almost invariably attract a medium impact designation given the deference to head-high injuries in the guidelines. It would almost be an unusual outcome for this to be rated the lowest category.
Richmond argues with the idea low impact is "unusual". Points to examples in the guidelines, including one that had "a higher potential to cause serious injury" was graded as low.
Richmond also points out the lack of injury caused. "That word potential - was there capacity, realistically, for it to be worse than it was? In my submission the worst-case scenario eventuated; that potential resulted in no injury being suffered by Mr Starcevich."
Richmond says there was a mixture of contact, "most of it to the outer shoulder and chest area", and "some of it high", but "the bulk of the force that was used here was absorbed low - not high".
Richmond: Mr Pickett isn't lucky there wasn't further injury, but he was unlucky to get Mr Starcevich high at all.
Richmond: "This wasn't some kind of wild swinging motion, but the movement of the arm is in a manner of someone attempting to undertake a legitimate tackle."
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-tribunal-2021-live-live-blog-updates-lachie-plowman-marlion-pickett-nick-holman-start-time-suspensions-news/news-story/5b2af39373a8c35829b2efa5a162649b
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IN SUMMARY
Pickett's counsel is summarising now, describing Pickett's actions as an attempt at a legitimate tackle.
"What occurred here is an incident where there is a mixture of contact ... the bulk of the force used here was absorbed low.
"The portion of impact that was high could never be graded anything but low.
"He was unlucky to get Starcevich high at all."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-three-clubs-fight-bans
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STARCEVICH REACTION
Pickett's counsel is continuing his summary.
He queries the description of Pickett's actions as a "round-arm swinging motion", arguing it was a tackling action.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-three-clubs-fight-bans
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The Tigers are now looking at other examples, one including Perryman and Wines.
The Perryman-Wines incident was low impact - the other incident involves Josh Caddy against Adelaide and was graded as medium impact.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-tribunal-2021-live-live-blog-updates-lachie-plowman-marlion-pickett-nick-holman-start-time-suspensions-news/news-story/5b2af39373a8c35829b2efa5a162649b
We should also show Mathieson's high hit on Short and if that was not reportable then neither should be Pickett's ::).
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The AFL says the guidelines have changed since those examples.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-tribunal-2021-live-live-blog-updates-lachie-plowman-marlion-pickett-nick-holman-start-time-suspensions-news/news-story/5b2af39373a8c35829b2efa5a162649b
Yeah right, AFL. That's why Mathieson wasn't sighted ::).
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1-5aA9VEAIFjf5?format=jpg&name=small)
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DELIBERATION TIME
The jury is now deliberating. We'll have the result as soon as it is announced. Pickett will need the impact to be downgraded to low in order to escape with a fine rather than a one-match ban.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-three-clubs-fight-bans
Tribunal chairman says the sole question is whether the impact was medium or low.
The jury will now deliberate.
https://go.arena.im/live/fox-sports-australia/sev4?v=2
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STILL WAITING...
The jury of Richard Loveridge, David Neitz and Wayne Henwood has been deliberating for 10 minutes now without a result.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-pickett-case-begins
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It's a bit of a concern we would use precedents to support our case that are apparently prior to new guidelines. Does this mean the club is unaware of the change to guidelines, surely any changes would be communicated clearly to all clubs.
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UNSUCCESSFUL
The Tigers have failed to have the impact downgraded. The jury took into account the speed of Pickett's approach, his round-arm action and did not consider the impact to be low. The penalty will remain at one week.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-pickett-case-begins
:thumbsdown
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UNSUCCESSFUL
The Tigers have failed to have the impact downgraded. The jury took into account the speed of Pickett's approach, his round-arm action and did not consider the impact to be low. The penalty will remain at one week.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-pickett-case-begins
:thumbsdown
Up yours afl and tribunal.
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UNSUCCESSFUL
The Tigers have failed to have the impact downgraded. The jury took into account the speed of Pickett's approach, his round-arm action and did not consider the impact to be low. The penalty will remain at one week.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-pickett-case-begins
:thumbsdown
If it wasn't before it is now, game is officially stuffed
:gobdrop
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UNSUCCESSFUL
The Tigers have failed to have the impact downgraded. The jury took into account the speed of Pickett's approach, his round-arm action and did not consider the impact to be low. The penalty will remain at one week.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620561/monster-tribunal-follow-it-live-as-pickett-case-begins
:thumbsdown
If it wasn't before it is now, game is officially stuffed
:gobdrop
It was officially stuffed the day they gave Shocking the job.
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Deserved the week. It was crude, deliberate and silly.
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Wankers. No excuses play CCJ and with any luck it keeps pickett out till the guy can string together a good month of footy
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Deserved the week. It was crude, deliberate and silly.
I got no problems with that ,but there is no consistency at all Floss got knocked out gf doesn't remember a think and Danger gets off.
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Deserved the week. It was crude, deliberate and silly.
I got no problems with that ,but there is no consistency at all Floss got knocked out gf doesn't remember a think and Danger gets off.
Its perfectly consistent from Shocking. If you play for Geesook then nothing to see here. If you play for Richmond you'll be suspended to the fullest extent of the system.
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why is everyone surprised. Shocking's comments about our club re: rule changes says it all really
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:thumbsdown
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why is everyone surprised. Shocking's comments about our club re: rule changes says it all really
True
SHocking has ruined game, that's why the game is stuffed
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There is something fundamentally wrong with the leadership of the AFL
It’s more like a Political Party than an administration for a football league
It’s got worse since they appointed Hocking and Christen as they appear bias to me
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2O3pxAVUAEIYzS?format=jpg&name=large)
:thumbsdown
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But wait there's more ::).
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2OtxRqUYAI6n3w?format=jpg&name=medium)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E2Op0aWVEAUGZo5?format=jpg&name=900x900)
Both called 'play on' :huh3.
Pickett got suspended due to the AFL arguing about "potential" of causing serious injury yet Rampe doing a spear tackle off the ball and dumping his opponent head first into the turf is all nothing to see here and play on :facepalm ::).
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Take the Shocking and the rest of the bastards to court...it's basically like a corporation deliberately sabotaging one of it's own franchisees for making too much money... :shh
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Is there any action the club can take if he doesn’t get off?
You can go to the AFL appeals board as Carlton are doing with Plowman.
Clubs are only able to appeal AFL Tribunal decisions if:
* An error of law has occurred.
* The decision of the Tribunal is so unreasonable that no Tribunal acting reasonably could have come to that decision having regard to the evidence before it.
* The classification of the offence by the Tribunal was manifestly excessive or inadequate.
* The sanction imposed by the Tribunal was manifestly excessive or inadequate.
Carlton risks a $5000 fine by taking Plowman's case to the AFL Appeals Board, with $2500 of that refundable should the defender ultimately be successful in his hearing.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/620881/appeal-confirmed-blues-in-final-bid-to-overturn-plowman-ban
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Pickett: What I want others to learn from my mistakes
Marlion Pickett credits his family and football with helping him recover after a jail stint. Here’s how he turned his life around.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/indigenous-sport-month-marlion-pickett-opens-up-on-prison-and-his-shot-at-afl-redemption/news-story/2ff0c2e0d7d40f24eb286ccee11e4449
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I wonder if Marlion Pickett ever had dreams of being Australia’s greatest ever songwriter?
Paul Kelly wishing he could play footy and do a blind turn like Marlion:
Watch here: https://twitter.com/BrettSprigg/status/1406829023125073923
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Despite the Tigers’ constant struggles on the night, Pickett never stopped trying to lift the team.
He was lively right throughout the match and finished with an AFL career-high 24 disposals, a team-high 11 contested possessions, five marks, six intercepts, three inside-50s, three tackles and a team-high 522 metres gained.
Pickett has played 13 senior games for Richmond this season and is averaging 16.6 disposals, 4.1 intercepts, 4.1 tackles and 295.9 metres gained per match.
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/964984/pickett-holds-his-head-up-high
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Was very much one of his best games for us.
Tough man. Tackles hard. I sure as hell wouldn't pick a fight with him. And his movement in the wet weather was excellent.
-
His game was one of the few highlights. He deserves alot of credit for how played.
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Free kicks against up to Round 19.
Marlion is 5th worst for frees against this year.
(http://oneeyed-richmond.com/images/umpiring/FreeKicksAgainstPlayersR192021.png)
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/07/27/the-2021-free-kick-ladder-after-round-19/
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"Managed" two weeks running? Or is something else going on? :shh
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If we wanted to play finals I would have him in the 22 myself.
Something very odd about it. Normally a tough man, never looked sore to me.
-
Not sure where I stand on Marlion.
Does some good things but lacks polish and gives away a lot of unnecessary frees.
-
His first game still his best by far....on-ball winning clearances and hitting blokes on the tit... :shh
-
Finally saw some glimpses of 2019 again...even pulled out the old pirouette at one point... :clapping
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Got a feeling might be heading home for family reason second Rd pick will be nice.
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Yes talk definitely getting louder that he's going back to WA.....still rookie listed so won't get anything for him.... :shh
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Contracted for 2022
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If he wants to go home then doubt we'd hold him to it.. :shh
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If he wants to go home then doubt we'd hold him to it.. :shh
Agree. But it means we'll do better than pick 65 you'd think
-
Would prefer to keep Marlion however being with your family is the most important thing.
-
would prefer to not keep Pickett. Too old and parker can do the same job, well sort of or he can go also.
It would have been hard this year. I think last year was a dream for him and his family, and reality may have hit home this year.
he goes with the clubs blessing i would have thought.
-
would prefer to not keep Pickett. Too old and parker can do the same job, well sort of or he can go also.
It would have been hard this year. I think last year was a dream for him and his family, and reality may have hit home this year.
he goes with the clubs blessing i would have thought.
Parker is not proven he can do the same job for me his contact should not be renewed.
-
I'd keep him personally if it works for him and his family.
I think he's a good footballer.
-
I dont rate him.
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Along with Nank, the only player who made the opposition rush their disposal when he was nearby.
We look feeble without him in the side.
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Along with Nank, the only player who made the opposition rush their disposal when he was nearby.
We look feeble without him in the side.
Yep. He tackles to hurt.
-
Was very good in last against Hawthorn, was the main driver to get us to the the draw
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Along with Nank, the only player who made the opposition rush their disposal when he was nearby.
We look feeble without him in the side.
Yep. He tackles to hurt.
His tackles also stick.
-
He also regularly misses targets and gives away frees.
-
Along with Nank, the only player who made the opposition rush their disposal when he was nearby.
We look feeble without him in the side.
Yep. He tackles to hurt.
His tackles also stick.
how did that serve us this year in the overall scheme of things?
picketts last 5 games
3 , 2 , 3, 1, 0
2, 2 , 4, 1, 2 were jake arts last 5 games
hardly great numbers for a tackling machine.
30 years old come round 1. If he wants go let him go, if not maybe rookie.
Though if given a choice between he and Parker. I have changed my mind, Parker goes. Pickett served us well in 2 flags.
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Along with Nank, the only player who made the opposition rush their disposal when he was nearby.
We look feeble without him in the side.
Yep. He tackles to hurt.
His tackles also stick.
When he decides to tackle- chooses to bump too often.
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30 years old come round 1. If he wants go let him go, if not maybe rookie.
He's already a rookie
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Well done Marlion last night
Had a red hot crack .. played really well
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Well done Marlion last night
Had a red hot crack .. played really well
He played because KMac didn't but based on last night keeps his spot IMHO
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Well done Marlion last night
Had a red hot crack .. played really well
Played well IMO one of our best I thought
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Im not a fan but it was one of his better games. He stays in the 22
-
Credit where's it due. Marlion has had a very good start to the season on a wing. Working hard both ways as that spoil late in the game demonstrated.
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Actually think it was the best game he has played TBH
-
Been our best across the opening two games IMO
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Couple of great defensive efforts in the 4th. He's got that laconic presence which can be frustrating but when he's cracking in like yesterday and round 1, there's no question he's best 22.
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Actually think it was the best game he has played TBH
Fair call- was one of the best for sure.
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Agree. Worked hard and was tough in the contest.
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Best two games since the debut...still rather see him on ball though... :shh
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I thought Marlion was pretty good today.
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Our best by a long way tonight.
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Our best by a long way tonight.
Agree
But that brain fade in the 3rd :banghead
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Our best by a long way tonight.
Agree
But that brain fade in the 3rd :banghead
Brain fade excenuated by the dive by Butler
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Our best by a long way tonight.
Agree
But that brain fade in the 3rd :banghead
Brain fade excenuated by the dive by Butler
Yes ot was but Marlion got sacked as did the ump. But he shouldn't have done it
-
Bad all round really.
Weak as from Butler to start it and then go down at first contact. Can't be glorifying that.
Dumb as anything by Pickett to bite.
Dumber by umpiring for either not seeing it and guessing or seeing it and thinking it had enough force to be genuine.
-
Best two games since the debut...still rather see him on ball though... :shh
Agree. Reckon he is sort of playing mid anyway.
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Bad all round really.
Weak as from Butler to start it and then go down at first contact. Can't be glorifying that.
Dumb as anything by Pickett to bite.
Dumber by umpiring for either not seeing it and guessing or seeing it and thinking it had enough force to be genuine.
Isn’t staging a reportable offence?
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Bad all round really.
Weak as from Butler to start it and then go down at first contact. Can't be glorifying that.
Dumb as anything by Pickett to bite.
Dumber by umpiring for either not seeing it and guessing or seeing it and thinking it had enough force to be genuine.
Isn’t staging a reportable offence?
Yep, what I said as soon as i seen it
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The Match Review Officer has completed their review of yesterday's game between Richmond and St Kilda.
Charge laid:
Marlion Pickett, Richmond, has been charged with Striking Dan Butler, St Kilda, during the third quarter of the Round Three match between St Kilda and Richmond played at Marvel Stadium on Sunday, April 3, 2022.
In summary, the player can accept a $2000 sanction with an early plea.
Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Intentional Conduct, Low Impact, Body Contact. The incident was classified as a $3000 sanction as a first offence. The player can accept a $2000 sanction with an early plea.
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1095469/pickett-charged-by-mro
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Honestly. That is a disgrace. Vets picked on way to much Pickett.
-
That's an absolute disgrace! :thumbsdown
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They were staging all night, foxing passes to get 50m penalties off the mark and niggling to draw responses. ffs.
-
Lol
Is this a joke?
It's so BS I'd be looking for another motive and just call them a pack of racists or something.
Butler should be nailed for staging ffs.
-
Close-up view of the Pickett-Butler "incident":
https://twitter.com/CKane80/status/1510919180090228737
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Cody Weightman just sat bolt upright ... ::)
-
If the AFL had any integrity they would review that footage and book Butler a week off for staging.
-
Remind me who the Match Review Officer is?
-
Richmond supporters right now...
(https://c.tenor.com/wzV4eY6kgnoAAAAd/blakey-on-the-buses.gif)
:shh
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Marlion continuing to have a very good season to date. He's now found some consistency in his game from week to week.
20 disposals (14k, 6h, 8c, 11u, 90% eff.)
7 marks (2 contested)
1 tackle
2 inside 50s
5 intercepts
464 metres gained
7 score involvements
1 goal
79% time on ground
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Playing very well looks like this preseason his improved alot and work on a few things.
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From Barrett's Sliding Doors column:
IF ...
Marlion Pickett's first AFL game was a Grand Final win and his 20th game another Grand Final win ...
THEN ...
his 42nd match, against the Western Bulldogs last weekend, was one of his best. Still improving, at 30.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/741002/sliding-doors-if-he-s-only-got-27-games-behind-him-
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For those who don’t understand why Macca’s and Picket’s roles are important could read the article on the AFL web site about Ed Langdon.
-
Pickett pick-off might be looked at
Two-time premiership player Marlion Pickett may be looked at for a heavy bump on Hawthorn small forward Dylan Moore in the second quarter. Pickett picked Moore off with a well-executed hip and shoulder on the boundary line, just in front of Richmond's interchange bench. The young Hawk got up and played on for the next minute, before Hawthorn's doctor took him downstairs for a concussion check. Moore played out the game, which could work in Pickett's advantage if the hit is assessed.
Source: AFL website (https://www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/3882#match-report)
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Marlion is having a very good season. He was rusty last week in his first game back but today he was one of our best IMO. Playing on a wing really suits him as he can both contest at ground level and in the air as well as play as an outside mid running between the arcs.
18 disposals (10k, 8h, 9c, 11u, 83.3% eff.)
4 marks
4 tackles
3 clearances
3 inside 50s
4 intercepts
419 metres gained
4 score involvements
88% time on ground
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Makes them look over their shoulder too
-
We were discussing it at the game
Makes you wonder what he would be like as player if he had come through the draft as a teenager?
How much better could be?
-
The Match Review Officer has completed their review of Saturday's game between Richmond and Hawthorn.
Charges laid:
Marlion Pickett, Richmond, has been charged with Engaging in Rough Conduct against Dylan Moore, Hawthorn, during the second quarter of the Round Nine match between Hawthorn and Richmond played at the MCG on Saturday, May 14, 2022.
In summary, he can accept a one-match sanction with an early plea.
Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Careless Conduct, Medium Impact, High Contact. The incident was classified as a one-match sanction as a first offence. The player can accept a one-match sanction with an early plea.
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1126837/pickett-charged-by-mro
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Oh please! It was a solid shepherd for a teammate within 5m of the ball so Moore would've/should've been expecting such contact. Moore wasn't hurt nor concussed either as he got straight up and played out the rest of the game. No Hawthorn player remonstrated with Pickett so they all thought it was all above board and the ump didn't pay a free so the ump didn't think it was high either.
So typical of the MRO and it's roulette wheel make it up as they go decision making. Rowbottom shirtfronts Merrett high when Merrett wouldn't be expecting such contact and somehow Rowbottom gets the same penalty as Pickett's shepherd ::).
The Club has to appeal this. Utter rubbish decision from the MRO. A shepherd is a standard football act.
-
The umpires & MRO miss lots of things, but they make sure never to miss 'Marked Man Marlion'! :P
-
https://twitter.com/i/status/1525791172895342592
It's a tough one . Does he bump the head ? Would like to see another angle.
-
I think they should challenge.
Ball very close, elbow tucked it, good shepherd. No injury at all so why is he being done for a week? I thought Lynch was more likely to get done...
-
At what point do these routine football incidents just get assessed as normal football plays and potentially just a missed free kick.
The bump is not careless or reckless. It was in play, not an unreasonable action considering his entitlement to bump / shepherd the player.
I watched an media interview where a well known Journo said he should be in trouble because he ran past the ball. Totally ignorant statement. He isn’t obliged to play the ball if another team mate is in a better position to play it and it is within the rules to shepherd.
-
At what point do these routine football incidents just get assessed as normal football plays and potentially just a missed free kick.
The bump is not careless or reckless. It was in play, not an unreasonable action considering his entitlement to bump / shepherd the player.
I watched an media interview where a well known Journo said he should be in trouble because he ran past the ball. Totally ignorant statement. He isn’t obliged to play the ball if another team mate is in a better position to play it and it is within the rules to shepherd.
Agree
-
Marlion is stiffer than a starched collar.
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i havent watched the footage yet, only going off SEN this morning (Gary & Bucks) who watched after lots of calls and messages.
They both agreed his shoulder hit the head, so who knows.
It was on the other side of the ground to where i was sitting and on the radio they were saying he was lucky that the Hawks player came back on.
Id like to see us appeal too, its a football action.
He wasnt down over the footy.
On top of this for Marlon to miss dreamtime will hurt too, especially as he designed the jumper.
-
The Club has lodged an appeal, hope they can over turn it!!
https://twitter.com/Richmond_FC/status/1526044783256698881?s=20&t=FXhkmhj3j6oN6iNlBAKb9Q
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When is the appeal being heard?
-
Rightly so too. Well done to the Club for appealing. It was a football act (a shepherd within 5m of the ball) and no one got hurt. The ump didn't pay a free for too high and no Hawk player including Moore remonstrated. No one had an issue with it. A totally ridiculous decision by the MRO.
-
I hope the appeal succeeds. He does not deserved to be suspended for that.
-
This is the vision Michael Christian used to determine Pickett’s one-match ban for rough conduct. It was graded as careless, medium impact and high contact. Dylan Moore played on but under new guidelines high bumps draw medium impact despite the actual physical impact being low.
There actually is [head contact] if you slow it down. Got him flush
https://twitter.com/Sammy__Edmund/status/1526008259177353216
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If Pickett had "got him flush" in the head then Moore would not have got up.
Dimma wasn't confident about the appeal on AFL360. Interesting what the Club presents as a defence. Pickett got off with a fine for his similar bump on Heeney in 2020 which was classed as low impact. So presumably we'll either argue there wasn't high contact and/or that the contact was low impact rather than medium given Moore got up and played on with no ill effects.
MARLION PICKETT – LOW IMPACT ($1000 FINE)
"Isaac Heeney went to ground, but was only down for two or three seconds – maybe four seconds max – but he was able to get up and play on. Taking into account his medical report, the player reaction and the visual look of the incident … we thought the most appropriate grading was low in that particular case."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/465330/four-bumps-four-outcomes-inside-the-mros-thinking
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Was an excellent bump and the kid wasn’t fazed by it got up and played on like a man. :clapping
This case will easily be thrown out and Pickett will be able to wear his own designed jumper at dreamtime at the G :gotigers
-
I like everyone’s optimism but I can’t see him getting off based on this footage. Gets him square in the noggin’
https://mobile.twitter.com/ScootiePuffJnr/status/1525791172895342592?t=6fT7UtaEL4Nm2azgsgOUYQ&s=19
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He should get off
But...
Can't see it happening they will make an example of us
And just on challenging
The AFL should challenge the leniency of penalty dished out Liam Ryan of WCE. One week for what he did which is far more dangerous than Pickett's bump. Should have been at least 2-3
-
As much as I hate to admit the game is soft i can’t see them letting him both he and Lynch off from from the same game.
We should be extremely lucky that the afl hasnt challenge lynch, after the jabba and other media pile on.
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"To the letter of the law, he struggles to get off." 🗣
Dimma admits Marlion Pickett's Tribunal case will be tricky
Watch here: https://twitter.com/FOXFOOTY/status/1526145266327244801
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Tigers star pitches in for sons’ footy club
After a bruising battle with Hawthorn on Saturday, Richmond star Marlion Pickett was back on the footy field on Sunday helping out at his sons’ junior game.
(https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/81de9c3f2d3a16cf43c9cd09f0d44280?width=320)
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/localfooty/nfl/richmonds-marlion-pickett-volunteering-at-sons-junior-footy-club/news-story/3b920742417c3b3fc3a22e1f02e2c689
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Tigers hopeful on Pickett tribunal charge
Oliver Caffrey
7news
17 May 2022
Richmond are banking on Marlion Pickett's rough conduct charge being downgraded from medium to low impact so the Indigenous star can play in the Tigers' AFL Dreamtime blockbuster.
Pickett was offered a one-match ban for a high bump on Hawthorn livewire Dylan Moore during Saturday's clash at the MCG.
But the Tigers are taking the charge to the tribunal on Tuesday night even though it is unlikely Pickett will be freed to play against Essendon.
"He plays the game a hard, tough Richmond style and it's unfortunate he finds himself in trouble with the tribunal.
"Hopefully he can get off.
"It's a football act and goes into a contest not hoping to cause injury but we understand these are the rules of the game and we've got our fingers crossed.
"We probably think it's low impact but according to the rules it comes across as medium so it's unfortunate."
https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/tigers-hopeful-on-pickett-tribunal-charge-c-6829003
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F me. Our club is a rabble when we are conceding before the hearing even starts
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"To the letter of the law, he struggles to get off." 🗣
Dimma admits Marlion Pickett's Tribunal case will be tricky
Watch here: https://twitter.com/FOXFOOTY/status/1526145266327244801
Probably not the smartest comment by Dimma prior to the appeal.
-
The Appeal has failed.
Source: AFL website.
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Ban stands: Tiger to miss Dreamtime after Tribunal challenge fails - https://www.afl.com.au/news/763123
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Ban stands: Tiger to miss Dreamtime after Tribunal challenge fails
AAP
17 May 2022 6:40pm
Richmond utility Marlion Pickett will miss the Dreamtime game after failing to overturn his rough conduct charge at the Tribunal.
Pickett was offered a one-match ban for a high bump on Hawthorn livewire Dylan Moore during Saturday's clash.
But the charge was upheld on Tuesday night with the Tigers failing to have Pickett's contact downgraded from medium to low impact.
Pickett and his partner Jessica Nannup have designed Richmond's Indigenous jumper for this year's Sir Doug Nicholls Round but he will not get to run out on the MCG against Essendon on Saturday night.
The 30-year-old argued he was only going for the ball when he decided to lay a shepherd on Moore so teammate Liam Baker could collect possession.
Pickett told the Tribunal it was a safe bump that was delivered with a level of force of "three out of 10".
"I dropped my level to make it safe because there was a height difference between me (and Moore)," Pickett said.
The AFL's legal counsel Nick Pane said the incident could never be deemed to be low impact.
"It was more good luck than good technique Moore wasn't injured," Pane told the Tribunal.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/763123/ban-stands-tiger-to-miss-dreamtime-after-tribunal-challenge-fails
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Ban stands: Tiger to miss Dreamtime after Tribunal challenge fails
AAP
17 May 2022 6:40pm
The AFL's legal counsel Nick Pane said the incident could never be deemed to be low impact.
"It was more good luck than good technique Moore wasn't injured," Pane told the Tribunal.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/763123/ban-stands-tiger-to-miss-dreamtime-after-tribunal-challenge-fails (https://www.afl.com.au/news/763123/ban-stands-tiger-to-miss-dreamtime-after-tribunal-challenge-fails)
Surely the fact that Moore got up and kept playing with no injury would define low impact.
Or do we suspend players on what the potential impact might have been?
If someone lets rip a roundhouse punch aimed at an opposition player's head but misses is that guilty of assault?
Grrrrr
'65
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Ban stands: Tiger to miss Dreamtime after Tribunal challenge fails
AAP
17 May 2022 6:40pm
The AFL's legal counsel Nick Pane said the incident could never be deemed to be low impact.
"It was more good luck than good technique Moore wasn't injured," Pane told the Tribunal.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/763123/ban-stands-tiger-to-miss-dreamtime-after-tribunal-challenge-fails (https://www.afl.com.au/news/763123/ban-stands-tiger-to-miss-dreamtime-after-tribunal-challenge-fails)
Surely the fact that Moore got up and kept playing with no injury would define low impact.
Or do we suspend players on what the potential impact might have been?
If someone lets rip a roundhouse punch aimed at an opposition player's head but misses is that guilty of assault?
Grrrrr
'65
I think the new idea is that head contact is always medium or higher. No low impact anymore.
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Ban stands: Tiger to miss Dreamtime after Tribunal challenge fails
AAP
17 May 2022 6:40pm
The AFL's legal counsel Nick Pane said the incident could never be deemed to be low impact.
"It was more good luck than good technique Moore wasn't injured," Pane told the Tribunal.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/763123/ban-stands-tiger-to-miss-dreamtime-after-tribunal-challenge-fails (https://www.afl.com.au/news/763123/ban-stands-tiger-to-miss-dreamtime-after-tribunal-challenge-fails)
Surely the fact that Moore got up and kept playing with no injury would define low impact.
Or do we suspend players on what the potential impact might have been?
If someone lets rip a roundhouse punch aimed at an opposition player's head but misses is that guilty of assault?
Grrrrr
'65
I think the new idea is that head contact is always medium or higher. No low impact anymore.
I think you are correct. Seems pretty silly to me, goes against the very definition of the word impact if they don’t consider force. But hey just add it to the list of things the AFL make up as they go.
However in this case I will admit the impact looked at least medium. Cleaned him up flush in the head.
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the reality is they have not got the guts to ban the bump so they hide behind ridiculous interpretations.
Next it will be tackles that go high getting players rubbed out.
For me its simple was there intent to hit the head and did the player do everything right in laying the bump.
Just like a tackle a bump can and does go high now and then and players should not be getting rubbed out for it.
It has always been an integral part of the game a part that makes it a tough game and a part that requires courage to play the game.
This nonsense that its not a part of the game to hurt opponents in tackles or bumps is a nonsense. We may as well be playing Basketball or net ball with the way the game has gone.
From where i sit i get a distinct feel that a lot of supporters are being turned away from the game.
We jump in boxing rings knowing we can get hurt we do all sorts of crazy things knowing we can be hurt in all types of sports but we don't screw up the fabric of those sports bthru stealth and absurd rule changes we all go into those sports with eyes wide open.
Want to play the sport do it accepting the risk or dont play it.
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Netball, no contact, bs.
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Marlion Pickett granted exemption to take part in Dreamtime pre-game
By Peter Ryan
The Age
May 18, 2022 — 6.46pm
The AFL has granted Richmond’s Marlion Pickett an exemption to take part in the pre-match ceremony planned ahead of the Dreamtime at the ’G game on Saturday night.
The league’s exemption was necessary after Pickett was suspended for one week after laying a bump on Hawthorn’s Dylan Moore in round nine, as players serving suspensions are normally barred from entering the arena.
The decision will allow Pickett to join his Richmond teammates on the ground when the annual team War Cry occurs before the match, which is a feature of Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
In granting the exemption to Pickett, the league decided to allow all non-selected Indigenous players from both Richmond and Essendon to be in the rooms and on the ground pre-game with their teammates in a departure from the current practice.
Pickett had played a key part in the lead-up to the game, joining his partner Jessica Nannup to design the Tigers’ Indigenous jumper that will be worn in the match, while Essendon’s Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, who has not played a game in 2022, designed the Bombers’ jumper.
Pickett, a Noongar man, spoke with pride last week about the jumper that referenced teammates, the Tiger Army, football club staff, the journey the family made from Perth to Punt Road, and Pickett’s totem, The Karaak, a red-tailed black cockatoo, which is endemic to Noongar land.
“All credit to her, she [Jessica] put it all together, and it came up really nice,” Pickett said.
The dual premiership Tiger was disappointed to miss the match after the tribunal upheld on Tuesday night the MRO’s decision to suspend him.
He had joined other Richmond players with Indigenous heritage, Daniel Rioli, Shai Bolton, Matthew Parker, Rhyan Mansell, Sydney Stack, Shane Edwards and Maurice Rioli, in a photo shoot last week and was excited about representing his family and culture in his first Dreamtime game at the MCG.
Pickett had played in the previous two Dreamtime games that were played in Darwin in 2020 and Perth in 2021 due to the COVID lockdown in Melbourne.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/marlion-pickett-granted-exemption-to-take-part-in-dreamtime-pre-game-20220518-p5amih.html
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"We've got to be a little bit careful that we don't do all things for all people and end up with nothing"
Eddie McGuire on his concerns for where the game is headed after Marlion Pickett's ban, as he previews #9FootyClassified.
TONIGHT 10:40PM | @Channel9
https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1526850540231184386
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Eddie is absolutely 100% correct. :clapping
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"It's gone too far!"
Eddie McGuire gets fired up over the bans for Marlion Pickett and James Rowbottom, saying he fears the game is becoming more sanitised than it needs to be.
#9FootyClassified
Watch here: https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1526914261938851842
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“IT’S GONE TOO FAR”: MCGUIRE CONCERNED ABOUT SANITISATION OF THE GAME
By Andrew Slevison
SEN
19 May 2022
Eddie McGuire believes the sanitisation of the game is part of the reason why fans are not flocking back to AFL venues.
In 2022, crowds are down 16 per cent from the most recent COVID-free season of 2019, with the fallout from the pandemic still evident.
But there are more reasons as to why supporters are staying away, according to McGuire, who feels the game itself has been cleaned up to the point where people are frustrated.
McGuire says the pile on when somebody does something only slightly out of taste is also to blame.
“We’re worried about the crowds at the moment and yes, COVID has played a big part in it, there’s no doubt about that,” McGuire said on Footy Classified.
“But part of the reason I reckon is I can’t pick up the paper without somebody getting slaughtered. Everyone is an idiot in football or corrupt or Dustin Martin plays two good games after being off the field because of personal reasons and suddenly he’s going to Sydney. What does that do for the kids who love Dustin Martin?
“There’s always these things.
“This week, I was a bit outraged on this. I understand and was on the rules committee to try and stop head-high tackles and concussion. I led the way on that committee to stop punches, jumper punches and people getting hit behind play.
“But I’m a firm believer that this is a contact sport that is an invasion sport.”
The former Collingwood president referenced the suspensions handed out to Richmond’s Marlion Pickett and Sydney’s James Rowbottom, for what he deems to be fair and incidental actions, as two clear examples of the sanitisation of the game.
“Marlion Pickett is smart enough to see that his teammate had the run of the ball and he applied what was a fair bump,” he added.
“The Hawthorn player (Dylan Moore) gets up, he doesn’t have concussion, he might have a corky because he actually got hit properly because he (Pickett) plants his foot. It looks bad because his head goes back, but he didn’t get hit. He (Pickett) went to the Tribunal, but he didn’t even give a free kick, quite rightly to me. He (Moore) hits, goes down, there’s no problem, he’s taken a bit of a dive I reckon, to be perfectly honest.
“My point is he goes to the Tribunal and I think we are sanitising the game beyond what it needs to. I think it has to be sanitised for the protection of players.
“He (Damien Hardwick) knew he (Pickett) was going to get done because that’s what they (the AFL) are doing. I don’t think at any stage he did anything wrong. It was within five metres of the ball, he didn’t jump off the ground, he planted his foot, he hit him wth a hip and shoulder, everything was perfect about that.”
McGuire says it doesn’t end with the Pickett incident.
He also believes Rowbottom was extremely unlucky to cop a one-match sanction for an accidental head clash with Essendon’s Zach Merrett.
“The other one that went to the Tribunal, James Rowbottom,” McGuire continued.
“He actually gets pushed by his teammate, he’s off balance, Merrett dropped the ball and they clashed heads.
“In one-25th of a second, what is he supposed to do? Get a pole vault and go over the top of him? Pushed, didn’t put his arms up, had a head clash and he’s rolling his body even out of reflex to get out of the way of it.
“What else could he do? This is a kid who has never been reported, not even (from) the under-11s in his entire career.”
Matthew Lloyd chimed in: “If you hit them in the head when you could have had an alternative, you get a week.”
McGuire replied: “What was his alternative there? Not go for the ball?
“You would have put him on Sunday morning, saying have a look at this bloke, didn’t go for the ball, he didn’t do this.
“Merrett dropped the ball, it went sideways, what do you reckon he’s going to do? How do you deviate when he’s off balance and he got pushed?
“It was incidental contact, there was nothing he could do.
“It was enough to get rubbed out.”
In conclusion, McGuire feels the physical nature of the game is being lost and that the sanitisation has simply “gone too far”.
“We’re losing the physicality,” he said.
“I’m not promulgating this, but you asked me a simple question about why are people are starting to get the brace and bits with the game and not want to go, that’s part of it.
“It’s gone too far.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/05/19/its-gone-too-far-mcguire-concerned-about-sanitisation-of-the-game/
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Eddie is absolutely 100% correct. :clapping
Interesting now that Eddie is not President of the Pies anymore that he has taken a more holistic view of the health of the game.
We need folks like him with some significant influence to continue to tell the AFL how much they've f'd the game.
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Agree with Eddie. It's the inconsistency of the rules and MRO/tribunal that is ticking fans off. Pickett is suspended for what's been a football act for 160 years where no one got hurt yet Liam Ryan receives the exact same punishment for ignoring and running past the ball and bumping a player in the head who was bending over trying to pick up the ball. You could break someone's neck doing that. Bowey put his hands straight to his face because of the hit to his head whereas Moore didn't show any sign he was hit high.
https://www.afl.com.au/video/762270/ryan-in-hot-water-after-brutal-bump-on-young-dee
Interestingly, Eddie also said Pickett should have copped 2 weeks for some other incident (not sure if it was from the same match) which Marlion didn't get rubbed out for but they didn't have time to show it. Can anyone think of or remember the Pickett incident Eddie was referring to? :huh
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BANNED TIGER’S BUMP THE “PERFECT EXAMPLE” FOR MORE FINES
By Alex Zaia
SEN
20 May 2022
Marlion Pickett’s bump is the “perfect example” for a larger fine to be handed out instead of a suspension, according to SEN host Dwayne Russell.
Pickett will miss Richmond’s annual Dreamtime at the ‘G clash against Essendon on Saturday night after failing to overturn his one-match ban for rough conduct at the AFL Tribunal earlier this week.
The Match Review Officer graded Pickett’s bump on Hawthorn’s Dylan Moore as careless conduct with medium impact and high contact. The Tigers unsuccessfully attempted to downgrade the incident from medium to low impact.
Russell says a bigger fine would’ve sufficed for a “football act” that didn’t injure the player.
“I’m in the minority with this view,” he told SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“But I believe there should be more fines and larger fines for AFL players, rather than keeping suspending players.
“It hit home again this week to me when Marlion Pickett was suspended. I think this is the perfect example – the Marlion Pickett one-game suspension – that a $5000 or a $7000 or a $10,000 fine rather than a one-game suspension would’ve been the better way to go.
“Marlion Pickett’s action wasn’t violent, it was a football act, it didn’t injure the player that he ran into, the player he ran into is playing this week, he just accidentally made contact that caused a whiplash effect, and the player wasn’t injured from it.
Subscribe to the SEN YouTube channel for the latest videos!
“I think there needs to be a sanction for it, 100 per cent there needs to be a sanction for it, but if the fines were bigger, he’d be playing in Dreamtime at the ‘G tomorrow night for Richmond in the jumper he designed.
“Why do we want players suspended all the time? It’s amazing to me when they don’t injure anybody, and they don’t do something that’s outside of being a football act.
“In the NBA and the NFL, and people hate it when I bring up American examples, but fines are huge in those competitions because they want their big-name drawcard players playing.
“It robs the fans, it robs the competition of the big stars.
“This to me would be the perfect example that if we had a fines system that allowed a bigger fine for Marlion Pickett, he might’ve been able to play this Saturday instead of sitting on the sideline for an incident that I think was a football act, wasn’t violent, and didn’t cause an injury.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/05/20/banned-tigers-bump-the-perfect-example-for-more-fines/
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Robbo on AFL360 said he couldn't understand how Marlion got a week for a fractionally mistimed footy act (shepherd) while Buddy at worst will receive the same punishment for a non footy act in hitting Cotch in the jaw. Robbo reckons the fairer punishment should've been Pickett copping a fine while Buddy should cop his week.
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Leigh Matthews finds it a bit odd that Lance Franklin has been given the same penalty that Richmond’s Marlion Pickett received a few weeks ago.
“I wouldn’t think so (him getting off), with intentional as opposed to careless,” he said on Sportsday.
“What is interesting is Buddy has currently got a week for close enough to a punch - it was half a punch, half a shove - and Marlion Pickett got a week for a shepherd that went slightly high. I agree with that principle.
“It just doesn’t seem right that there’s the same (penalty for the) offense.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/05/31/it-just-doesnt-seem-right-matthews-questions-sydneys-franklin-defence/
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I love this video so much. Cripps has spent the last few years bullying our midfield, until he tried to stiff arm the wrong Tiger last night. Shades of Hogan body slamming Andre…
(http://oneeyed-richmond.com/images/animatedvidsgifs/PickettTacklesCripps.gif)
https://twitter.com/Richmond_TT/status/1537655589387763712
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Awesome!
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I love this video so much. Cripps has spent the last few years bullying our midfield, until he tried to stiff arm the wrong Tiger last night. Shades of Hogan body slamming Andre…
(http://oneeyed-richmond.com/images/animatedvidsgifs/PickettTacklesCripps.gif)
https://twitter.com/Richmond_TT/status/1537655589387763712
The best!! was waiting for the call - dangerous tackle....
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That's a high fend off any day of the week and Cripps does it all day long.
People point the finger at Dusty lol.
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The epitome of dad strength at play
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Fending off a tackle with a raised elbow:- Deliberate high contact, high impact on a player not expecting contact ...
Nah ... forget it ... nothing to see here (but we all know Marly would get rubbed out for doing that!) ::)
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Aikido style dig it
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Fending off a tackle with a raised elbow:- Deliberate high contact, high impact on a player not expecting contact ...
Nah ... forget it ... nothing to see here (but we all know Marly would get rubbed out for doing that!) ::)
Let's be honest Lynch did the same
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Opposite angle:
This is a serious MMA move from #MarlionPickett.
I honestly wonder if #PatrickCripps has ever been tackled like this in his entire career? It's incredible.
(http://oneeyed-richmond.com/images/animatedvidsgifs/PickettTacklesCripps2.gif)
https://twitter.com/Tigers_of_Old/status/1537990897719070722
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Still angry losing to those snipers so need to find a positive.
Thought Pickett's aerial display tonight was unbelievable. Won numerous crucial intercept marks. Marlion continuing to a good year.
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Still angry losing to those snipers so need to find a positive.
Thought Pickett's aerial display tonight was unbelievable. Won numerous crucial intercept marks. Marlion continuing to a good year.
Yeah he was incredible. A feature of Bolton's game too.
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Still angry losing to those snipers so need to find a positive.
Thought Pickett's aerial display tonight was unbelievable. Won numerous crucial intercept marks. Marlion continuing to a good year.
Very good
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Yeah was excellent
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His first quarter and a half was very average
But after that he was brilliant
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His first quarter and a half was very average
But after that he was brilliant
Yes he was, sensational and love his aggression.
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Came to life after Cameron eye gouged him
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Second half was great. Positionally he has been playing the wing role great.
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Marlion Pickett, Richmond, has been charged with Wrestling Jeremy Cameron, Geelong Cats, during the second quarter of the Round 15 match between the Geelong Cats and Richmond played at the MCG on Saturday, June 25, 2022.
In summary, the player can accept a $1000 sanction with an early plea.
A first offence for Wrestling is a $1500 sanction. An early plea enables the player to accept a $1000 sanction.
Jeremy Cameron, Geelong Cats, has been charged with Wrestling Marlion Pickett, Richmond, during the second quarter of the Round 15 match between the Geelong Cats and Richmond played at the MCG on Saturday, June 25, 2022.
In summary, the player can accept a $1000 sanction with an early plea.
A first offence for Wrestling is a $1500 sanction. An early plea enables the player to accept a $1000 sanction.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/787742/match-review-all-australian-cat-learns-fate-for-prestia-bump
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Love this bloke for his hardness. Really believe we have it wrong with the roles Marlion and Short do.One is naturally pyhsical and one is not, yet we play em both in opposite roles.
Thought Marlion really good and Short struggled with the Physicality of it all in his role.
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I've been watching Pickett closely for a while, and my comments are a bit outlandish, but I find it hard not to form the opinion that Pickett is targeted by the AFL and umpires.
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Pickett ranked the second best wingman in the AFL according to AFLPlayerRatings.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FWKzfL-UcAAHJvP?format=png&name=900x900)
https://twitter.com/AFLPlayerRating/status/1540991372953788418
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Love this bloke for his hardness. Really believe we have it wrong with the roles Marlion and Short do.One is naturally pyhsical and one is not, yet we play em both in opposite roles.
Thought Marlion really good and Short struggled with the Physicality of it all in his role.
Shorty laid 8 tackles and Pickett laid …. zero.
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You can’t tackle if u always beat your opponent to the ball
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Pickett ranked the second best wingman in the AFL according to AFLPlayerRatings.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FWKzfL-UcAAHJvP?format=png&name=900x900)
https://twitter.com/AFLPlayerRating/status/1540991372953788418
And we don’t have a mid in the top 15 :help
I wonder which players we have already in the works in the next few seasons? You’d think team list management would be sorting this out by now.
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And we don’t have a mid in the top 15 :help
I wonder which players we have already in the works in the next few seasons? You’d think team list management would be sorting this out by now.
Short, Bolton, Baker, Graham are the core of our developing midfield for the next few seasons. Add back-up in Ross and Sonsie. Don't think RCD will make it, and not sure about Clarke, Brown, Banks as mids yet. So I think we probably need to trade/draft another couple. I think Ross is worth persevering with as an inside mid — just 21 and coming into that 40-50 game stage where he should start to look and feel comfortable at the level.
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Love this bloke for his hardness. Really believe we have it wrong with the roles Marlion and Short do.One is naturally pyhsical and one is not, yet we play em both in opposite roles.
Thought Marlion really good and Short struggled with the Physicality of it all in his role.
Shorty laid 8 tackles and Pickett laid …. zero.
So how does that make him hard. Being the hunter is easy its putting your over the ball and winning it its accepting contact and making sure it goes to someone not panicking and just slamming it on the boot.
He had a career high tackle count because he was intimidated and second to the ball so much.
Short and hardness in the one sentence sheesh some have it wrong. For hardness give me Brandon Ellis back thats where Short is at.
Sheesh our centreman laid 8 tackles but had just 2 contested possesions i think a blind man can see what is wrong here.
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Have a look at his tackle on Blicavs Crawski.
You are wrrrrrong!
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Excellent game. Excellent year
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Clear BoG
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Always liked him but tbh I never thought he had THIS MUCH upside. Games like today make him one of the better wings in the league in current form.
Aerial skills and balls are big and amazing.
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Clear BoG
X2.
Would be pushing for a top 5 finish in our B&F.
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Excellent game.
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Bog
Playing incredible footy. Get him to 100 games for father son please
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Bog
Playing incredible footy. Get him to 100 games for father son please
Also father daughter
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Sensational game from him but also our wingmen as a combo.
Combined for 42 touches, 4 goals and 7 tackles. Very solid.
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Marvellous Marlion
Pickett had an AFL career-high 25 disposals, an equal team-high 10 contested possessions, a team-high six inside-50s, three rebound-50s, eight intercepts, seven score involvements, a game-high five tackles, took seven marks and kicked an AFL career-high two goals in his wing role.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick heaped praise on Pickett in his post-match press conference.
“I thought he was huge,” Hardwick said.
“He probably set the tone for what we were lacking . . . his hardness in and around the contest, ability to win crucial ball, step-in tackle.
“He epitomised what we need.”
Pickett is averaging 17.2 disposals, 5.0 marks, 3.9 inside-50s, 4.9 score involvements, 4.8 intercepts and 395.9 metres gained per game this season.
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1165030/marvellous-marlion
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50 games for Marlion this week :).
2019 1 (GF debut) ......... premiership
2020 19 ......................... premiership
2021 18
2022 12*
-----------------
Total 50* games
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/M/Marlion_Pickett.html
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awesome, well done Marlion.
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What a find this guy was. Love what he brings with his aerial ability and mongrel.
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And he finally gets to play in the guernsey he and his wife designed for Dreamtime
As it is Naidoc week, club is wearing their indigenous guernsey for the Gold Coast game
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And he finally gets to play in the guernsey he and his wife designed for Dreamtime
As it is Naidoc week, club is wearing their indigenous guernsey for the Gold Coast game
What a nice touch.
Not that he should have been rubbed out anyway. Honestly I feel like they target him. Dunno if it's because he's brown or something else but they nail him for crap they let other people walk for.
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And he finally gets to play in the guernsey he and his wife designed for Dreamtime
As it is Naidoc week, club is wearing their indigenous guernsey for the Gold Coast game
What a nice touch.
Not that he should have been rubbed out anyway. Honestly I feel like they target him. Dunno if it's because he's brown or something else but they nail him for crap they let other people walk for.
Not many of his folk educated at Xavier.
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Not many of his folk educated at Xavier.
Lightbulb moment for Knighter on institutionalised racism
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Said the same thing in broady’s thread but I wasn’t this guys biggest fan at the start of the season. Thought he prioritised going for the man rather than the ball and his decision making and disposal were very frustrating. But man has he been great this season. You’d think he’d been playing wing his whole life the way he seems to understand the role with the positions he’s been getting in. Contested marking been great the last few weeks too.
To think we got him and broad for basically nothing with a mid season and rookie draft pick respectively. Yet some chose to focus on our bad picks rather than celebrate the overwhelming wins.
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Love his hardness and has added better decision making and has really become a beautiful mark. Hopefully he can play another 7 years and play with his son ;D
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Congratulations to him. Hopefully can play on for a while.
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TIGERS TO STEP UP PICKETT TALKS
Riley Beveridge
afl.com.au
7 July 2022
RICHMOND will ramp up contract talks with Marlion Pickett in the coming weeks following the wingman's superb run of form this season.
Pickett is coming towards the end of the two-year deal he signed at the conclusion of the 2020 campaign, though both parties are confident of securing an agreement to extend his time at Punt Road.
The club has been in open dialogue with the 30-year-old throughout the season, where Pickett has enjoyed a career-best stretch of form to average 17.2 disposals and 4.9 score involvements per game.
Already a two-time premiership player with Richmond, having famously made his AFL debut on Grand Final day in 2019 before playing an integral part in the side's 2020 success, Pickett has emerged as one of the game's best wingmen this year.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick recently suggested the veteran would be an outside chance to claim the side's best and fairest this season, highlighting his importance to the finals-bound outfit.
Pickett, recruited to Richmond during the return of the 2019 mid-season rookie draft, is due to play his 50th game for the club this weekend.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/794553/jesinta-s-surprise-move-could-gun-midfielder-leave-crows-
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Probably another 2 year deal which should push him close to 100 games.
Good on you MP
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From Barrett's Sliding Doors column:
(https://resources.afl.com.au/photo-resources/2020/11/17/8a4c2df0-2497-41a0-85ac-8cab8feed48a/richmond.jpg?width=952)
IF ...
Marlion Pickett was 27 before he got to play a game and will be 30 when he reaches game No.50, against the Suns on Saturday ...
THEN ...
he’s packed a lot into not merely his football career but life. Official votes from Norm Smith medal judges in his first game, a couple of flags. Maybe, just maybe, enough votes in the bank to launch from here for the 2022 Jack Dyer Medal. Unfortunate that he’s missed four matches.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/789880/if-jesse-hogan-has-been-playing-afl-for-eight-seasons-then
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Tiger's leap: Flag hero taking his game to another level
Marlion Pickett's game has gone to another level for Richmond in 2022
By Riley Beveridge
afl.com.au
9 July 2022
Marlion Pickett handballs during Richmond's clash with Greater Western Sydney in round two, 2022. Picture: AFL Photos
IT WAS a Damien Hardwick pre-match prediction that piqued some interest.
Speaking to broadcasters just before Richmond solidified its position in the top eight with victory over Carlton just a few Thursday nights ago, the Tigers coach was asked for his thoughts on who would be leading the club's best and fairest count as things stood.
Given his rapid rate of improvement this season, Liam Baker was the obvious answer from Hardwick. But his next line shone a deserved spotlight on a player underrated externally, but pivotal to Richmond's 2022 hopes.
"But Marlion Pickett was really on fire early," Hardwick told Fox Footy.
Approaching game No.50 this weekend, Pickett's career to date has understandably been headlined by his maiden appearance in the yellow and black when he became the first player in 67 years to debut on Grand Final day.
But this season, in particular, has seen the 30-year-old truly make a spot at Richmond his own. While he also played an integral part in the side's 2020 premiership campaign, he was used in a variety of different roles throughout that season.
This year, Pickett has carved out a consistent place for himself on a wing and has somewhat surprisingly entered Therabody AFL All-Australian conversations with his string of recent performances.
Despite it being nowhere near as flashy or as memorable as his 22-disposal effort on Grand Final day back in 2019, his performance in last Sunday's win over West Coast might have been the best display of his career so far from an individual perspective.
Pickett's 25 disposals were a career high, while he also added two goals in what was the first time he's kicked multiple majors in a single match. It complemented 10 contested possessions, six inside 50s and five tackles.
It was the culmination of a solid run where Pickett has played in 11 of Richmond's 15 games this season – he missed two games due to a hamstring injury and one because of a migraine, then served a suspension for rough conduct – becoming a key part of its push to September.
Champion Data notes that Pickett ranks second among all wingmen for AFL Player Ratings points, behind only Greater Western Sydney's Harry Perryman and ahead of Melbourne's Ed Langdon. It's the result of him rating well in multiple areas, rather than excelling in one.
He is rated top 10 among wingmen for chain involvements, intercepts, field kicks, shots at goal and pressure. He is also top 10 for run and handball, a distinctly Richmond trait that measures the distance between the point of winning possession and disposing of the ball.
--------------------------------------------------
Marlion PICKETT
#50
MIDFIELDER
2022 SEASON AVERAGES
AFL FANTASY POINTS 70.1 AVERAGE
DISPOSALS 17.2 AVERAGE
GOALS 0.5 ABOVE AVG.
INTERCEPTS 4.9 ELITE
PRESSURE ACTS 13.8 BELOW AVG.
-----------------------------------------------
Champion Data stats say that 6.8 of his AFL Player Ratings points come from ball-winning, ranked third for his position and above the wing average of 4.1. A further 5.3 points come from ball use, the most of any winger and far above the positional average of 2.2.
Part of his improvement, naturally, has stemmed from settling in a role. Last season, although he spent the majority of his time on a wing, Pickett was also used for 10.4 per cent of games in the ruck, 8.5 per cent in the backline and 6.2 per cent forward.
This season, Champion Data notes that he has spent 93.4 per cent of his time on a wing and has relished the opportunity to get some much-needed consistency in a single spot and establish himself in a familiar position.
His on-field progress follows more off-field responsibility recently being handed to someone known at Punt Road as being 'Mr Dependable', with Pickett taking on an increased leadership role over the past 12 months.
It follows similar progress to what he had made during his time at WAFL outfit South Fremantle, the place where he then earned his AFL opportunity through the mid-season draft at age 27.
Now, if his coach is to be believed, perhaps a maiden Jack Dyer Medal could be in the offing later this season to reward such improvement. It would certainly cap what has already been a remarkable career that hasn't even ticked over 50 AFL games yet.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/794651/tiger-s-leap-flag-hero-taking-his-game-to-another-level
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Match Review: Tiger charged with rough conduct, Bailey incident explained
RICHMOND'S Marlion Pickett is free to play this weekend after avoiding a ban for putting Brisbane's Zac Bailey in hospital.
Pickett hit Bailey in the chest with an open hand after the pair had bumped into each other, with the Lion spending Sunday night in a Melbourne hospital having left the MCG coughing up blood.
Bailey has since been cleared of serious injury and returned to Queensland.
The Match Review Officer (MRO) didn't cite Pickett for the hit, having interviewed Bailey and found he didn't know if he'd sustained the injury from the strike, or an earlier bump from the Tiger.
However, Pickett was offered a $3000 fine for a separate incident where he engaged in rough conduct against Brisbane's Rhys Mathieson.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/811982/match-review-tiger-charged-with-rough-conduct-bailey-incident-explained-eagle-banned
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ps. Caro said last night that Brisbane weren't happy with Pickett regarding Bailey going off. However, Michael Christian couldn't find and see anything from the vision. She added to expect Pickett to be told to tone down that sort of physicality.
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Thought they were going to suspend him again. MRP legit targets this guy so much I'd be asking about the race card
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Might just be me but I watched the full clip of Caroline Wilson’s comments and found them to be very average. What do others think?
https://mobile.twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1554081751022112771
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Marlion Pickett, Richmond, has been charged with Engaging in Rough Conduct against Rhys Mathieson, Brisbane Lions, during the third quarter of the Round 20 match between Richmond and the Brisbane Lions played at the MCG on Sunday 31 July, 2022.
In summary, the player can accept a $3000 sanction with an early plea.
Based on the available evidence, the incident was assessed as Careless Conduct, Low Impact, High Contact. The incident was classified as a $5000 sanction as a second offence. The player can accept a $3000 sanction with an early plea.
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1187239/round-20-mro-result
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Lions having a sook about the Bailey incident nothing in it bunch of whingers.
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We got a gif of any of these I haven't really seen them.
Thought Pickett would get done for the foreplay coathanger on the rat tail but he escaped which is nice (not that I thought it was worth being nailed but they really target him).
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HeraldSun says "The Tigers will re-contract Pickett after excellent form this year ..."
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HeraldSun says "The Tigers will re-contract Pickett after excellent form this year ..."
Deserves an additional year or two. Has been fantastic this year.
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Do they have to promote him to the senior list to re-contract him?
He is still a rookie
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Pickett vs the Port ferals over the fence :lol
https://twitter.com/Richmond_FC/status/1555892061672738816
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Great goal but very quiet today. Hopefully he can recapture the form from a month ago.
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Vision from one of the Port ferals on the fence who filmed Pickett's goal:
https://twitter.com/7AFL/status/1556808903790587904
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Any other club would suspend flog supporters like these. But if Port do that its just another tarp they'll need to put up next game
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Love Marlion. Glad he's on our side. Tough.
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Vision from one of the Port ferals on the fence who filmed Pickett's goal:
https://twitter.com/7AFL/status/1556808903790587904
I loved that nothing in it to be honest good banter.
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1 year extension. Well deserved - been great this year :clapping
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1202174?fbclid=IwAR0xvIecTjFeR21ksXw9cgOoCHuITwOK7InuOmA7Twd13TGGltQgThECL9U&fs=e&s=cl
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I think he has to be on the senior list now too but not 100% across the rules?
My understanding is that the max time someone could be rookied is 3 years (extended to 4 because of covid) which marlion will have completed at the end of this year. They would have had to de-list and re-rookie him to stay on the rookie list.
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Been super this year our first 10 games he was the standout and plays multiple positions.
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Richmond General Manager- Football Talent, Blair Hartley, said Pickett had thoroughly deserved his contract extension.
“We are delighted that Marlion will enter his fifth season at the Club, which is a great reward for the hard work he has put in over a number of years,” he said.
“Marlion’s skill set helps us to play how we want to play, and his form this season has reflected his importance.
“We look forward to seeing what Marlion can continue to achieve individually and as a part of our team going forward.”
https://www.zerohanger.com/richmond-midfielder-marlion-pickett-signs-on-for-2023-126071/
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Wouldn’t be surprised if he got a suspension for concussing stringer.
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He won't. Complete accident. Was attempting to contest the ball/get to Merett
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He won't. Complete accident. Was attempting to contest the ball/get to Merett
A lot of accidental clashes still result in suspensions these days.
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He won't. Complete accident. Was attempting to contest the ball/get to Merett
A lot of accidental clashes still result in suspensions these days.
Hmmm not so much if you are going for the ball, not the man or laying a tackle etc. I reckon it won't even get mentioned.
But then they hate Marlion. Seems to get special treatment from the MRO
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He won't. Complete accident. Was attempting to contest the ball/get to Merett
A lot of accidental clashes still result in suspensions these days.
Hmmm not so much if you are going for the ball, not the man or laying a tackle etc. I reckon it won't even get mentioned.
But then they hate Marlion. Seems to get special treatment from the MRO
Yeah it would be the first of its specific kind that I know of. Still a bit of a worry.
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They hate him
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50. Marlion Pickett
Terrific run-down tackle personified his first quarter, which included seven disposals and two marks. Worked hard across the flanks and wings as a link man, finishing with 23 disposals, nine contested possessions, six marks and six intercepts.
Foxsports rating: 6
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/richmond-tigers/afl-finals-2022-richmond-tigers-vs-brisbane-lions-second-elimination-final-highlights-stats-best-and-worst-players/news-story/7fc45960b9d79ca09461c1ff3de0ff76
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Richmond’s general manager of football talent Blair Hartley has paid tribute to dual premiership Tiger Marlion Pickett for the progressing professional approach he’s taking with his football.
The 30-year-old finished equal eighth in this year’s Jack Dyer Medal, following a season where he averaged 16.1 disposals, 6.2 contested possessions, 4.6 marks, 3.3 inside-50s, 4.7 intercepts, 4.6 score involvements, 2.9 tackles and 339.7 metres gained in his wing role.
“I think he’s improved every year he’s been with us,” Hartley said on the final 2022 episode of the Club’s premier podcast Talking Tigers.
Richmond's general manager of football talent Blair Hartley and the Club's national recruiting manager Matty Clarke are special guests on the final episode for the year of podcast powerhouse Talking Tigers.
“You think about his exposure to the elite pathway, he really had none . . . Now he gets the training habits.
“He’s training his bum off over in Perth right now.
“He keeps updating us on what he’s doing, and he’s really motivated to have a good year next year.
“I’m really excited about him.”
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1241072/professional-pickett-primed-and-pumped-for-2023
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Don't want to put the mozz on him but just the one major concern is his age. 31 before a ball is bounced and any sort of injury could spell big trouble.
Hard as a cats head but both he and McIntosh lack a bit of polish with disposal.
Would be hoping we are looking for a replacement for one of them on a wing.
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Pickett is very clean by foot. IMO.
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Marlion was elevated in our latest list lodgement.
https://twitter.com/Richmond_FC/status/1599656913792565249
Club confirmation of Pickett being promoted to our senior list.
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Don't want to put the mozz on him but just the one major concern is his age. 31 before a ball is bounced and any sort of injury could spell big trouble.
Hard as a cats head but both he and McIntosh lack a bit of polish with disposal.
Would be hoping we are looking for a replacement for one of them on a wing.
Agree, but as with the forward situation it is difficult to have a group of emerging players waiting in the wings due to list size and players getting despondent with not getting a go or getting dropped as per cholly, butler, CCJ etc etc.
Would not want to see Marlion dropped as he still has a huge upside this year and possibly next imho, maybe Bradtke or one of the new brigade is his or Macintosh’s replacement??
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Marlion is playing well. Hope he doesn't do a Shedda
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Marlion is playing well. Hope he doesn't do a Shedda
Even if he does that means another 2/3 years of decent output. Enough time to get him to 100 games
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According to track watchers Pickett has been spending time in the midfield in match sim & having an impact. I'm very pleased to hear that. Plays the wing for us so well but there were times last yr when I thought he'd have a greater impact on ball.
Will watch with interest.. (https://abs-0.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f42f.png) (https://abs-0.twimg.com/emoji/v2/72x72/1f4aa.png)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fo5USS2akAEC5HD?format=jpg&name=medium)
https://twitter.com/Tigers_of_Old/status/1625329355193974785
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Richmond rolled the dice at selection for Thursday night’s clash with Carlton, selecting premiership player Marlion Pickett despite an adductor issue hampering him in the pre-season.
The new rule made it possible, Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said.
“The plan was always [for Pickett] to play 2 ½ quarters, then Jack Ross would come in, and it probably played out that way as well, so I think it worked OK,” Hardwick said.
“Marlion is going to get better as the season goes on ... but you take a bit of a risk, obviously, hoping no one gets injured, and we got through, so we were able to pull the lever on the sub.”
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/new-sub-rule-creates-tactical-byplay-but-also-complications-for-afl-coaches-20230320-p5ctlb.html
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Marlion was killing it in the first half.
Willing himself to contest after contest and winning them all.
A seriously classy and intelligent footballer, seemingly only getting better with age too.
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Marlion was killing it in the first half.
Willing himself to contest after contest and winning them all.
A seriously classy and intelligent footballer, seemingly only getting better with age too.
And tough as nails crossed with a cats head 🦾
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Marlion was killing it in the first half.
Willing himself to contest after contest and winning them all.
A seriously classy and intelligent footballer, seemingly only getting better with age too.
And tough as nails crossed with a cats head 🦾
He is one dude I wouldn't want to mess with, size aside.
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I don’t know what he says but they all crap themselves when he comes thundering in to spoil. Remember Hill when we smashed the Saints a couple of years ago?
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Pickett is very clean by foot. IMO.
Gunna disagree. Hope thats okay.
Seriously though Marlion was one of the better H/B going around in the WAFL when we drafted him. Yes he also played a little bit thru the mids.
I always wonder what we would have had if we played him as a hb. At Richmond it seems we create problems by not playing blokes in their best roles.
I don’t know what he says but they all crap themselves when he comes thundering in to spoil. Remember Hill when we smashed the Saints a couple of years ago?
Ha Brad Hill the most overrated player in the AFL soft as butter and teams are supposed to live with that because he is so freakin skilled. He is a panic merchant a fumbler and his skills are the most overrated of any player in the comp.
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Pickett is very clean by foot. IMO.
Gunna disagree. Hope thats okay.
Seriously though Marlion was one of the better H/B going around in the WAFL when we drafted him. Yes he also played a little bit thru the mids.
I always wonder what we would have had if we played him as a hb. At Richmond it seems we create problems by not playing blokes in their best roles.
I don’t know what he says but they all crap themselves when he comes thundering in to spoil. Remember Hill when we smashed the Saints a couple of years ago?
Ha Brad Hill the most overrated player in the AFL soft as butter and teams are supposed to live with that because he is so freakin skilled. He is a panic merchant a fumbler and his skills are the most overrated of any player in the comp.
I think he wins a lot of contested ball and is often kicking under pressure, in traffic or when being tackled etc which might skew his DE negatively, but when he's kicking freely I think he's a beautiful kick.
As for HBF, well you've described it as being easy to look good for less physical players like Short, Houli and Ellis etc. I reckon Pickett is a great contest player and we'll suited to wing or midfield agree on that last point there. Heck I thought he did ok in the ruck ffs.
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Pickett is very clean by foot. IMO.
Gunna disagree. Hope thats okay.
Seriously though Marlion was one of the better H/B going around in the WAFL when we drafted him. Yes he also played a little bit thru the mids.
I always wonder what we would have had if we played him as a hb. At Richmond it seems we create problems by not playing blokes in their best roles.
I don’t know what he says but they all crap themselves when he comes thundering in to spoil. Remember Hill when we smashed the Saints a couple of years ago?
Ha Brad Hill the most overrated player in the AFL soft as butter and teams are supposed to live with that because he is so freakin skilled. He is a panic merchant a fumbler and his skills are the most overrated of any player in the comp.
I think he wins a lot of contested ball and is often kicking under pressure, in traffic or when being tackled etc which might skew his DE negatively, but when he's kicking freely I think he's a beautiful kick.
As for HBF, well you've described it as being easy to look good for less physical players like Short, Houli and Ellis etc. I reckon Pickett is a great contest player and we'll suited to wing or midfield agree on that last point there. Heck I thought he did ok in the ruck ffs.
Andy ive gone on about Hill for years even under no pressure he stuffs up disposal big time. He does not know what a contested possesion is never lays a tackle as a winger or outdside player on the fringe he just does not end up with clearances. Hwe poos his pants when he hears players close by. Imo an absolute horrid player not worth two bob.
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Pickett is very clean by foot. IMO.
Gunna disagree. Hope thats okay.
Seriously though Marlion was one of the better H/B going around in the WAFL when we drafted him. Yes he also played a little bit thru the mids.
I always wonder what we would have had if we played him as a hb. At Richmond it seems we create problems by not playing blokes in their best roles.
I don’t know what he says but they all crap themselves when he comes thundering in to spoil. Remember Hill when we smashed the Saints a couple of years ago?
Ha Brad Hill the most overrated player in the AFL soft as butter and teams are supposed to live with that because he is so freakin skilled. He is a panic merchant a fumbler and his skills are the most overrated of any player in the comp.
I think he wins a lot of contested ball and is often kicking under pressure, in traffic or when being tackled etc which might skew his DE negatively, but when he's kicking freely I think he's a beautiful kick.
As for HBF, well you've described it as being easy to look good for less physical players like Short, Houli and Ellis etc. I reckon Pickett is a great contest player and we'll suited to wing or midfield agree on that last point there. Heck I thought he did ok in the ruck ffs.
Andy ive gone on about Hill for years even under no pressure he stuffs up disposal big time. He does not know what a contested possesion is never lays a tackle as a winger or outdside player on the fringe he just does not end up with clearances. Hwe poos his pants when he hears players close by. Imo an absolute horrid player not worth two bob.
Responding to you about Marlion, not Hill.
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i think it was last year where Cripps tried to don't argue Pickett only to get dumped hard into the turf. This man is deceptively strong
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"They needed someone to stand up."
Nathan Brown on the unlikely hero in Richmond's win over Adelaide.
#9AFLSFS | @Channel9
Click on pic/link to watch:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FsGoi_xWwAMWEMI.jpg:large) (https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1639777121726873600)
https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1639777121726873600
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What no one is talking about
Marlion Pickett is one of Richmond’s more important players.
He is an enormously underrated wingman who does the team things so well and puts his body on the line.
Pickett’s final quarter of seven disposals, three inside 50s and two goal assists was immense. His non tangible efforts (one percenters) were just as impressive.
Source: SEN (https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/03/27/overreactions-positives-negatives-and-undroppables-for-all-18-afl-teams-in/)
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Just watched the replay and he was hugeeeee in the final quarter. Got himself to contest after contest and if he didn’t win it he atleast stopped the crows player in their tracks.
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This fella has had a tremendous start to the season. Been absolutely brilliant on the wing again but personally I'd like to see him promoted a little to midfield duties. Just an awesome footballer. #MarlionPickett
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtZySLyacAEw2GE?format=jpg&name=small)
https://twitter.com/Tigers_of_Old/status/1645628950272704512
Thoughts?
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Ruck/mid
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This fella has had a tremendous start to the season. Been absolutely brilliant on the wing again but personally I'd like to see him promoted a little to midfield duties. Just an awesome footballer. #MarlionPickett
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FtZySLyacAEw2GE?format=jpg&name=small)
https://twitter.com/Tigers_of_Old/status/1645628950272704512
Thoughts?
Have to agree, puts himself on the line and continually does the hard things and 1 perc%ers.
In our top 10 players
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Also probably the best or at least top 2-3 MSD picks ever taken.
Jye Newcombe goes OK IMO but other than these two has anyone ever really made a consistent career out of it?
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Would put John Noble ahead of Caldwell but yeah Pickett clear no.1.
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Meant Newcombe not Caldwell sorry
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"For every moment like this where he tries to act the tough guy, moments later, when you've got to put your head over the ball, he does that."
Matthew Lloyd spotlights Marlion Pickett, as Damien Hardwick tells #9FootyClassified he and his players need to 'take responsibility'.
WATCH: https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1647944195238395907
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Lloyd is the worst bloke talking about toughness.
I have no issue with Pickett and his discipline. Bolton on the other hand reacts too much for mine.
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Last night was Marlion's best numbers so far this season.
23 disposals (13k, 10h, 11c, 11u, 65.2% eff.)
3 marks
3 tackles
7 inside 50s
534 metres gained
6 intercepts
2 score involvements
88% time on ground
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Who is going to replace Pickett when he retires. Has done extremely well playing on the wing.
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The real surprise packet for me. I definitely potted this guy but I eat all my words. Has taken his game up a notch and at least plays a Richmond brand of football. Just a competitor who shows aggression and some fairy good skills.
I wish we could clone his endeavour for other players that are currently out of form
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He would have to be polling well in club b and f
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Just wanted to bump this guy.
Like Broad only seems to get better by the year. He aerial contesting last night was great and very needed with only Jack down forward.
His lateral movement and evasive ability are sensational.
A truly contested beast.
Love the bloke.
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Hear hear.
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Marlion Pickett on social media abuse, giving away free kicks and his future at Richmond
Chris Cavanagh
HeraldSun
May 19, 2023
You can still find Marlion Pickett’s account on Instagram.
His handle – @pickett_marls50 – has more than 17,000 followers and is often tagged by Richmond’s own account, as well as fans and other AFL pages.
But Pickett doesn’t see himself tagged in such posts, and there is nothing to see on his account anymore.
He has deleted all of his old posts and even ditched his profile picture after swearing off social media.
Like many Indigenous AFL players, he was targeted with racist remarks too many times.
“I tried to delete it (Instagram) completely but it’s still up there,” Pickett said.
“I’ve got no social media now, which is really cool. Private life’s a good life.
“It kind of just distracted me from what I needed to do and focus on. A lot of messages came from outside the footy club, which weren’t too great. So I just wanted to scrap all that.”
Pickett doesn’t think all other AFL players should have to do the same, but instead believes that social media companies need to do more to limit racial abuse.
“When is it going to stop?” he said.
“Instagram and Facebook should make it so that if you open an account you should use verified IDs so they can track them down. Too many people were making fake accounts up and not getting caught, which is a bit sad.
“I don’t think we’re ever going to get rid of racism. There’s always going to be a few people that still do it. But I think the AFL has come a long way since the Nicky Winmar stand.”
In his fifth season at Punt Rd, Pickett is preparing for his first Dreamtime game at the MCG on Saturday night, where his background and culture will be celebrated.
The two-time premiership player famously performed a powerful pre-game war dance with his Richmond teammates last year, but then spent the rest of the evening in the stands after being suspended for a high bump on Hawthorn’s Dylan Moore a week earlier.
It was a double blow, given Pickett and his partner, Jessica Nannup, had designed the Tigers’ Dreamtime jumper last season.
“It kind of did hurt,” Pickett said of the suspension.
“I was really looking forward to that game and the family were also. But I still played my part and still represented the club.”
The bump on Moore did not result in a free kick against Pickett at the time, but he has been known for giving away a few frees given the tough way he plays the game.
In 2021, Pickett recorded 34 free kicks against – an average of 1.9 a game – which ranked him among the worst offenders in the competition.
However, this season he has dropped that figure to an average of 1.2 free kicks against per game, much to the delight of coach Damien Hardwick.
“He (Hardwick) likes me playing on the edge, but he wanted me backing off a little bit on the free kick part,” Pickett said.
“I’ve been up there in the high tackle free kicks, so it’s about trying to get low and sticking them instead of staying upright and catching them high.
“I don’t want to be known for always leading the free kick count, so it’s a work in progress.”
Pickett has made one wing his own for Richmond in recent years, but found himself in a different role against Geelong last Friday night when he was tasked with playing as a forward.
He found less of the footy than usual, logging just seven disposals, but was only too happy to make the move in what was a second straight Richmond win.
“I’ll play whatever role the team needs me to play,” Pickett said.
“They said to bring some aerial power and play to my strengths. It’s pretty cool that they can trust me in a different role and to come out and execute it.”
Pickett, 31, signed a one-year contract extension for 2023 last year, but is hopeful his remarkable journey will continue for some time yet.
This time 10 years ago, he was still in a Perth jail, serving time on burglary charges.
“I don’t forget where I came from and what made me the person I am today,” Pickett said.
“If it’s my time next year or the year after, it’s my time. I’m just happy I’ve got the opportunity that a lot of people don’t get.”
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/afl-2023-marlion-pickett-on-social-media-abuse-giving-away-free-kicks-and-his-future-at-richmond/news-story/777f79ca7f6554309be886da4cbd056e
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Hoping he turns it up for dream time. He embraces the toughness and hardness of the tigers of old and is definitely one of my favourites this year
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He’s a ripper.
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Hard as nails.
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I hope Marlion is still playing in 5 years time to play a game with his son.
The first father and son to play an AFL game together. :cheers
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If this guy plays next week it's a disgrace. Looked like he didn't give a stuff out there.
Abysmal
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Such a great wingman being played as a small forward.
Drop kmac, give Pickett his spot on the wing, and get Cumberland in the forward line.
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Such a great wingman being played as a small forward.
Drop kmac, give Pickett his spot on the wing, and get Cumberland in the forward line.
So spot on it hurts.
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I suspect Pickett is sacrificing his game to a point to act as a foil for jack . Seems to be trying to bring the ball to ground .. well to me anyway
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Such a great wingman being played as a small forward.
Drop kmac, give Pickett his spot on the wing, and get Cumberland in the forward line.
Won’t have them as they have nfi
Would rather play Clarke Fiora
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Belongs on ball or at hbf. :shh
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Marlion Pickett joined Taranto in the middle of the ground, having been forced to spend much of this year as a smaller marking target.
"We set Marlion up for a bit of a job on (Connor) Rozee, it was part of our mindset this week, great player, it could have been (Zak) Butters as well. I thought Marlion gave us something in the middle of the ground. We knew he could, he's a good player wherever we play him, but I thought that was a bit of a win."
- Andrew McQualter (post-match).
Source: AFL website (https://www.afl.com.au/news/938123/how-tigers-tried-to-honour-dimma-what-keeps-ken-up-at-night).
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Funny how he was playing good footy on the wing before we decided he was a forward followed by a game on ball today. Will be CHB next week
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Marlion Pickett joined Taranto in the middle of the ground, having been forced to spend much of this year as a smaller marking target.
"We set Marlion up for a bit of a job on (Connor) Rozee, it was part of our mindset this week, great player, it could have been (Zak) Butters as well. I thought Marlion gave us something in the middle of the ground. We knew he could, he's a good player wherever we play him, but I thought that was a bit of a win."
- Andrew McQualter (post-match).
Source: AFL website (https://www.afl.com.au/news/938123/how-tigers-tried-to-honour-dimma-what-keeps-ken-up-at-night).
wtf is he on about? There is nothing right about picketts game on ball and against those port players he was well beaten. MacMini decided he would keep playing pickett out of his natural position which is the wing.
Give it up Mini
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I'd persist with him on ball -still reckon it's his natural position and one shyte game in his first proper go there since his debut doesn't change that ...either way people should at least be happy we're finally using a stuffing tagger.... :shh
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Here's a replay of Pickett kicking the winner :gotigers.
https://www.afl.com.au/video/943725/marvelous-pickett-secures-phenomenal-game-winner
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Excellent last 2 plays which won us the game but unsighted before that. Needs to go back to the wing imo.
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Was very good I thought, presented, competed, great effort
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Marlion just doing Marlion things
Understated
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Excellent last 2 plays which won us the game but unsighted before that. Needs to go back to the wing imo.
The things he did up forward were great but yes he was not involved enough. Prefer him on the wing too but we another chase down forward to come into the team before we do that.
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Pickett had three such moments in the game's dying stages. Not only did he set up Prestia to level the scores just seconds after Briggs put the Giants ahead, but he also kicked the winning goal and then laid an important tackle from the resultant centre bounce to ensure the Tigers went home with all four points.
"Marlion didn't have a great day, he'd be the first to admit that," McQualter said.
"There were things that didn't go his way. He's played in a bit of a unique position. But speaking about moments, Marlion had a big moment and he owned his moment. He was able to finish it for us and the team and I'm rapt for him that he was able to do that.
"Even the tackle with the last 15 seconds to go, he maybe had three big moments. After not a great game, that Marlion would usually expect, it was a great result for him to be able to own his moments."
Source: AFL website (https://www.afl.com.au/news/943071/-it-s-just-moments-how-the-tigers-finally-won-a-close-one).
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"Could Marlion Pickett end up being a one-hit wonder?" - Kane Cornes (20th June, 2020)
Audio: https://twitter.com/1116sen/status/1274260196978757632
:wallywink
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Set up goal for Dion. Superb roving kicks sealer and then does a game saving tackle. Big moment player. Stands up when needed. Just like Adelaide game.
L
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on 69 games now. So 31 to go with 11 this year and hopefully 20 next year
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‘He cried when I kicked the last goal’: Tigers hero Pickett on what his match-winner meant to his son
Marc McGowan
The Age
June 5, 2023
KEY POINTS
* Marlion Pickett had a hand in both of Richmond’s last two goals as they defeated the Giants.
* Pickett’s match-winner came inside the final 30 seconds of a match featuring 31 goals.
* He made his AFL debut against GWS in the 2019 grand final, where he gathered 22 disposals.
Marlion Pickett’s son, Latrell, was in tears twice in the closing stages of Richmond’s last-gasp victory over the GWS Giants in Sydney on Sunday.
The first time was when he thought the Tigers were going to have to settle for their second draw of the season, after his dad set up a Dion Prestia goal with barely two-and-a-half minutes left in the game.
Another two minutes passed after that without either team scoring, and Latrell was resigned to the Tigers sharing the points.
But Latrell shed far happier tears seconds later when Pickett swooped on the Sherrin and coolly slotted the match-winner on his trusty left boot.
“I’m a proud dad and partner, and they were watching and sent the first message to me,” Pickett told The Age post-match. “My son was crying because he thought it was going to be a draw, [and] then he cried when I kicked the last goal. He’s a big Richmond head, and loves his footy.”
The quietly-spoken Pickett was far more reserved, himself, and even while discussing his match-winning moments afterwards.
He had only five disposals while playing as a pseudo key forward until his late involvements changed the course of the game – and possibly saved the Tigers’ season after consecutive narrow defeats in the previous fortnight.
“We still had 30 seconds left or whatnot [after my goal], so it was a numb, cold moment, which was a bit weird because usually when you kick a goal, you’re over the moon,” Pickett said.
“But [in that situation], you kind of just get ready for the next play. It was good to get a win, and we were all happy for ‘Mini’ [caretaker coach Andrew McQualter] because it was his first win as a coach, which was the pleasing part about it.
“We were missing a couple of soldiers but the fight and hunger is still there, and the group’s still chipping away, and if you don’t win those close games; they can take a toll when it comes to finals later in the year.”
McQualter hailed Pickett’s effort to transform his “not a great day” into a big moment that he “owned”. It was not the first time the 31-year-old had a memorable experience with the Giants. Pickett famously made his AFL debut in the 2019 grand final against the same opposition – gathering 22 disposals and kicking a goal – after being selected in the mid-season draft only months earlier as a 27-year-old.
That followed him turning his life around after twice spending time behind bars due to robbery, on top of dealing drugs and having his own drug habit. Through it all, his partner and mother of his children, Jess, stood by him.
“Without my partner and kids; I wouldn’t be here,” Pickett said. “All the credit goes to my partner for putting up with me, allowing me to fulfil my dreams, and backing me in 100 per cent. Without her keeping me grounded; it could have gone sideways.”
Pickett also remains eternally grateful to former coach Damien Hardwick, who enthusiastically watched Sunday’s match from a Denver pub after resigning a fortnight ago.
“‘Dimma’ is always going to be my coach, even though we have a new coach now,” he said.
“He gave me an opportunity no other club did, and I was a bit shattered when he left because I wanted him to stick around. But 14 years is a long time, and there is a toll on your family. I’m trying to juggle both, but I’m at the club every day.”
Pickett is out of contract at season’s end, but negotiations are on track to extend his time at Tigerland – not that he is focused on that.
“I don’t want to get sidetracked but whatever happens; I’m appreciative to get the opportunity to play AFL footy, which a lot of people don’t get the chance to,” he said.
“I think I’m moving well. At 31, people might think you’re slowing down, but the fitter I get, the better I get. I’ll play whatever role the team needs me to, whether that’s on the wing, inside mid, or even as a key forward.”
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/he-cried-when-i-kicked-the-last-goal-tigers-hero-pickett-on-what-his-match-winner-meant-to-his-son-20230604-p5ddtw.html
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He's kicked the winner which has saved his game from being pretty ordinary.
Yeah he did what three nice things but was largely unsighted.
Keep saying it but i would love for us to play him in the back half at h/b. which in todays game is not too different to the wing role he did for us.
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Marlion's winner didn't make the nominations for Goal of the Week.
Daicos, Pedlar & Kosi Pickett were chosen ahead of him.
https://www.afl.com.au/video/944766/afl-goal-of-the-year-round-12
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Pedlar shouldn’t have been nominated
It means listening to Kelli Underwood
Worst commentator of all time in any sport
Genuinely can’t watch with the sound on if she is the caller
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She is a mess.
The worst of all time.
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Pickett's was better than all 3 given the moment
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She is a mess.
The worst of all time.
Ticks at least two boxes though.#diversityhire :shh
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The closest player we have to a cat.
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Pfft......there you go overrating an opposition club again.... :shh
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Essendon poster saying on BF that he got into trouble in Perth last night and is currently "in lock up and in big strife" but can't elaborate anymore than that yet. Hopefully just a troll. :shh
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Damn...looks like he wasn't trolling...
https://twitter.com/cleary_mitch/status/1667834188295442432
:facepalm
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Essendon poster saying on BF that he got into trouble in Perth last night and is currently "in lock up and in big strife" but can't elaborate anymore than that yet. Hopefully just a troll. :shh
True unfortunately
From Mitch Cleary's twitter
Breaking - Richmond’s Marlion Pickett is tonight in custody in Perth.
Has been arrested and charged in relation to alleged aggravated burglary, stealing & criminal damage offences across Dec + Jan in WA.
Faces court tomorrow.
More shortly at half-time on @7AFL
@7NewsMelbourne
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Dear god you must be kidding me.
He's made it at AFL level and from what I hear is on about 400-500/year.
Surely he wouldn't do something so stupid???
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Gutted, hope the charges are dropped. Interesting it's from Dec and Jan.
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I'd be staggered if he is on $400-$500k a season
But
I'll just wait and see what happens tomorrow
Agree if true it is bloody stupid but right now I have my doubts
Lots of them
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What I find odd is that they arrested him on his return. If it's criminal surely a process in knowing that he was in Vic to be arrested here?
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I'd be staggered if he is on $400-$500k a season
But
I'll just wait and see what happens tomorrow
Agree if true it is bloody stupid but right now I have my doubts
Lots of them
My understanding of his previous 2 year contract was that it was 400-450/year
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I'd be staggered if he is on $400-$500k a season
But
I'll just wait and see what happens tomorrow
Agree if true it is bloody stupid but right now I have my doubts
Lots of them
My understanding of his previous 2 year contract was that it was 400-450/year
He was rookie listed until this season. Thought the cap on rookie contracts was super low like sub 200k but I could be way way wrong. Still would put him in the top tax bracket regardless.
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Marlion Pickett charged with alleged burglary offences
Peter Ryan
The Age
June 11, 2023 — 8.33pm
Richmond star Marlion Pickett is in custody after being charged with alleged burglary charges and will appear in Perth Magistrates Court on Monday to apply for bail.
Richmond confirmed in a statement the charges related to alleged offences in December 2022 and January 2023.
His manager Anthony Van Der Wielen told The Age that Pickett “has a strong intent to defend himself against the charges”.
The club nor his manager will make no further comment.
The 31-year-old dual premiership midfielder played in the Tigers win over Fremantle in Perth on Saturday night.
He made his debut in the 2019 grand final becoming a premiership player and Richmond life member after just one game.
More to come
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/marlion-pickett-charged-with-alleged-burglary-offences-20230611-p5dfqj.html
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I'd be staggered if he is on $400-$500k a season
But
I'll just wait and see what happens tomorrow
Agree if true it is bloody stupid but right now I have my doubts
Lots of them
My understanding of his previous 2 year contract was that it was 400-450/year
He was rookie listed until this season. Thought the cap on rookie contracts was super low like sub 200k but I could be way way wrong. Still would put him in the top tax bracket regardless.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/afl-fairytale-marlion-pickett-signs-two-year-contract-extension-with-richmond-worth-almost-1-million-ng-b881706695z
Also I don't think there's a limit on rookie contract payments.
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Mistaken identity?
The white fella can’t tell the difference between black fellas :shh
Remember when the racist WA police locked up a black fella in solitary confinement during Christmas for one whole month for just going clubbing in Northbridge when he said he was at his grandmothers house? Yes many on here want to forget also :shh
These bozos in WA are renowned for their atrocities against innocent indigenous peoples it’s been happening for years.
Any chance and any excuse.
It’s worse than the umpiring last night. :help
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Mitch Cleary on Ch 7:
https://twitter.com/7AFL/status/1667842616338309121
Faces court tomorrow.
Charged with 4 counts of alleged aggravated burglary. Also charged with alleged stealing & criminal damage.
-----------------------------
"The Club will continue to support Marlion and his family while these matters are dealt with," the club said in a statement.
"As this matter is now before the courts, the Club will not be making any further comment."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/948470/pickett-in-custody-on-alleged-burglary-charges
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My dad's theory is that Fremantle set him up after the game lol
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Dear god you must be kidding me.
He's made it at AFL level and from what I hear is on about 400-500/year.
Surely he wouldn't do something so stupid???
Add a wife and 4 kids. Feel for them :(.
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I'd be staggered if he is on $400-$500k a season
But
I'll just wait and see what happens tomorrow
Agree if true it is bloody stupid but right now I have my doubts
Lots of them
My understanding of his previous 2 year contract was that it was 400-450/year
He was rookie listed until this season. Thought the cap on rookie contracts was super low like sub 200k but I could be way way wrong. Still would put him in the top tax bracket regardless.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/afl-fairytale-marlion-pickett-signs-two-year-contract-extension-with-richmond-worth-almost-1-million-ng-b881706695z
Also I don't think there's a limit on rookie contract payments.
There isn't these days
I'd just be very surprised if we were paying him that much. Nice story by The West Australian though
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Glad to read his agents says they will defend against the allegations.
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Mistaken identity?
The white fella can’t tell the difference between black fellas :shh
Remember when the racist WA police locked up a black fella in solitary confinement during Christmas for one whole month for just going clubbing in Northbridge when he said he was at his grandmothers house? Yes many on here want to forget also :shh
These bozos in WA are renowned for their atrocities against innocent indigenous peoples it’s been happening for years.
Any chance and any excuse.
It’s worse than the umpiring last night. :help
Totally agree.
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He is facing allegations of four counts of aggravated burglary, and three counts of stealing and criminal damages, targeting commercial properties across last December and January.
Foxfooty.com.au understands Pickett will face Perth Magistrates Court early tomorrow afternoon to apply for bail.
Pickett’s manager Anthony Van Der Wielen told News Corp the player “has a strong intent to defend himself against the charges”.
“Due to the ongoing legal nature of the proceedings, Marlion, or myself will not be able to provide any further details, comment or clarification about the matter at this stage.
“We understand and respect the public’s interest in this matter, but we also implore all to respect the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise, and to allow the legal proceedings to follow their due course without prejudice.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/richmond-tigers/afl-news-2023-richmond-tigers-player-marlion-pickett-arrested-charged-with-alleged-aggravated-burglary-stealing-criminal-damage/news-story/17f1be75295b8c47f41bb1d078d23821
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Something just doesn't sit right about this
Why did the cops wait until after the game yesterday? Seeing they team had been there since Friday
Just doesn't make sense
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Very sad news.
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Something just doesn't sit right about this
Why did the cops wait until after the game yesterday? Seeing they team had been there since Friday
Just doesn't make sense
WCE fans wanting a Freo loss ?
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Hopefully it is some bs like someone took something from family members, he went to get it back, that got peeed off and reported it to the police??
Fingers crossed
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Fully expect his to be thrown out.
Makes no sense a high profile player committed a crime 6 months ago to be charged now.
To not get Vic Pol assistance and arrest him in Vic.
To wait till after the game to do it.
No media around it pre arrest.
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Burglary Offences
Section 401 of the Criminal Code defines a Burglary offence as actions including any of these actions;
Enters a place of another person illegally,
Is in a place (home, shop, properties, etc.) of another person without their consent,
Intent and attempt to commit the Offence in that place.
Burglary offences are prosecuted as a case with aggravation.
The cases for aggravation of such offences include circumstances where the accused;
Is, or pretends to be armed with a dangerous offensive weapon;
Is, or pretends to "have" of explosives;
Is in the company of other persons;
Does bodily harm to any person;
Threatens to kill or injure any person;
Detains any person; and
Knew, or should know immediately before the Offence, that there were other people in that place (other than any co-offenders).
What Court handles a Burglary Charge in Western Australia?
Unlike a Robbery offence, Burglary offences can be handled as summary or indictable offences depending on the circumstances around the Offence.
Burglary matters held in a Magistrate do not usually involve significant penalties and may even be exchanged for an intervention program if the Magistrate deems it appropriate. However, issues handled by the District Court are generally for serious indictable and aggravated Burglary charges.
The District court matters are settled by a jury or judge and incur more severe consequences.
What are the penalties for burglary offences?
If the matter is handled in the District Court, the maximum penalty is 14 years.
If the burglary offence happened at a human habitation, without aggravating circumstances, the Court can impose penalties of up to 18 years imprisonment.
For all other cases of aggravation with a Burglary offence, the Court imposes penalties up to 20 years.
For matters dealt with in a Magistrate Court, the court issues penalties up to;
Two years imprisonment term,
Fines up to $24 000,
Or both.
If the place where the burglary offence happened was a human habitation, without aggravating circumstances, the Court might impose penalties up to;
Three years imprisonment term,
$36,000 in fines,
Or both.
For all other cases of aggravation with a Burglary offence, the Court imposes penalties up to 3 years imprisonment term and a $36,000 fine.
https://www.australiannationalcharactercheck.com.au/Robbery-Offence-Penalties-Western-Australia-WA.html
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Just saw a snippet from Tom Morris via SEN on Twitter and he reckons that Marlion knew he was going to be questioned on Friday but the cops waited until after the game to do it (seriously wft). Marlion expected to be questioned but didn't expect to get charged (seriously double wtf)
What a mess :help
From @SEN116
More details have emerged on Marlion Pickett's arrest, while the Tiger's manager has also offered a statement.
MORE | bit.ly/43SouQ3 | #AFL
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Here's the article from SEN
MORE DETAILS EMERGE ON PICKETT'S ARREST AS RICHMOND MIDFIELDER PLANS TO DEFEND HIMSELF
BY SEB MOTTRAM 2 HOURS AGO
Richmond’s Marlion Pickett knew he would be questioned by Western Australian Police prior to playing the Fremantle Dockers on Saturday night, SEN’s Tom Morris has revealed.
However, the Tigers midfielder did not know he would be charged.
Pickett was on Sunday charged with four counts of aggravated burglary, three counts of stealing and three counts of criminal damage among other charges. The alleged offences took place between December 2022 and January 2023.
It came after he gathered 10 disposals and laid five tackles in Richmond’s 15-point Round 13 win at Optus Stadium.
“He knew he was going to be questioned at the time of playing the game,” Morris told SEN Breakfast.
“He didn’t know that he’d be charged at the time of playing the game.”
Richmond in a statement said the club will continue to support the 31-year-old and his family.
But in a statement to SEN, Pickett’s manager, Anthony Van Der Wielen, said: “In response to these allegations, Marlion has strong intent to defend himself against the charges.”
Pickett has been remanded in custody and will face Perth Magistrates Court on Monday for a bail hearing.
Contact UsComplaintsCorporatePrivacy PolicyTerms & Conditions
© 2023, SEN All Rights Reserved Digital Agency - VERSA
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/06/11/more-details-emerge-on-picketts-arrest-as-richmond-midfielder-plans-to/
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Hopefully it is some bs like someone took something from family members, he went to get it back, that got peeed off and reported it to the police??
Fingers crossed
That was my initial thought
Sounds like a family matter.
Wouldn't imagine he would do anything for money gains, given what he would be risking.
Aggravated burglary usually means someone was present.
Also seems like a long time investigating so different stories.
Will wait for more details.
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Will wait for more details.
All we can do really.
Though as I posted before there is something about this that just sit right
Family angle certainly makes it make slightly more sense :-\
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Looks like a very busy morning scheduled for the Perth Magistrates court this morning.
It might explain a few things, it might not....time will tell.
Central Law Courts
501 Hay Street, PERTH
Criminal Listing
Time Name Floor-Court
10:00am PICKETT, Marlion John 4 - 42
9:30am PICKETT, Blake Lee 5 - 57
9:30am PICKETT, Cherie May 3 - 38
9:30am PICKETT, Shondelle Lee 3 - 32
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Richmond star Marlion Pickett has been granted bail after a night behind bars - he is alleged to have been involved in the thefts of $380,000 in currency from four business around s Perth. Full story on @westaustralian soon.
https://twitter.com/Clarkie1972/status/1668088683977912320
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Granted bail with strict conditions. The article is behind a paywall though:
Marlion Pickett: Richmond star fronts court on string of burglary charges
Tim Clarke
The West Australian
Mon, 12 June 2023 11:17AM WST
Richmond redemption story Marlion Pickett is facing allegations he was involved in the theft of more than $380,000 in currency from a string of commercial burglaries in Perth at the start of the year.
The footy star has been granted bail under strict conditions after it emerged he had been arrested on Sunday.
https://thewest.com.au/news/court-justice/marlion-pickett-richmond-star-fronts-court-on-string-of-burglary-charges-c-10951614
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In Marlion we trust. I have a feeling it will blow away like Autumn leaves.
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WA cops we're talking here let's not go there with there record with indigenous community or Stack jailed for how long because of a covid breach there pathetic.
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Richmond AFL premiership player Marlion Pickett has been granted bail after appearing in the Perth Magistrates Court on a string of charges, including aggravated burglary, stealing and criminal damage.
Pickett, 31, was arrested by WA Police on Sunday, just hours after helping the Richmond Tigers cause an upset 15 point win over the Fremantle Dockers at Perth stadium.
He is facing 12 charges, which date back to December and January last year during the AFL off season.
The offences are alleged to have happened in the Perth suburbs of Girrawheen and Beechboro as well as at Beverley, east of the city and Bindoon north of Perth.
In court, Pickett spoke only to confirm his name before his bail was set at $50,000 with a similar surety, and his case was adjourned until August.
Bail was refused by police after Pickett's arrest and he spent the night in custody.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-12/afl-premiership-player-marlion-pickett-charged-with-burglary/102468818
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Does his bail allow him to leave the state?
-
Does his bail allow him to leave the state?
Yes. His bail conditions are that he lives in his residence in Melbourne and presents weekly to a local police station
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Queue the media waiting for him at Tulla and camping outside his home
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Does his bail allow him to leave the state?
Yes. His bail conditions are that he lives in his residence in Melbourne and presents weekly to a local police station
Be interesting how the club handles his selection. Assume he’ll miss this week and then we have the bye after that which gives him a couple weeks off, wonder if the club would pick him against the lions the week after.
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Does his bail allow him to leave the state?
Yes. His bail conditions are that he lives in his residence in Melbourne and presents weekly to a local police station
Be interesting how the club handles his selection. Assume he’ll miss this week and then we have the bye after that which gives him a couple weeks off, wonder if the club would pick him against the lions the week after.
He must reside at his house in Melbourne. I reckon that would mean he can't travel outside of Melbourne
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He is allowed to leave the state. Any idea when next court appearance is?
Hope this isnt drawn out.
Serious allegations, $380k isn't chicken feed. Evidence being a camper van hired in his name and having large suns of money deposited by his family members into his account.
Hoping it's a combination of coincidence and also some pretty ordinary racism/looking for a crime conviction. Was there any video surveillance, finger prints, cash deposited etc
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Does his bail allow him to leave the state?
Yes. His bail conditions are that he lives in his residence in Melbourne and presents weekly to a local police station
Be interesting how the club handles his selection. Assume he’ll miss this week and then we have the bye after that which gives him a couple weeks off, wonder if the club would pick him against the lions the week after.
He must reside at his house in Melbourne. I reckon that would mean he can't travel outside of Melbourne
Wonder if they’ll play him in vic games then.
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I wouldn’t jump to conclusions, could it be family dispute where he took back a gift like a motor home , to have 4 complainants with the same family name says a lot, anyone know what his partners surname is / was
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Any idea when next court appearance is?
August according to the ABC article.
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Richmond Tigers player Marlion Pickett faces Perth court over burglary charges
By Joanna Menagh
ABC
12 June 2023
Richmond AFL premiership player Marlion Pickett has been granted bail after allegedly carrying out burglaries on commercial properties in which more than $380,000 was stolen.
Pickett, 31, faced Perth Magistrates Court on a string of charges, including aggravated burglary, stealing and criminal damage.
He is facing 12 charges, which date back to December and January last year during the AFL off season.
The offences are alleged to have happened in the Perth suburbs of Girrawheen and Beechboro as well as at Beverley, east of the city and Bindoon north of Perth.
Alleged robbery involved campervan
The court was told the charges relate to burglaries on what were described as commercial properties, in which a total of more than $380,000 in Australian and foreign currency was stolen.
The police prosecutor said it would be alleged a campervan was hired in Pickett's name, which was then driven interstate and along the way, sums of $6,000 and $9,000 were deposited into his bank account.
It was also alleged Pickett had purchased some of the clothing that he is alleged to have been seen wearing in CCTV footage from the incidents.
The court was told told Pickett has a record of committing similar crimes and served a two-and-a-half-year jail term around 2010 and 2011.
No DNA linking Pickett to crime: defence
Pickett's lawyer David Manera said there was no forensic evidence, such as DNA or fingerprints, linking him to the alleged offences.
Mr Manera highlighted that his client had come to Perth knowing that police wanted to speak to him and after Saturday night's game, he had not returned to Melbourne with his teammates.
Instead, he attended a pre-arranged appointment at the Midland police station.
Mr Manera described the 31-year-old as "very, very well thought of by the Richmond club and the playing group", telling the court he was a paid mentor for young, Indigenous players at the club.
Pickett not 'significant flight risk'
Magistrate Erin O'Donnell noted Pickett had a significant criminal record, but she said it dated back more than a decade with there being only one further offence, in 2016, for possessing unlawfully obtained property, for which he received a fine.
She said she could not at this stage conclude the case against Pickett was overwhelming, and while the alleged offences were serious, she did not consider him to be a "significant flight risk."
The magistrate said she was satisfied she could impose bail conditions that would address any concerns, including Pickett having to report to police in Melbourne once a week, and banning him from having contact with his co-accused.
Pickett spoke only to confirm his name before his bail was set at $50,000 with a similar surety, and his case was adjourned until August.
Pickett, 31, was arrested by WA Police on Sunday, just hours after helping the Richmond Tigers cause an upset 15 point win over the Fremantle Dockers at Perth stadium.
Richmond stands behind Pickett
In a statement, the Richmond Football Club said it "would continue to support Marlion and his family while these matters are dealt with".
His Perth-based manager Anthony Van Der Wielen said the two-time premiership player intended to defend himself against the charges.
"Due to the ongoing legal nature of the proceedings, Marlion, or myself will not be able to provide any further details, comment or clarification about the matter at this stage," Mr Van Der Wielen said in a statement.
"We understand and respect the public's interest in this matter, but we also implore all to respect the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise, and to allow the legal proceedings to follow their due course without prejudice."
Pickett has played 70 games for the Richmond Tigers.
He made his debut in the 2019 AFL grand final-winning side and he was also part of club's 2020 premiership team.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-12/afl-premiership-player-marlion-pickett-charged-with-burglary/102468818
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FyZb_d2aEAA0TsC?format=jpg&name=small)
https://twitter.com/ezrdh/status/1668121864890351616
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AFL player Marlion Pickett bailed on burglary charges
Michael Ramsey
AAP
12 June 2023
Richmond AFL premiership player Marlion Pickett has been warned he could face more prison time if found guilty over burglaries in which hundreds of thousands of dollars was allegedly stolen from safes.
The 31-year-old was granted bail in Perth Magistrates Court on Monday after appearing on 12 charges including four counts of aggravated burglary, three counts of stealing and three counts of criminal damage.
Appearing in the dock wearing a black sweatshirt, Pickett spoke only to confirm his name and was not required to enter pleas.
A police prosecutor told the court the alleged offending by Pickett and others involved a series of commercial burglaries resulting in the theft of more than $380,000 in Australian and foreign currencies from within safes.
One of the charges relates to the alleged stealing of $325,000 from a currency exchange in Perth's northern suburbs.
It's further alleged Pickett purchased tools and clothing that were used in the burglaries and that mobile phone triangulation data links him to one of the scenes.
Prosecutors opposed bail, saying there was a risk Pickett - who served a two-and-a-half year jail term for burglary offences before being recruited by Richmond as a mature-aged draftee - would reoffend if he was released.
But Pickett's lawyer David Manera said there was nothing to suggest his client was a flight risk and the prosecution case was circumstantial.
He said it rested largely on allegations deposits of $6000 and $9000 were made into Pickett's bank account by his co-offenders, and that a camper-van rented in his name was driven interstate by the other men.
Mr Manera said Pickett had flown to Perth for the clash with the Dockers "in the knowledge that police wanted to speak to him" and had remained behind when his team flew home so he could meet with detectives.
The father-of-four was described as a paid mentor for Indigenous youth through the Korin Gamadji Institute and a leader among Richmond's First Nations players.
Magistrate Erin O'Donnell said the allegations were serious but she did not believe Pickett presented a significant flight risk.
She granted bail on the condition Pickett resides at his address in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir, reports weekly to a local police station, does not interact with his alleged co-offenders and provides a $50,000 personal surety.
The amounts involved in the alleged offending meant the case was likely to proceed to the District Court, the magistrate noted.
"If Mr Pickett were convicted of these offences it is highly likely, I would have thought, that he would receive a term of immediate imprisonment," she said.
Pickett is likely to be excused from appearing in person when the matter returns to court for a committal mention in August.
Pickett and his manager Anthony Van Der Wielen declined to comment outside court.
In a statement on Sunday, Mr Van Der Wielen said Pickett was entitled to the presumption of innocence.
"We understand and respect the public's interest in this matter but we also implore all to respect the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise, and to allow the legal proceedings to follow their due course without prejudice," Mr Van Der Wielen said.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/afl-player-marlion-pickett-bailed-on-burglary-charges/ar-AA1cqkph
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We don't have all the info (there may be more substantial incriminating evidence to come), but from a purely legal viewpoint and on what has been provided so far, you'd expect a defence lawyer could get Marlion off. As his lawyer said it's circumstantial at best.
We don't know if Marlion opened an account with a credit card long before these incidents last summer for someone he knows (a younger family member?) to have access to and to use? Perhaps even to financially help such a person given Marlion has been a well-paid pro-footballer for the past 4 years? This card and account could then have been used to hire a caravan, purchase items, deposit cash, etc without Marlion's knowledge. It would be a dumb thing to do to allow someone else to either access or have a bank account in your name but it's possible and it would clear Marlion of the charges.
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Pickett's brother-in-law has already pleaded guilty, but Marlion is planning to defend himself against the charges.
Pickett's next court appearance is August 21. He will need to report to Reservoir police station once a week.
His agent says the bail conditions allow Marlion to play and expects him to train tomorrow at Richmond and play this weekend.
However, the Club will spend the next 24 hours determining what happens next. Benny Gale likely to front the media tomorrow.
Source: Mitch Cleary on 7news.
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Here's the 7 news report tonight:
WATCH HERE: https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1668171497649721344
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9news says Pickett will touchdown in Melbourne later tonight.
He won't be required to be personally in attendance at the next court hearing in August.
https://twitter.com/9NewsMelb/status/1668169969933389824
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We don't have all the info (there may be more substantial incriminating evidence to come), but from a purely legal viewpoint and on what has been provided so far, you'd expect a defence lawyer could get Marlion off. As his lawyer said it's circumstantial at best.
We don't know if Marlion opened an account with a credit card long before these incidents last summer for someone he knows (a younger family member?) to have access to and to use? Perhaps even to financially help such a person given Marlion has been a well-paid pro-footballer for the past 4 years? This card and account could then have been used to hire a caravan, purchase items, deposit cash, etc without Marlion's knowledge. It would be a dumb thing to do to allow someone else to either access or have a bank account in your name but it's possible and it would clear Marlion of the charges.
or perhaps he is a criminal and should be thrown in jail for a very long time :shh
footballers are very stupid so nothing in this story would surprise me which ever way it goes. You only have to read up on what happened to Jacob Weittering. "Excuse me sir you have ben hacked but we have a way out of this for you. All that is needed is for you to transfer cash into an account we have opened for you (without your authority).
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Apparently GWS are going to join the party and lay some charges on him as well relating to a game he stole from them recently
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Apparently GWS are going to join the party and lay some charges on him as well relating to a game he stole from them recently
Not funny
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Yes it was. :clapping
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It is a mess
Really sad state of affairs
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Do we think the club was well aware of what was about to happen?I guess if Benny does a presser tomorrow we shall find out
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The reports are Pickett knew he was gonna be questioned when he got to WA and it was a prescheduled meeting. Guess he didn’t figure he would be arrested. Whether he let the club know I’m not sure.
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We don't have all the info (there may be more substantial incriminating evidence to come), but from a purely legal viewpoint and on what has been provided so far, you'd expect a defence lawyer could get Marlion off. As his lawyer said it's circumstantial at best.
We don't know if Marlion opened an account with a credit card long before these incidents last summer for someone he knows (a younger family member?) to have access to and to use? Perhaps even to financially help such a person given Marlion has been a well-paid pro-footballer for the past 4 years? This card and account could then have been used to hire a caravan, purchase items, deposit cash, etc without Marlion's knowledge. It would be a dumb thing to do to allow someone else to either access or have a bank account in your name but it's possible and it would clear Marlion of the charges.
or perhaps he is a criminal and should be thrown in jail for a very long time :shh
footballers are very stupid so nothing in this story would surprise me which ever way it goes. You only have to read up on what happened to Jacob Weittering. "Excuse me sir you have ben hacked but we have a way out of this for you. All that is needed is for you to transfer cash into an account we have opened for you (without your authority).
:shh
The cornerstone of our judicial system is the presumption of innocence. There is a backstory to this and the glare and scrutiny of the courtroom will bring that story out and will resolve whether he’s guilty or not but we shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” he said.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/marlion-pickett-determined-to-play-against-st-kilda-this-weekend-despite-charges/news-story/d96f49e4b7364740162d3f368411bd10
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People loan money to their relatives all the time without necessarily knowing exactly what it is being used for.
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Marlion Pickett determined to play against St Kilda this weekend despite charges
Bailed Tiger Marlion Pickett is determined to continue his AFL career despite facing burglary charges, as Richmond ponder a path forward for the two-time premiership Tiger.
Jon Ralph
HeraldSun
June 12, 2023 - 6:42PM
Bailed Richmond premiership player Marlion Pickett is determined to continue his AFL career this weekend against St Kilda as he fights serious burglary charges.
Pickett was released from custody on Monday on $50,000 bail after appearing in a Perth court charged with 12 charges including four counts of aggravated burglary.
He will fly back to Melbourne on Monday night after being warned by a Perth magistrate he would again face jail time if found guilty of those offences.
The 31-year-old has a committal mention on August 21 — which he can attend by video link — and he must appear at the Reservoir police station every Tuesday as part of his bail conditions.
Richmond will decide a path ahead for Pickett’s football career by Tuesday, with chief executive Brendon Gale likely to front the media to explain the extraordinary chain of events.
Richmond was in regular contact with the AFL across Monday, with the Tigers likely to recommend to Pickett he take the weekend off to concentrate on his wellbeing.
It would give the Tigers and Pickett some breathing space across the bye to ensure Pickett is ready to return to football in round 15.
But the Herald Sun understands Pickett is resolute that he wants to take on St Kilda and continue his AFL career until his court case is resolved.
Pickett and Richmond were aware midweek he would be questioned by WA detectives over the police matter, with Pickett choosing to attend a police station on Sunday.
He still played a key role in the victory over Fremantle then was accompanied by Richmond list boss and senior administrator Blair Hartley to the police station.
He was not bailed on Sunday after being arrested because of a prior jail sentence, but was released after his court case on Monday.
Pickett is halfway through a one-year contract and while he would have been recontracted based on form, there is no guarantee his case will be resolved by the end of October.
Collingwood stood down Jordan De Goey in November 2021 over a New York court case and only reinstated him once that case was resolved.
Justin Quill, partner at major law firm Thomson Geer, told the Herald Sun Pickett deserved to play while his case was unresolved.
“The cornerstone of our judicial system is the presumption of innocence. There is a backstory to this and the glare and scrutiny of the courtroom will bring that story out and will resolve whether he’s guilty or not but we shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” he said.
“People say AFL players are role models but in every other job someone charged with an offence will go to work on Monday and their boss might not know about it.
“Because AFL footballers are in the public eye, some people think they don’t deserve the presumption of innocence and should be sacked. It can’t be like that and if the average person imagined themselves in that position, they might see it a little differently.”
The AFL does not have an official stand-down clause but has the right to assess individual incidents on a case-by-case basis.
North Melbourne’s Tarryn Thomas still faces charges of threatening to distribute an intimate image and will appear at Broadmeadows court on July 18.
But he was not stood down by the AFL or North Melbourne over that court case, with the magistrate in charge of the case indicating in late March Thomas might plead not guilty.
The Roos only stood him down in January when separate allegations emerged about his treatment of women, which are not before the courts.
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/marlion-pickett-determined-to-play-against-st-kilda-this-weekend-despite-charges/news-story/d96f49e4b7364740162d3f368411bd10
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Also from the HeraldSun:
Pickett’s representative David Manera argued he was the sole provider for his family with four children, having been in a 15-year de facto relationship with his partner, and needed to remain in Melbourne to maintain his profession.
His manager Anthony van der Wielen was in attendance at the bail hearing but opted not to comment afterwards. Pickett, wearing a black T-shirt, spoke only to confirm his attendance during the bail application.
Mr Van Der Wielen later escorted Pickett out of court, where the player declined to make any comment. Mr Manera did stop to speak to reporters and said he was “very surprised” police opted not to release Pickett overnight and opposed bail given his client’s long gap in criminal offending and willingness to assist their investigations.
When asked how Pickett was feeling, Mr Manera said: “All he said to me was, ‘I want to get out of here’.” He added that it was Pickett’s intention to fly back to Melbourne later that day after Monday’s hearing.
The Herald Sun understands Pickett was told mid-week those detectives were keen to talk to him as early as Friday when he returned to Perth to play in the clash against Fremantle.
He decided to instead speak to detectives after the Saturday night clash and after making his statement on Sunday was arrested.
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/richmond-star-marlion-pickett-faces-court-for-a-bail-hearing-after-being-arrested-in-perth/news-story/279b63ad612b9c798516d0f697cec42a
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Bottom line is he is one of two things obviously. Guilty or innocent.
Have to laugh at the do gooding brigade though. straight away its the bad old wa cops in the redneck state of WA.
Straight away its the old all whites are racist crap being thrown up. Yep its got to the point if a black fella gets into trouble and breaks the law which is bloody often then it has to be a racist plot.
There is a vicious cycle and its ingrained those who want to help themselves are indeed dragged down by their own in many instances.
A guess would be Marlion could not say no because it is family and clan putting pressure on him to do something he knows he shouldn't.
Reading some comments here its never the perpetrators problem but the bad old cops who only want to keep them down trodden.
The truth is despite the enormous amounts of money and services thrown at them they continue to be amonst the most violent and lawless race in this multicultrural society we live in.
Head in the sand stuff to say Aborigines dont perform more crime by some huge margin than any other race in this country. They do and there are many reasons why that is so there is a vicious merry go round going on and the cycle needs to be broken somehow, but to always blame others and deny the huge crime problem we have is a nonsense.
Is Marlion Guilty? Who knows he deserves like all of us to be assumed innocent until proven guilty. But dont just assume police are out to get him.
So far id say they have handled the situation very well going about what is a very serious offence.
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We don't have all the info (there may be more substantial incriminating evidence to come), but from a purely legal viewpoint and on what has been provided so far, you'd expect a defence lawyer could get Marlion off. As his lawyer said it's circumstantial at best.
We don't know if Marlion opened an account with a credit card long before these incidents last summer for someone he knows (a younger family member?) to have access to and to use? Perhaps even to financially help such a person given Marlion has been a well-paid pro-footballer for the past 4 years? This card and account could then have been used to hire a caravan, purchase items, deposit cash, etc without Marlion's knowledge. It would be a dumb thing to do to allow someone else to either access or have a bank account in your name but it's possible and it would clear Marlion of the charges.
or perhaps he is a criminal and should be thrown in jail for a very long time :shh
footballers are very stupid so nothing in this story would surprise me which ever way it goes. You only have to read up on what happened to Jacob Weittering. "Excuse me sir you have ben hacked but we have a way out of this for you. All that is needed is for you to transfer cash into an account we have opened for you (without your authority).
:shh
The cornerstone of our judicial system is the presumption of innocence. There is a backstory to this and the glare and scrutiny of the courtroom will bring that story out and will resolve whether he’s guilty or not but we shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” he said.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/marlion-pickett-determined-to-play-against-st-kilda-this-weekend-despite-charges/news-story/d96f49e4b7364740162d3f368411bd10
True, we won't know which way this will go until the court case when all the evidence is put forward for scrutiny. And true, if he did and is found guilty of what he has been charged with then he'll have the book thrown at him and end up in the clink. Right now though, there's holes in the available public info/evidence for a defence lawyer to exploit.
ps. yep, I can think of quite a few footballers over the years that were definitely not too bright lol.
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Queue the media waiting for him at Tulla and camping outside his home
Yep. Nine's reporter already doing reports while waiting at the Airport.
https://twitter.com/9NewsMelb/status/1668234581454225409
FlightRadar showing the Virgin flight from Perth will arrive in Melbourne around midnight.
https://www.flightradar24.com/VOZ696/30af1ca9
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For those wondering Pocket had to be reprimanded because of his part history of breaching bail as a teenager. Otherwise he would have been charged and expected to appear in court.
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Bottom line is he is one of two things obviously. Guilty or innocent.
Have to laugh at the do gooding brigade though. straight away its the bad old wa cops in the redneck state of WA.
Straight away its the old all whites are racist crap being thrown up. Yep its got to the point if a black fella gets into trouble and breaks the law which is bloody often then it has to be a racist plot.
There is a vicious cycle and its ingrained those who want to help themselves are indeed dragged down by their own in many instances.
A guess would be Marlion could not say no because it is family and clan putting pressure on him to do something he knows he shouldn't.
Reading some comments here its never the perpetrators problem but the bad old cops who only want to keep them down trodden.
The truth is despite the enormous amounts of money and services thrown at them they continue to be amonst the most violent and lawless race in this multicultrural society we live in.
Head in the sand stuff to say Aborigines dont perform more crime by some huge margin than any other race in this country. They do and there are many reasons why that is so there is a vicious merry go round going on and the cycle needs to be broken somehow, but to always blame others and deny the huge crime problem we have is a nonsense.
Is Marlion Guilty? Who knows he deserves like all of us to be assumed innocent until proven guilty. But dont just assume police are out to get him.
So far id say they have handled the situation very well going about what is a very serious offence.
I don’t disagree but to also discount a police culture ingrained with that very particular bias would also be nonsense.
There are countless instances of WA police brutality to aboriginal people and their treatment of them in general. I’ve met some of them myself and their attitudes toward indigenous people first hand. They probably have their own valid reasons for having those particular attitudes due to their experiences.
A professional person would not let their attitude towards a particular people group affect their work. Unfortunately in WA particularly there has been countless examples of atrocities committed by them that would also presume that there is also a particular problematic culture in WA policing that can’t help but have their bias cloud their own professionalism.
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Pickett to miss Richmond’s clash with Saints
Peter Ryan
The Age
Updated June 13, 2023 — 2.10pm
Marlion Pickett will not line up against St Kilda on Saturday night, as Richmond announce the 31-year-old will be available for selection after the club’s bye.
The 31-year-old did not train with the Tigers on Tuesday after returning to Melbourne on Monday night, hours after the Perth Magistrates Court released him on bail. Western Australian police had charged him with a range of alleged burglary offences on Sunday.
Pickett had voluntarily presented to Midlands detectives on Sunday after he played for the Tigers against Fremantle. His manager Anthony Van Der Wielen said on Sunday that Pickett would defend himself against the charges.
Richmond CEO Brendon Gale spoke on Tuesday afternoon and confirmed Pickett would not play in round 14. The Tigers have a bye in round 15.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/pickett-misses-richmond-training-as-club-weighs-saints-call-20230613-p5dg52.html
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RICHMOND “FULLY EXPECT” PICKETT TO PLAY AFTER CLUB’S BYE
Seb Mottram
SEN
13 June 2023
Marlion Pickett won’t play for Richmond this weekend against St Kilda but will continue to spend time at Punt Road after being charged for his alleged involvement in a number of commercial burglaries.
Pickett was charged on Sunday in Perth, less than 24 hours after he played a role in defeating the Fremantle Dockers on Saturday night at Optus Stadium.
Fronting a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Richmond CEO Brendon Gale explained he was “very surprised” at being made aware of the allegations, but committed the full support of the club to Pickett.
“The decision we made was in his best interest and welfare and also for the club,” Gale told reporters on ruling Pickett out of Round 14.
“We think it’s important for Marlion to be with his family, but he’ll prepare with the team, turning up and engaging.”
"He's got some wonderful people around him, he's got the love of a good woman and his family, and this football club and it's really important for him to re-engage as soon as possible, to go to work, to train and prepare, there couldn't be a better place for him to be than this football club at the moment.
Gale also confirmed that Pickett wanted to play, but the Tigers made the decision as “the right thing for Marlion, the football program and the club.”
Richmond has the bye in Round 15, but Gale “fully expects” Pickett to play Brisbane the following week.
The 31-year-old has been bailed and has since flown back to Melbourne.
“These are allegations and we’re going to operate on the presumptions he’s innocent… justice will run its course… but we think it’s in his best interests to be here and be engaged,” Gale added.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/06/13/pickett-ruled-out-of-round-14-as-tigers-provide-update/
https://www.zerohanger.com/richmonds-marlion-pickett-ruled-out-of-st-kilda-clash-amid-criminal-allegations-138574/
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Benny Gale's full press conference:
WATCH HERE: https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/1357475/brendon-gale-press-conference
--------------------------
Gale said the club would continue to support Pickett and “work on the presumption he’s innocent”.
“It came as a bit of a shock,” Gale said.
“These are allegations. We’re going to operate on the presumption he’s innocent and justice will run its course. We think the best thing for him is to be back here, working hard.
“It’s been a big week, he spent one night in remand, he’s been to Perth and back, the emotional burden has been significant.
“He’s a very resilient character but not withstanding we have the bye next week and we felt that one or two weeks, it’s a watch, but we think that’s an appropriate amount of time for things to settle down.
“He’ll prepare with the team, he’ll train, he’ll be turning up and engaging, which we think is really important for him to do that at this stage and we fully expect him to play against Brisbane in two weeks time.”
Gale said Pickett would be back because there was “no better place” for him to be as he dealt with the issues that could take significant time, even years, to resolve.
The Richmond boss lauded Pickett as an “inspiration” for turning his life around after a previous two-year stint in jail before making it to the AFL.
“Nothing has come easy, but through the force of his will, against all the odds, through the love of his family and the care of football clubs, he’s turned his life around,” Gale said.
“He’s had to overcome a lot of challenges, some many of us could never imagine.
“He’s been an inspiration to me, to many.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/tigers-make-call-on-pickett-after-court-shock-as-fresh-details-of-allegations-emerge/news-story/f54d3e507b7d982ecdb38758f36c114c
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When they build the statues of Dusty and Dimma outside Punt Road they should build them like a deck of cards -- with the two of them supporting the statue of Benny Gale.
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Like a human pyramid? Cool ... See if we can fit Jack in there too ... :bow
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Like a human pyramid? Cool ... See if we can fit Jack in there too ... :bow
.................Gale..................
.........Dusty......Dimma.........
Riewoldt.....Cotch.....Edwards
?? Open to suggestions here.
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Like a human pyramid? Cool ... See if we can fit Jack in there too ... :bow
Carlton are considering a similar proposal, but a human centipede with Voss at the head.
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Or go the inverted pyramid, with Gale holding them all up ....
Riewoldt.....Cotch.....Edwards
.........Dusty......Dimma.........
.................Gale..................
Seems about right .... ;D
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Tigers make a call on Pickett after court hearing
"Marlion won't be available to play this week. It's a decision we made in his best interests, in his welfare and also the club," Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said on Tuesday.
"He wanted to play (this weekend), naturally. You wouldn't expect anything else; he's a competitor, and any player in that situation would. But we thought the right decision was made in his best interest. He needs to be with his family, we're very mindful of his welfare and his family right now."
"Marlion willingly cooperated, he presented himself to be interviewed and that was done post-game on Sunday morning, and the rest has been well documented," Gale said.
"He absolutely (should have played against Fremantle). It's been a big shock, but he's okay. It's been pretty big, but importantly he's got some wonderful people around him.
"At the end of the day, these are allegations, and we are going to operate on the presumption that he is innocent. Justice will run its course, or proceedings will run their course, but the best thing for him (is) to be back here, to be engaged at this club, working hard and continuing to be a really positive role model."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/950130/tigers-make-a-call-on-pickett-after-court-hearing
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Tigers make a call on Pickett after court hearing
"Marlion won't be available to play this week. It's a decision we made in his best interests, in his welfare and also the club," Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said on Tuesday.
"He wanted to play (this weekend), naturally. You wouldn't expect anything else; he's a competitor, and any player in that situation would. But we thought the right decision was made in his best interest. He needs to be with his family, we're very mindful of his welfare and his family right now."
"Marlion willingly cooperated, he presented himself to be interviewed and that was done post-game on Sunday morning, and the rest has been well documented," Gale said.
"He absolutely (should have played against Fremantle). It's been a big shock, but he's okay. It's been pretty big, but importantly he's got some wonderful people around him.
"At the end of the day, these are allegations, and we are going to operate on the presumption that he is innocent. Justice will run its course, or proceedings will run their course, but the best thing for him (is) to be back here, to be engaged at this club, working hard and continuing to be a really positive role model."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/950130/tigers-make-a-call-on-pickett-after-court-hearing
So if he is innocent until proved otherwise he should be playing. His mindset last weekend would have been unimaginable.
Just play him
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Good call to rest him and keep him away from the media vultures. He'll be back in two weeks.
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Tigers make a call on Pickett after court hearing
"Marlion won't be available to play this week. It's a decision we made in his best interests, in his welfare and also the club," Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said on Tuesday.
"He wanted to play (this weekend), naturally. You wouldn't expect anything else; he's a competitor, and any player in that situation would. But we thought the right decision was made in his best interest. He needs to be with his family, we're very mindful of his welfare and his family right now."
"Marlion willingly cooperated, he presented himself to be interviewed and that was done post-game on Sunday morning, and the rest has been well documented," Gale said.
"He absolutely (should have played against Fremantle). It's been a big shock, but he's okay. It's been pretty big, but importantly he's got some wonderful people around him.
"At the end of the day, these are allegations, and we are going to operate on the presumption that he is innocent. Justice will run its course, or proceedings will run their course, but the best thing for him (is) to be back here, to be engaged at this club, working hard and continuing to be a really positive role model."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/950130/tigers-make-a-call-on-pickett-after-court-hearing
So if he is innocent until proved otherwise he should be playing. His mindset last weekend would have been unimaginable.
Just play him
Honestly his form over the past few weeks (clutch goal against giants aside) has been poor. Not sure how long he’s known about the police investigation and if this has been on his mind for longer than just this weekend. Due for a spell anyway, think it’s a good decision both from a football and non football sense.
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Off field to one side. I love him.
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I reckon much of why they'd not be playing him this week would be due to the expected abusive BS from opposition supporters...
Hoping it all gets sorted out and that the truth comes to bear.
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I reckon much of why they'd not be playing him this week would be due to the expected abusive BS from opposition supporters...
Hoping it all gets sorted out and that the truth comes to bear.
The Club would want the focus being purely about Cotch's 300th this weekend. Pickett playing and the outside circus that would come with it (from the media as well as opposition supporters) would distract from Cotch's milestone. Add in the bye and it gives the Club and Marlion two weeks for the footy world to move on.
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#EXCLUSIVE - tonight there are new long-term ramifications for Marlion Pickett’s football future. @cleary_mitch can reveal that the dual premiership Tiger is just two games away from hitting a contract trigger for a fresh deal. #7NEWS
https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/1668540839025610754
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Cleary has a face u just want to smack. Same same for Parrot, Wankley and Karen
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‘It was a shock’: Moment Tigers learned of Pickett charges as contract details revealed
Ben Cotton
Fox Sports
June 14th, 2023
Richmond champion Jack Riewoldt says the club will wrap its arms around Marlion Pickett while he’s accused of serious burglary charges in Western Australia.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Tuesday night, Riewoldt admitted the club was in shock when it first learned of the charges.
“It was a shock from when we were called to a meeting late Sunday night,” Riewoldt said.
“It was sort of (one of) those ones where you get the meeting request come in and say we’re meeting in five minutes. “You go: ‘Alright, something’s happened, certainly not good.’
“So certainly it’s shocked a lot of people. Especially our Indigenous players at our football club who see Marlion as an older brother.
“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge for us and making sure our group is right and making sure Marlion and his family is right as well.
“It’s obviously looking after your people ... football clubs are families and they look after people.
“Right now the best environment for Marlion Pickett to be in is inside the four walls of the Richmond Football Club and be back here in Victoria with his family.”
The West Australian is set to return to training on Thursday as he eyes a return against the Lions at the Gabba in Round 16 after Richmond’s bye in Round 15.
Riewoldt said the call to make him unavailable this weekend would allow some breathing space for all parties.
“The decision was made due to a whole host of things and a real emotion about is as well,” Riewoldt said.
“The fact we have the bye after this week as well gives it a big of clean air and clearer thinking for the club and Marlion as well.
“I think cooler heads prevail, let the dust settle a little bit then start to make educated decisions after the two weeks he won’t be playing AFL football.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/richmond-tigers/afl-2023-jack-riewoldt-speaks-on-marlion-pickett-charges-return-to-richmond-tigers-two-games-shy-of-contract-trigger-future-latest-news/news-story/397cc3c58e3449f32a52f756d0fe8820
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Pickett welcomed back into Tigers fold
Shayne Hope
AAP
Thu, 15 June 2023 12:56PM
Former Richmond captain Trent Cotchin says it was "business as usual" for Marlion.Pickett on his return to the AFL club, three days after he faced a Perth court.
Pickett was granted bail on Monday after appearing on 12 charges including four counts of aggravated burglary, three counts of stealing and three counts of criminal damage.
The 31-year-old resumed training with Tigers teammates at Punt Rd on Thursday, but won't be selected to play against St Kilda on Saturday night.
"It was good to have Marlion in this morning, out there training," Cotchin told reporters.
"He's such an important part of our footy club and our team.
"What he brings is really special from a leadership point of view, not just with our Indigenous boys but our whole group.
"Knowing the person that Marlion is, he'll stay strong and we'll be right behind him."
On arrival at Punt Rd on Thursday morning, Pickett told reporters he was grateful to Richmond for welcoming him back and was hopeful of playing football again soon.
The utility is expected to be considered for selection for the game against Brisbane in round 16, after the Tigers' mid-season bye.
Richmond officials were made aware of the allegations against Pickett late last week and knew he would be required to speak to police after the Tigers' clash with Fremantle at Optus Stadium last Saturday night.
Cotchin said details were were held back from Pickett's teammates before the match, which Richmond won by 15 points.
"I don't think the playing group had any sight of it, which is a credit to the way that the management have managed that process," Cotchin said.
"My response was as it is with everyone; I don't like to make assumptions. That's one of the rules that I go by.
"We love Marlion for who he is and what he brings to our footy club, and we'll be right behind him."
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/pickett-welcomed-back-into-tigers-fold-c-10985879
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Marlion Pickett tight-lipped as he fronts for Richmond training
Leon Kyriakos
HeraldSun
June 15, 2023
Marlion Pickett has arrived at Richmond set to train with the club for the first time since his arrest over a series of alleged burglaries in Perth.
The 31-year-old was tight-lipped to reporters as he walked into the Punt Rd training base on Thursday morning but said the “club has been really great” in their support of him.
Pickett was released from custody on Monday on $50,000 bail after appearing in a Perth court charged with 12 charges including four counts of aggravated burglary.
Tigers CEO Brendon Gale said on Tuesday that it was important Pickett remained engaged at Tigerland.
“He wanted to play. You wouldn’t expect anything else,” Gale said.
“We think that’s really important for him to do that at this stage and for his family and we fully expect him to play against Brisbane in two weeks’ time.
“We think the best thing for him is to be back here to be engaged in this club, working hard and continuing to be a really positive role model.”
(https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/9d218b8d9fa227ab47d0b4632a4f903f)
(https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/15beaadafaf0c308bc0e8bfbe20a11c8)
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/marlion-pickett-tightlipped-as-he-fronts-for-richmond-training/news-story/132a321d46c27607a9b2f3533a3e923a
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'We look after him': Tigers dismiss sweeping Pickett situation under rug
By AAP
16 June 2023
RICHMOND caretaker coach Andrew McQualter insists Marlion Pickett doesn't need to address Tigers teammates in relation to facing a Perth court.
Pickett was granted bail on Monday after appearing on 12 charges, including four counts of aggravated burglary, three counts of stealing and three counts of criminal damage.
The 31-year-old resumed training with Tigers teammates at Punt Rd on Thursday, but has not been selected for the clash with St Kilda on Saturday night.
McQualter confirmed the dual premiership star will be free to return against Brisbane in round 16, after the Tigers' bye.
"He's a resilient guy," McQualter told reporters on Friday.
"He's been through a lot in his life, Marlion. We thought this week was appropriate just to give him the time off, but he'll be fine."
McQualter dismissed suggestions Richmond are sweeping the Pickett situation under the rug but said the utility will not be required to explain himself to his teammates.
"He doesn't need to address our group," McQualter said.
"We love Marlion, we look after him and we understand what he's about."
McQualter echoed Tigers veteran Trent Cotchin's sentiments in saying the club will continue to support Pickett.
"We've just thrown our arms around him this week and welcomed him back to the club on Thursday," McQualter said.
"We love Marlion in our team. It's been a big week for him emotionally, but we'll just continue to support him."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/950881/-we-look-after-him-tigers-dismiss-sweeping-pickett-situation-under-rug
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Why the Tigers wrapped their arms around troubled star Marlion Pickett
By Michael Gleeson and Rebecca Peppiatt
The Age
June 17, 2023
The AFL knew before Marlion Pickett did that the police wanted to speak to the Richmond player about aggravated burglaries in Perth last summer.
The league was contacted on Wednesday last week by Perth’s Midland Police saying they wanted to speak to a Richmond player, Marlion Pickett.
Former homicide squad detective and Carlton reserves player Tony Keane, of the AFL’s integrity department, took the call and referred police to the Tigers.
The club spoke with Pickett, 31, and the player’s Perth-based manager, Anthony Van Der Wielen, to alert them to the approach.
The police were aware Richmond were playing in Perth and were keen to talk to Pickett while he was there. The police didn’t mind if he came in on Friday or played the game on Saturday night and came in on Sunday.
No problem. They agreed he’d play against the Fremantle Dockers, and meet with police on Sunday.
At no point did Pickett, Van Der Wielen, Richmond officials or Pickett’s lawyer, David Manera, anticipate when they walked into Midland Police station that Pickett wouldn’t be walking out with them.
Pickett’s is the ultimate redemption story, of an Indigenous man with a challenging background who rebuilt his life and played in a premiership in his first AFL game. Last Sunday night, the fairytale threatened to unravel.
This masthead has spoken to senior people at Richmond and close to Pickett, who were not comfortable speaking publicly for privacy reasons and because his case is before the courts, to reconstruct the events of last weekend, and understand why the Tigers wrapped their arms around him.
By the time Pickett met with police, his long-term partner and the couple’s four children aged between six and 13, had already boarded a flight home to Melbourne. There had been no reason to doubt Pickett would be following soon afterwards.
The key leaders at Richmond – the CEO, head of football and acting senior coach – knew about the police meeting, but the players weren’t told for the simple reason there was no reason to. The fact Marlion wasn’t on the plane with them was not a surprise, for other WA-based players had stayed an extra night in Perth to see their families.
The police questioned Pickett over a spate of aggravated burglaries in Perth over the Christmas period when he had been visiting family and recovering from surgery to repair a hand he had broken in training in November.
That Sunday night, police charged Pickett with four counts of aggravated burglary, four counts of stealing, three counts of criminal damage or destruction of property and one count of receiving. He was remanded in the cells for the night before he could appear before a magistrate the next morning to apply for bail.
Richmond’s star forward, Jack Riewoldt, said this week that the players knew nothing of this until they received a text from the club to join an online meeting. They logged in and were told the news.
“It was a shock from when we were called to a meeting late Sunday night,” Riewoldt told AFL 360.
“It was sort of [one of] those ones where you get the meeting request come in and say we’re meeting in five minutes. “You go, ‘All right, something’s happened, certainly not good.’
“So certainly it’s shocked a lot of people. Especially our Indigenous players at our football club who see Marlion as an older brother.
“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge for us and making sure our group is right and making sure Marlion and his family is right as well.”
Pickett is a loved figure at Richmond. His deep empathy for other players meant many in the group became upset when they learned where he was. They didn’t have any detail of the allegations against him, but the visceral response of those who knew him was disbelief.
Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and when it is someone you know, love and trust that presumption is even stronger. In Pickett’s case their understanding of who he was and where he had come from to turn his life around to make it at football’s top level only deepened their sense of shock.
Richmond CEO Brendon Gale admitted to his shock at the charges for he understood the challenges Pickett had confronted in his life. He stressed that while these were serious charges, they were also as yet untested and Pickett was entitled to the presumption of innocence.
“Nothing has come easy [for Pickett], but through the force of his will, against all the odds, through the love of his family and the care of football clubs, he’s turned his life around,” Gale said.
“He’s had to overcome a lot of challenges, some many of us could never imagine. He’s been an inspiration to me, to many.”
The players, upset for their teammate, gathered again. Some were angry he had been made to spend the night in the cells. Just tell him we love him. We are there for him. Anything he needs. Sources said that was the essence of the messages the players wanted the club to convey to Pickett.
Perth Magistrates Court is a brutalist architectural structure. Pre-cast grey concrete, almost windowless above the ground-floor entry, it has thin diagonal concrete panels across the few dark glass windows of the upper levels.
Pickett was familiar with the building and the system. His background is one of difficulty and disadvantage that is truly difficult to understand from the big eastern seaboard cities. A Noongar man, Pickett spent much of his early life in Perth’s northern suburbs, although his family moved to Manjimup, in south-west WA, when he was 11, and he spent his early teens there.
He had served 30 months in jail for burglaries in his late teens. These details, while widely known from a TV documentary and Pickett’s 2021 book, Belief, were also facts led in court at the bail hearing. These facts also informed the redemption story of Marlion Pickett, the footballer.
Pickett had more reasons to not make it as a footballer than make it.
“I stuffed up in the past. Probably boredom,” he said on the 2012 ABC documentary, Outside Chance, about a criminal justice program that allowed inmates of the minimum security Woorooloo Prison Farm to play football matches against local teams. He was sheepish about his past but also unsparing with the truth. He owned what he had done.
“Alcohol. Being brought up around drugs. Everything goes downhill from there. Guess you’ve got nothing to look forward to, so you start committing crimes, then from crime, you end up in here.”
When he was released from prison in 2013, Pickett walked into South Fremantle Football Club determined to make it as a footballer. He swore off alcohol and has not had a drink in the 11 years since.
In 2019, Pickett was picked in the mid-year draft by Richmond at the age of 27. He had broken a thumb days before the draft and thought the injury would ruin his dream. Richmond picked him anyway.
He arrived in Melbourne on his own, leaving his partner and four kids at home as he attempted to settle in and apply himself to football without distraction. The family arrived soon afterwards.
Pickett made his debut in the 2019 grand final. Think of that, your first game of AFL football is on the biggest day of the football calendar in front of 100,000 people at the MCG and untold millions on TV. It is one of the biggest games the club has played in decades and the coach, and the club, trust you in your first game to be there with them. His first move was a stunning pirouette out of the middle. He played well. He won a premiership on debut. The next year when Richmond won a second successive flag Pickett was there again.
In Perth Magistrates Court, Pickett’s two lives collided. His history in that city and its justice system, and his career as an AFL footballer. The public seats were full of media.
The court heard that Pickett had been charged in connection with break-ins at four businesses in Perth over the last Christmas-New Year period and cash worth about $360,000 was stolen from safes.
During the bail application, prosecutors said Pickett could be tied to the alleged crimes because his mobile phone was found to have “pinged” from a mobile reception tower near one of the burglary locations at the time the offence was being committed.
But defence lawyer David Manera told the bail hearing it was well established that using this type of evidence to substantiate charges was unreliable and that it only proved that his phone was in the area, rather than the owner of the phone.
Two amounts of money $6000 and $9000 had been deposited into Pickett’s account on one day by other alleged co-offenders.
A campervan that was used allegedly to transfer some of the money interstate had been rented in Pickett’s name. CCTV footage also showed individuals wearing workwear clothing similar to that police said had been purchased by Pickett.
Manera said in court the clothing allegedly used in the offences had not been seized from Pickett’s home “or any of the property the subject of these charges”.
He added that no DNA evidence had been found at the scene to link Pickett to the crimes.
“You can’t identify in the photographs who the offenders were,” he said. “There are other photographs, but they do not have Mr Pickett at the offence site.”
Magistrate Erin O’Donnell said the charges were serious and if proven would almost certainly draw an immediate custodial sentence. She said the evidence was presently circumstantial.
“The strength of the evidence, it would appear, is largely circumstantial. It may well remain a circumstantial case against Mr Pickett unless some evidence emerges from the scene,” she said.
“It would seem that the links are established via bank records, the factor of the phone ping having some connection to a brother-in-law who is going to be a co-accused and the clothing that is similar to clothing purchased from an outlet. All of those factors together may well in due course amount to a strong circumstantial case.
“I am not in a position to say the evidence is overwhelming ... these offences are very serious and at this stage there seems to be some good circumstantial evidence.”
Pickett’s lawyer told the court that Pickett was a paid mentor for Indigenous youth through Richmond’s Korin Gamadji Institute. Pickett is the sole provider for his family, so a prison term would be devastating.
Pickett was granted bail, with strict conditions regarding contacting five alleged co-accused offenders. He must also report once a week to a police station, but during the week to allow him to continue his AFL career.
Outside court Manera expressed his dismay that Pickett had been forced to spend the night in jail and apply for bail.
“I was surprised because they’ve got the option of releasing him from the police station and with a person with his record, and most importantly a massive gap in criminal offending, I would’ve thought it was appropriate to release him straight from the police station,” he said.
He said the prosecution’s case was circumstantial but said that “doesn’t mean it’s a weak case, doesn’t mean it’s a strong case”.
Pickett boarded a plane to Melbourne accompanied by Richmond list manager Blair Hartley. The club and Pickett agreed that given what he had been through it was best that he did not attempt to play football this weekend, against St Kilda on Saturday night, and that he instead spend time with his family.
‘Right now the best environment for Marlion Pickett to be in is inside the four walls of the Richmond Football Club and be back here in Victoria with his family.’
- Jack Riewoldt
He stayed away from the club, not wanting to be a distraction. Richmond’s Indigenous player development manager, Ange Burt, went to Pickett’s home in Melbourne’s north during the week with food packages from the club. Television media were parked outside the house and Pickett and his family didn’t want to go out and be filmed.
His teammates wanted to throw their arms around Pickett and sent him texts of support, but he was more concerned for them, and the pending match. He returned to Richmond’s Punt Road headquarters for training on Thursday.
“It’s obviously looking after your people... Football clubs are families and they look after people,” Riewoldt said.
“Right now the best environment for Marlion Pickett to be in is inside the four walls of the Richmond Football Club and be back here in Victoria with his family.”
Gale said the week off, which is followed by a bye for the Tigers, gave Pickett time to allow the focus on him to abate and get back into his routine.
“He’ll prepare with the team, he’ll train, he’ll be turning up and engaging, which, we think, is really important for him to do that at this stage and we fully expect him to play against Brisbane in two weeks time.”
In two games, Pickett will activate a trigger for another year on his contract, which runs to the end of this season. Richmond are just as eager for Pickett to play those games as he is. They want him to hit that trigger and bring on that contract to give him some reassurance with his football career while so many other things are in doubt and turmoil.
“Nothing has come easy to Marlion,” Gale said. “He has had to deal with challenges and we drafted him eyes wide open acknowledging, I guess, the incredible work he had done to turn his life around with great support from his family, support from South Fremantle, us and we will continue to support him and that’s what we do as a football club.”
Pickett is due to appear in court again via video link on August 21.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/why-the-tigers-wrapped-their-arms-around-troubled-star-marlion-pickett-20230614-p5dgf3.html
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I’m glad the club is sticking with him. Innocent until proven guilty.
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From a fairytale to dark clouds: Richmond never saw the arrest of Marlion Pickett coming
When the AFL called Richmond officials midway through last week to inform them that Perth police wanted to speak to Marlion Pickett, the Tigers were stunned. This is what happened next.
Scott Gullan
HeraldSun
June 19, 2023 - 12:48PM
Richmond never saw it coming.
When the AFL called Tigers officials midway through last week to inform them that Perth police wanted to speak to Marlion Pickett, they were stunned.
The AFL Integrity Unit had taken the initial call from Midland Police who said they wanted to speak to the Richmond player while he was in Perth to play Fremantle about a string of aggravated burglaries over the summer.
While the details were sketchy, the timeline added up as Pickett spent time back home with his family as he recovered from hand surgery suffered at training in November.
The Tigers spoke to Pickett and his manager, Perth-based Anthony Van Der Wielen, and it was agreed that he needed to focus on the game against Fremantle and that they’d deal with everything else after that. It was also decided that his teammates wouldn’t be told of the pending police interview.
The Tigers, under new coach Andrew McQualter, had kept their season alive with a breakthrough win over the GWS Giants in Sydney the previous week.
They still had a sniff and didn’t need any unnecessary distraction while Pickett’s role in the team was also crucial against the Dockers.
What had thrown the Tigers’ hierarchy was despite his much-celebrated history, which included a jail stint more than a decade ago, Pickett was almost the last person they expected to be back on the wrong side of the law.
Since he first arrived at Richmond via the mid-season draft in 2019, he had become a much-loved servant on and off the field.
His redemption story is straight out of a Hollywood script and has already been made into a book given his first AFL game, at the age of 27, was in the 2019 grand final.
Pickett became the first VFL/AFL player in 67 years to debut in a grand final and the first since 1926 to win a flag in his first match.
The moment when he kicked a goal in the third quarter against the Giants is still referred to by those who were there as one of the loudest roars they’d ever heard at the MCG.
A finger injury had delayed the start of his career with the Tigers after he was plucked out of the WAFL where he’d rebuilt his life at South Fremantle, making the West Australian state team and finishing third in the best and fairest in 2018.
He’d taken the place of his good friend Tim Kelly in the midfield after he got his long-awaited shot as a mature aged recruit in the AFL with Geelong.
Pickett was a clear standout in the WAFL and while Gold Coast thought long and hard about taking him – his dubious past scared them off – the Tigers were coming off premiership success in 2017 and were more than prepared to take a risk.
The week before the 2019 AFL grand final, Pickett had starred in Richmond’s VFL premiership victory, winning the medal for the best player on the ground.
And with a spot in the grand final team open after Jack Graham injured his shoulder in the preliminary final, Damien Hardwick had no hesitation in picking Pickett and putting in motion one of football’s greatest feel good stories.
Twelve months later Pickett won his second premiership and had quickly established himself as a leader at Punt Rd. While he’d only been there for a short time, the Tigers other Indigenous players, including rising stars Shai Bolton and Daniel Rioli, were already looking up to him.
He started working at the club’s Korin Gamadji Institute where he became an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth ambassador as he settled into a quiet life in Melbourne with his partner Jessica Nannup and four young children.
After earning just $85,000 as a rookie and then having his pay cut during the Covid lockdown, Pickett went from having to apply to the AFL for financial hardship assistance to rolling in cash thanks to a two-year deal in 2020 worth around $1 million.
He then signed a contract extension to include 2023 with triggers in terms of games played – he has two games to go – to get him a fresh deal for 2024.
So when he ventured home in December, Pickett’s life was seemingly in a good space. What happened in it over the Christmas and New Year break is something that probably won’t be known in full detail for some time.
The police gave Pickett their version of events last Sunday when he walked into Midland Police Station following the Tigers win over Fremantle and sat down with major crime detectives. What happened next again caught Richmond by surprise.
They thought he was just assisting with an investigation, instead the Tigers star was arrested on the spot and hit with 12 charges including stealing, criminal damage to a property and aggravated burglary.
As his family and teammates flew back to Victoria, Pickett spent the night in jail before facing a magistrate on Monday morning where he was freed after securing a $50,000 bail and depositing a further $50,000 surety.
Police alleged Pickett and his brother-in-law, along with four other co-accused, stole more than $380,000 in a spate of commercial burglaries and hired a campervan to move the money across the country.
The circumstantial evidence against Pickett included his phone having “pinged” near one of the burglary locations at the time the offence was being committed. It was also alleged the campervan used to transfer the money interstate was rented in his name and that he purchased clothing worn by the offenders.
Pickett then allegedly received payments of $6000 and $9000 into his bank account.
The news of his arrest shocked the football world and as one person who had seen Pickett’s life turnaround from close range said: “It is the most unfathomable, unbelievable thing you can imagine.
“But none of us would understand the depths of the journey and the challenges, the resilience he showed to get where he did. He has dealt with some awful stuff.”
Whether he fell back in with the wrong crowd from his teenage years is one theory or there was pressure to help out his extended family which in Indigenous culture comes before anything else.
There has been talk of outlaw motorbike gangs being involved and that the spree over December and January in which police have implicated Pickett is only the tip of the iceberg of a far bigger and more widespread operation.
As a teenager Pickett had run-ins with police and then soon after his 18th birthday, he began using methamphetamine and committed a series of burglaries and robberies to fund the habit.
He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in Perth’s hardcore Acacia Prison after being found guilty of 17 counts of burglary and one count of aggravated burglary.
In a rare interview in the Herald Sun two years ago Pickett opened up about his troubled upbringing.
When asked what advice he would give a 15-year-old version of himself, he said: “I’d say, if someone was looking to give you some advice, then take a seat and have a listen – and then it’s up to you if you want to make a change in your life.
“Prison is different. You might think it’s fun and games while you’re a teenager but the adult system is a lot different to the kids’ prisons. You see a lot of things in there that you don’t want to see, and it kind of changes you a bit.
“I didn’t really have anyone to give me that advice.
”It woke me up and changed my perspective on who my true friends were because I didn’t really have anyone apart from my missus come and visit me.
“We all change, but if you really want to change you’ve got to do it for yourself and I had something (family and footy) to change for.
“I didn’t really want my kids growing up and doing the same things that I’d done.”
Those heartfelt statements are why so many at Richmond are reeling from the events of the past week. They can’t get their heads around it - the players were called to an urgent Sunday night meeting where they were informed - but have rallied around their embattled midfielder.
After consultation with the AFL, the Tigers decided it was best to rest Pickett from Saturday night’s game against St Kilda with the bye the following week allowing him extra time to get his head right.
His bail conditions allow him to continue playing and Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said as far as the club was concerned Pickett is innocent until proven otherwise.
Premiership captain Trent Cotchin gave an insight into the players’ feelings on Thursday when Pickett returned to training at Punt Rd.
“We love Marlion for who he is and what he brings to our footy club, and we‘ll be right behind him,” Cotchin said. “He’s such an important part of our footy club and our team.
“What he brings is really special from a leadership point of view, not just Indigenous boys but our whole group.
“Knowing the person that Marlion is, he’ll stay strong and we’ll be right behind him.”
The next court date is in August and the matter could drag on for even longer. Sadly, as will the dark cloud which is now hanging over one of the game’s great modern-day fairytales.
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/from-a-fairytale-to-dark-clouds-richmond-never-saw-the-arrest-of-marlion-pickett-coming/news-story/2e2f0ee541384a09992d12234338859c
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Tiger nearing contract for 2024
Marlion Pickett is set to reclaim his spot in Richmond’s senior side after this week’s bye, edging him closer to guaranteeing his spot on next year’s list.
The 31-year-old had played every game this season before Tigers chief executive Brendon Gale announced he would sit out last week’s match with St Kilda after being charged with 12 alleged offences, including stealing, criminal damage to a property, and aggravated burglary.
A Perth court granted Pickett bail, and he plans to defend himself against the charges, his manager, Anthony Van Der Wielen confirmed.
Pickett needs to play only two more matches to meet a contract trigger that will earn him a contract for 2024, a source confirmed to Money Talks on the condition of anonymity.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/carlton-s-interest-in-saints-star-pickett-on-the-verge-of-new-tigers-deal-why-harley-reid-is-so-special-20230619-p5dhn4.html
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Marlion is playing tomorrow tonight according to McQualter.
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Richmond take an ‘innocent until proven guilty’ stance with Marlion Pickett
Marco Monteverde and Russell Gould
The Australian
5.27pm June 28, 2023
Richmond interim coach Andrew McQualter has defended the selection of Marlion Pickett for the Tigers’ battle with Brisbane on Thursday night despite criminal charges hanging over the star midfielder’s head.
Pickett, 31, missed Richmond’s most recent match, a 20-point win over St Kilda on June 17, after he was rrested and charged in earlier this month in Perth for a host of alleged offences, including four counts of aggravated burglary.
However, having been granted bail ahead of a committal hearing in August, Pickett will return for the Tigers at the Gabba.
“I think it’s really important that you’re innocent until proven guilty, and that’s the stance we’ve taken on Marlion,” McQualter said.
“Marlion’s a really tough, resilient person, so he’ll be fine … Marlion’s ready to play.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/richmond-concede-star-forward-tim-lynch-may-not-play-in-2023/news-story/0ae876f0ab66d77c991a0d86a1202fad
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Marlion also fined $2000 by the MRO.
Charges laid:
Marlion Pickett, Richmond, has been charged with rough conduct on West Coast's Jeremy McGovern during the fourth quarter of the Round 18 match between Richmond and West Coast played at Optus Stadium on Sunday, July 16, 2023. The incident was graded as careless contact, low impact and body contact.
The incident was classified as a $3000 sanction as a first offence. In summary, Pickett can accept a $2000 sanction with an early plea.
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1383300/martin-pickett-fined-by-mro
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Can’t recall the incident. Gee he gets shafted
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Can’t recall the incident. Gee he gets shafted
Nothing to it, fair hard bump, those WCE bastards were into him all day
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he is finished with his ineffective one handed attempts at a mark Wouldn't give him any more games unless its in the backline.
He is playing putrid and since he got arrested has been mostly terrible. Would be glad to see the back of him to be honest and replaced with someone younger. Surely anyone is better than him at the moment?
If he guilty then good riddance and throw away the key.
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I think he’s been poor ever since he got moved to the fwd line. Have pretty much listed him as an out in every “changes” thread since maybe week 2 or 3 of him playing there. But I dunno thought he was a lot more involved today.
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Seems to be getting himself into a tangle with the ball for no good reason a lot - like he just suddenly forgets where he is and what he's supposed to be doing. Would also be nice if he actually held one of those attempted speccys for once. Building quite an impressive collection of almost motys to rival Shane Edwards. :shh
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I think he’s been poor ever since he got moved to the fwd line. Have pretty much listed him as an out in every “changes” thread since maybe week 2 or 3 of him playing there. But I dunno thought he was a lot more involved today.
sheesh i agree. Has definately struggled since losing his wing spot. Another case of a mid struggling as a forward when we should be either playing him back on his wing or dropping him and playing a natural fwd.
Still think McIntosh is a protected species Marlion imo is a far better option on a wing than him.
Dont know how Ross went today but i didnt see him in the last quarter.
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One of Doggie idiots in the crowd reached over the fence and grabbed Pickett. No mention yet what was said to Marlion.
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Last year
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Last year
Tonight.
https://www.afl.com.au/video/993604/pickett-subjected-to-crowd-contact-after-dogs-goal
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‘Should be banned for life’: Shocking crowd scenes as fan blasted for ‘dangerous’ act
Catherine Healey
Fox Sports
August 4th, 2023 10:29 pm
The AFL should move to ban the fan who reached out and repeatedly touched Tiger Marlion Pickett at Marvel Stadium on Friday night, Fox Footy’s Jordan Lewis believes.
Pickett had been beaten in a one-on-one making contest with Bulldog Marcus Bontempelli and overcommitted.
As Bontempelli ran into the open goal, Pickett was left getting to his feet over the boundary line.
With his back to the crowd, a rogue fan reached out and patted Pickett repeatedly on the shoulder and then started gesturing to the Tiger as he turned around.
A security guard, who was seated just a metre away, quickly got to his feet to step in between the fan and Pickett.
The Tigers premiership hero could be seen swiping at the man’s hand as he returned to his seat.
Lewis described the whole ordeal, which unfolded late in the third term, as unacceptable.
“You never ever, ever, ever touch a player on the ground – I don’t care who you are,” he said.
“That fan right there should be banned for life.”
Fellow Fox Footy commentator Jonathan Brown agreed it was an unacceptable situation for Pickett to be placed in, and praised his ability to walk away from the confrontation.
“(The fan) should be kicked out,” he said.
“We don’t want to ever see that in a game.
“It’s such a dangerous situation.
“Marlion Pickett should be congratulated for keeping under control.
“He could have quite easy gone bang! and put one on his chin.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/should-be-banned-for-life-shocking-crowd-scenes-as-fan-blasted-for-dangerous-act/news-story/05b08e078595e1e08ffa203ea64c09c7
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Was probably tapping him to say how crap he is.
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Been horribly out of form since his arrest and being charged in WA
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'It shouldn't happen': McQualter slams fan's Pickett contact
Richmond interim coach Andrew McQualter says players should never be touched by fans when they're on the field, after a spectator made contact with Marlion Pickett over the fence.
By AAP
5 August 2023
THE AFL will likely investigate an ugly incident at Marvel Stadium after Richmond utility Marlion Pickett was touched over the fence by a fan.
Just before three-quarter-time in Friday night's match, Pickett was chasing Bulldogs superstar Marcus Bontempelli into the Tigers' defensive 50 and he ran right towards the fence.
A fan in the crowd reached over to mockingly put a hand on Pickett’s shoulder, with the dual Richmond premiership player turning around and knocking a drink out of the supporter’s hand.
As soon as the siren sounded at three-quarter-time, Pickett made a beeline towards the same section of the crowd where the incident happened and briefly interacted with a security guard.
The 31-year-old had a long conversation with Richmond football boss Tim Livingstone before the final quarter began, which Pickett started sitting on the bench.
Interim Richmond coach Andrew McQualter said it was "disappointing" the incident happened.
"I don't know the full details, but it shouldn't happen," he said.
"We love fans in our game, and they're so critical to our game, but our players should never, ever be touched when they're on the football field.
"I think all Marlion was doing was alerting Tim (Livingstone) to the fact that something happened, and just getting security to deal with it and the AFL will deal with it now."
Back in 2018, an Adelaide supporter was banned from attending games at the Adelaide Oval for the rest of that season after reaching over the fence and touching Bulldogs captain Easton Wood on the backside.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/993672/-it-shouldn-t-happen-mcqualter-slams-fan-s-pickett-contact
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Fan cops long ban for contact with Tiger Pickett
By Martin Smith and staff writers
afl.com.au
7 August 2023
A PATRON has been banned from attending AFL and AFLW games for more than a year after making contact with Richmond player Marlion Pickett at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.
The incident occurred during the third quarter of Richmond's loss to the Western Bulldogs, when the patron stood up in his seat, leant over the fence and patted Pickett on the shoulder three times while he had his back turned.
The dual Richmond premiership player turned around and knocked a drink out of the supporter's hand in response.
The patron, who is not an AFL or club member and was sitting in the general admission section of the ground, has been banned from attending matches until October next year.
"We have the best fans in the world and more than 6.4 million people have attended the footy this year and we want everyone who comes to the footy to cheer for their team and enjoy the experience of being there, but when you overstep the boundaries, which is what happened on Friday night, then you will lose the privilege of being able to attend the footy," said Kylie Rogers, the AFL's executive general manager customer and commercial.
"Our clear message is this – we love the interactions between players and fans especially in the precious moments pre and post-game – however what we saw on Friday night during the match is not acceptable and never will be."
https://www.afl.com.au/news/997577/fan-cops-long-ban-for-contact-with-tiger-pickett
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Marlion interviewed about it by Ch 9 today:
Watch here: https://twitter.com/9NewsMelb/status/1688465247852503040
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Fan cops long ban for contact with Tiger Pickett
https://www.afl.com.au/news/997577/fan-cops-long-ban-for-contact-with-tiger-pickett
14 months is not long ban, it's a slap on the wrist
Guarantee if it was another player it would have been longer
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Wonder what the dog said to Pickett as well
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Fan cops long ban for contact with Tiger Pickett
https://www.afl.com.au/news/997577/fan-cops-long-ban-for-contact-with-tiger-pickett
14 months is not long ban, it's a slap on the wrist
Guarantee if it was another player it would have been longer
Hahaha stuff I've heard it all now. 14 months is sufficient
In fact Pickett should get 14 months for being a pussy about the whole thing.
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So he goes to the next game with another ticket, how will they know
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Just watching Cornes baiting Caro, the background footage showed Marlion in defense.
Poor buggers best position is on the wing and he is used as a stopgap all over the ground.
We are just stretched too thin atm
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Another that has gone backwards this season. Being played as a forward ward didn't help inho but he seems to have lost all confidence since his troubles with the law.
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He can go. Won’t serve any benefit staying on the list
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I would be happy to never see him again at punt road.
He should retire with Cotch.
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Should have been dropped 6 weeks ago. This is the reason we need a new coach
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Agree on surface. But this is what happens when a player is stuffed around with the position they play. He's not a fwd.
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Why isn’t he in the team photo from today around the 3 cups?
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Why isn’t he in the team photo from today around the 3 cups?
He was there (right side of Jack in the photo below at the back near Maurice and Bolton). The angle of some of the photos have Marlion obscured by Floss just in front of him.
(https://www.aflphotos.com.au/image/imagerender?key=42156100&src=afl-gal-600w-0h)
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I hope it's the last photo I see of him on the mcg. His time has come and come quick.
He is bordering on a VFL player, and even that is a stretch.
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I hope it's the last photo I see of him on the mcg. His time has come and come quick.
He is bordering on a VFL player, and even that is a stretch.
I don't know how much is him and how much is the team.
Playing him forward has been a disaster. Was going well on the wing.
Unsure if his personal stuff is impacting him but I know the positional stuff is.
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I've seen enough Andy. Time for him to go. Was he really dominating on the wing? I think he was playing better than now sure, but that's coming off a very low base.
If we are serious cull him. Banks to take that wing.
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He was much better on the wing. Other than the clutch goal against the giants, him as a fwd just hasn’t been it. He will be 32 at the start of next season, kmac will be 30 and both are just on rolling 1 year contracts. We have a couple of cubs that look suited to a wing role so I agree they should both start being phased out next year.
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Couple of points
He is contracted for next year, he hit a trigger so he has a contract. So based on that and depending on what happens with the legal mess he finds himself in he will be there next year
He hasn't been the same player since he got arrested and subsequently charged after the Eagles game
He isn't a forward but based on what we got told in a the pre-match yesterday up until yesterday he's been playing his role as a forward that they want him to play.
I don't think he should play next week based solely on form.
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I agree , with all that and that players are usually carry injuries it doesn’t surprise me he has lost some form.
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Is he contracted?
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Is he contracted?
::)
I posted this 2 posts back
He is contracted for next year, he hit a trigger so he has a contract. So based on that and depending on what happens with the legal mess he finds himself in he will be there next year
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Why isn’t he in the team photo from today around the 3 cups?
He was there (right side of Jack in the photo below at the back near Maurice and Bolton). The angle of some of the photos have Marlion obscured by Floss just in front of him.
(https://www.aflphotos.com.au/image/imagerender?key=42156100&src=afl-gal-600w-0h)
Thanks for the clarification!
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Clearly photoshopped....:shh
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Couple of points
He is contracted for next year, he hit a trigger so he has a contract. So based on that and depending on what happens with the legal mess he finds himself in he will be there next year
He hasn't been the same player since he got arrested and subsequently charged after the Eagles game
He isn't a forward but based on what we got told in a the pre-match yesterday up until yesterday he's been playing his role as a forward that they want him to play.
I don't think he should play next week based solely on form.
I agree with that as well but it may be coincidence he has not played well since he was moved from his wing position. To acknowledge that it would mean you have to be critical of the club.
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Pickett has not yet entered a plea, and will appear before the court on Wednesday December 6, but his manager stated upon his arrest Pickett would be defending himself against the charges.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/richmond-tigers/premiership-tiger-marlion-picketts-alleged-cooffender-admits-role-in-crime-spree/news-story/f04ef732fe47f33f39fe5904db0b97f2
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Dual AFL premiership player Marlion Pickett is expected to enter pleas to multiple charges, including aggravated burglary, next year after his latest court appearance was adjourned.
The matter was listed as a committal mention in Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday but was adjourned by consent until January 19.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/afl/article-12830811/Marlion-Pickett-court-burglary-charges-Perth-AFL-footy-Richmond-Tigers.html
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Player likely to lose his spot in the 22: Marlion Pickett
The two-time premiership hero played a pivotal out-of-position role as a marking forward to help alleviate the burden on Jack Riewoldt last season.
Before that he had made his home on the wing, performing an admirable role on the opposite side of Kamdyn McIntosh.
Pickett, who turns 32 in January, still has a bit to offer at senior level but it won’t surprise if he’s not a first choice selection in 2024.
Yze may want to look at younger options on the wing, while using Pickett as a fallback plan if Tom Lynch or Jacob Koschitzke are missing.
Source: SEN (https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/12/20/emerging-stars-and-redemption-stories-the-players-from-your-club-who-will/)
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Did I miss something this season where marlon pickett can be a back up KPF to Tom lynch?
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Did I miss something this season where marlon pickett can be a back up KPF to Tom lynch?
Laughable isn't it.
Lynch and Kosi go down so this peanut talks about Pickett.
Not Bauer. Not Ryan. Heck not even Miller or Balta given we have Gibcus, Young, Grimes and Broad down back.
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Did I miss something this season where marlon pickett can be a back up KPF to Tom lynch?
Laughable isn't it.
Lynch and Kosi go down so this peanut talks about Pickett.
Not Bauer. Not Ryan. Heck not even Miller or Balta given we have Gibcus, Young, Grimes and Broad down back.
I actually took it to mean being a back up forward might be the best chance for Pickett to play AFL
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Did I miss something this season where marlon pickett can be a back up KPF to Tom lynch?
Laughable isn't it.
Lynch and Kosi go down so this peanut talks about Pickett.
Not Bauer. Not Ryan. Heck not even Miller or Balta given we have Gibcus, Young, Grimes and Broad down back.
I actually took it to mean being a back up forward might be the best chance for Pickett to play AFL
I would rather play him anywhere else
Wing, HBF, heck even the ruck
He was the most useless as a forward and even I wanted to try him there for a while myself. Useless
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Premiership Tiger Marlion Pickett’s court appearance in Perth adjourned until early March
Ben Waterworth from Fox Sports
@bjwaterworth
January 21st, 2024 7:45 pm
Dual premiership Tiger Marlion Pickett’s court case over allegations of his involvement in a series of commercial burglaries is now due to take place just days before the start of the AFL season.
Pickett, 32, was set to face Perth Magistrates Court on Friday last week to face 12 charges, but the case was adjourned until March 1.
Pickett’s Tigers are one of eight teams scheduled to take part in Opening Round, with Richmond to face the Gold Coast Suns at Heritage Bank Stadium in its season-opener. The club also has pre-season hit-outs scheduled against Melbourne (February 18) and Collingwood (February 27) next month.
It’s been alleged Pickett and Kurtley Thorne stole over $300,000 in a series of commercial burglaries, including stealing from safes at currency exchange businesses, across December 2022 and January 2023. The AFL player has also been accused of being part of a plan to transport the money across Australia in a campervan.
Pickett was arrested in June last year following Richmond’s game against Fremantle in Perth and spent a night in custody before being granted bail.
He has not yet entered a plea.
Anthony Van Der Wielen, Pickett’s manager, said last year that his client intended to defend himself against the charges.
“Due to the ongoing legal nature of the proceedings, Marlion, or myself will not be able to provide any further details, comment or clarification about the matter at this stage,” Van Der Wielen said in June.
“We understand and respect the public’s interest in this matter, but we also implore all to respect the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise, and to allow the legal proceedings to follow their due course without prejudice.”
Thorne, the alleged co-offender of Pickett, in November last year pleaded guilty to a series of charges – including aggravated burglary, stealing and property damage – in a Perth court.
Pickett had played 78 games for Richmond since being selected by the club in the 2019 mid-season rookie draft.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/richmond-tigers/afl-news-2024-marlion-pickett-latest-update-perth-magistrates-court-appearance-adjourned-until-march/news-story/cdfd62e8bb36dc676c39eb7a7ead62f2
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Richmond star Marlion Pickett set to face court days before Tigers’ season opener against Gold Coast
The West Australian
Sun, 21 January 2024 5:56PM
Richmond premiership star Marlion Pickett is set to face court for multiple charges including aggravated burglary just days out from the Tigers’ season opener.
Pickett, 31, was set to face Perth Magistrates court on Friday, January 19 after being accused of having involvement in several commercial burglaries between December 2022 and January 2023.
Paywall: https://thewest.com.au/sport/richmond-tigers/richmond-star-marlion-pickett-set-to-face-court-days-before-tigers-season-opener-against-gold-coast-c-13303331
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Pickett set to face court just days before season opener
After his Perth court appearance was adjourned, Tiger Marlion Pickett will have to wait to enter pleas to multiple charges – will he be available for Opening Round?
Paywall: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/afl-2024-richmond-premiership-star-marlion-picketts-perth-court-appearance-adjourned/news-story/0f534e4f174f8228dea8ac0c7d422dc8
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He really shouldn’t be playing in the ones anyway
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Premiership Tiger Marlion Pickett’s court appearance in Perth adjourned until early March
Ben Waterworth
Fox Sports
January 22nd, 2024
Dual premiership Tiger Marlion Pickett’s court case over allegations of his involvement in a series of commercial burglaries is now due to take place just days before the start of the AFL season.
Pickett, 32, was set to face Perth Magistrates Court on Friday last week to face 12 charges, but the case was adjourned until March 1.
Pickett’s Tigers are one of eight teams scheduled to take part in Opening Round, with Richmond to face the Gold Coast Suns at Heritage Bank Stadium in its season-opener. The club also has pre-season hit-outs scheduled against Melbourne (February 18) and Collingwood (February 27) next month.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/richmond-tigers/afl-news-2024-marlion-pickett-latest-update-perth-magistrates-court-appearance-adjourned-until-march/news-story/cdfd62e8bb36dc676c39eb7a7ead62f2
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He really shouldn’t be playing in the ones anyway
Certainly not on last seasons form. One of the most bizarre continued selections in the 22 last season.
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Pickett set for opening round despite looming court hearing
Marlion Pickett is free to take his place in Richmond’s Opening Round side to take on the Suns despite facing an upcoming committal hearing in Perth on serious charges.
Paywall: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/news/richmonds-marlion-pickett-free-to-play-in-opening-round-despite-facing-serious-charges-in-perth/news-story/87b16bbdef496c5d7b3c4ab9204097fa
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‘Disclosure issues’: Magistrate unhappy as Marlion Pickett’s court case stalls again
Rebecca Peppiatt
WA Today/Fairfax
March 2, 2024
A magistrate has vented her frustration at the pace at which charges against AFL star Marlion Pickett are progressing through the WA court system, stating she would not allow the matter to stall any longer.
Pickett, who hails from WA but plays for Richmond Football Club in Victoria, was arrested in June last year in connection to a spate of thefts across WA from early December 2022 to January 2023.
But since his first appearance in court for a bail application that was granted allowing him to continue his sporting obligations, Pickett’s matters have been back before the court four times with no appearance from him and no progression of the issues.
On Friday his charges were adjourned by consent again, with magistrate Sarah Oliver saying she wanted the matters to progress on the next occasion.
“This has been at committal mention since October last year and the accused has not appeared once,” she said.
“This is the fourth consent adjournment. No further adjournments by consent.”
Police prosecutors in the matter told Oliver there was a hold up over mobile phone location data, as well as “disclosure issues”.
Pickett has yet to enter a plea to the charges. It is alleged that he and his brother-in-law, along with four other co-accused, targeted companies in Perth in the suburbs of Nollamara, Girrawheen and Beechboro, and the town of Beverley, between December 2022 and January 2023. Police allege money was taken from safes. On one occasion, $325,000 was allegedly taken from a currency exchange.
“It’s said that the money is subject to some alleged laundering by the accused and co-accused in various states in Australia,” a police prosecutor told the court during Pickett’s bail application last year.
During Pickett’s bail application, prosecutors said he was tied to the alleged crimes because his phone “pinged” near one of the burglary locations at the time the offence was being committed.
It’s also alleged a campervan that was used to transfer some money interstate was rented in his name, and that he purchased clothing worn by the offenders.
Pickett then allegedly received payments of $6000 and $9000 into his bank account.
But defence lawyer David Manera said the case against his client was weak.
“The campervan that was rented in Mr Pickett’s name was taken by co-offenders across Australia,” he said.
“It’s not that Mr Pickett has taken property across Australia in a campervan.
“And the phone tower ping in the area, your honour will be aware that type of evidence can often be unreliable.
“All it may show is that that phone may have been in that area, it doesn’t show that the offender may have been in that area.”
Police opposed bail, noting Pickett’s previous jail sentence in 2011. However, Manera said he had only committed one criminal offence since then, for which he was fined.
He also argued that Pickett was the sole provider for his family, which included his de facto partner and his three children, aged between six and 13.
One of Pickett’s alleged co-accused, Kurtley Thorne, pleaded guilty to the same charges Pickett is accused of late last year. He will be sentenced later this year.
Pickett’s will be back before the court on March 27 and will likely be forced to appear in person, during the AFL season.
https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/disclosure-issues-magistrate-unhappy-as-marlion-pickett-s-court-case-stalls-again-20240301-p5f95v.html
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It's a racist witch hunt.. a phone ping in the area, that's all they have. Nothing. Total waste of time , but typical WA, they want every Aboriginal in jail
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It's a racist witch hunt.. a phone ping in the area, that's all they have. Nothing. Total waste of time , but typical WA, they want every Aboriginal in jail
What an absolute tosser. So its a poor old aboriginal who breaks the law and of course its the white west australians who want every black in jail.
You have NFI.
The bottom line is white black brown or whatever in WA if you break the law the expectation all will be treated the same.
Trust me that is exactly what happens.
Its funny call it what you like call it circumstance or call it discrimination call it what you like but the simple fact is aborigines who are a very small part of the population what 2% actually commit the most crimes but hey lets just label all whites racists because it suits your sensibilities.
The bottom line far too many Blacks are actually committing crimes for whatever reasons.
Me i was always bought up to treat people no matter where they are from how you would like to be treated yourself and the vast majority of people i know think exactly that way..
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It's a racist witch hunt.. a phone ping in the area, that's all they have. Nothing. Total waste of time , but typical WA, they want every Aboriginal in jail
What an absolute tosser. So its a poor old aboriginal who breaks the law and of course its the white west australians who want every black in jail.
You have NFI.
The bottom line is white black brown or whatever in WA if you break the law the expectation all will be treated the same.
Trust me that is exactly what happens.
Its funny call it what you like call it circumstance or call it discrimination call it what you like but the simple fact is aborigines who are a very small part of the population what 2% actually commit the most crimes but hey lets just label all whites racists because it suits your sensibilities.
The bottom line far too many Blacks are actually committing crimes for whatever reasons.
Me i was always bought up to treat people no matter where they are from how you would like to be treated yourself and the vast majority of people i know think exactly that way..
I have plenty of idea how things work in WA. You worry about the ideas you don't have nor knowledge
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Well you're in Italy apparently and clawski lives in WA. I know who I agree with in this case
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black, white, green, guilty, not guilty, or whatever he is. He is finished as a footballer and we need to find someone else that can push him out.
im over his rubbish
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black, white, green, guilty, not guilty, or whatever he is. He is finished as a footballer and we need to find someone else that can push him out.
im over his rubbish
Would be beneficial if he could somehow get to 100
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black, white, green, guilty, not guilty, or whatever he is. He is finished as a footballer and we need to find someone else that can push him out.
im over his rubbish
Would be beneficial if he could somehow get to 100
This is where the sub rule comes in handy.... :shh
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Well you're in Italy apparently and clawski lives in WA. I know who I agree with in this case
Remember krakouer, did time in WA for GBH, at the same time, I forget his name, white Aussie swimmer was found guilty of the same offence in Sydney, he got a good behaviour bond. I may be in Italy now, wgaf, WA legal system has always reamed aboriginals. Even Pickett, sentenced as an adult for car theft. Committed the offence when he was still 17, tried him at 18. If he was white he would not have served jail time. Dig deep into cases in WA. there are many more examples
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Yeah it's not really up the WA authorities to punish people for committing offences in NSW... :shh
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:lol
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Yeah it's not really up the WA authorities to punish people for committing offences in NSW... :shh
:clapping
Beat me to it.
Can't compare what happens in the NSW legal system to what happens in WA
It was a stupid comparison
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Lol krakouer with his young brother brutally beat up another Aboriginal and left him in hospital with serious head injury.
The attack was described as brutal and sustained. He got what he deserves.
Here we have an afl footballer who has had all the training in how to behave been taught what society expects what responsible behavior is and he and his brother go out and beat the living daylights out aof a bloke simply because the two families don't get along.
As i said no racism, black, brown, blue, green,or yes you got it white it don't matter. do that poo and you should expect jail time.The expectation from society should be its totally unacceptable and jail time.
On Marlion and footy. For me last year was horrid. He is a decent wingman but for me both he and McIntosh just dont give us enough and at age 32 with young blokes who have good attributes for the role i think its time especially where we are at to try younger options.
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why the stuff is this guy still playing? Is it because we feel sorry for him
I cant work it out because he is absolutely poo
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Cooked :shh
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Lost his pace , well what he had and composure.. may E the court case pending has got to him
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100 games for father son. Then wish him all the best.
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He is too far off that to continue playing him for that purpose. He’d have to play almost every game this season.
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He is too far off that to continue playing him for that purpose. He’d have to play almost every game this season.
There is no other reason why he is playing
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That's what the sub rule's for..... :shh
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When he went into the ruck in the 3rd he gave us 2 clearances
That were his highlights on the night
Too many costly turnovers, momentum killer moments
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For some reason, I suspect had Judson Clarke or Sam Banks played his role the way he did last night, they’d be getting dropped next week.
On the other hand, Marlion…..
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Banks & Clarke don't have three footy mad sons.... :shh
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If we are playing blokes for pressure and having oppo actually think about where a player is then im playing Marlion in front of others.
We dont have a lot who have his hardness people.
Still in saying that who do we play Mansell MRJ McIntosh or Pickett.If given a choice and i agree with people its not an ideal choice id pick Marlion on a wing in front of the other three.
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Still say on ball is his best position and like MRJ the less time he has to think & react, the better he is....also loves the body contact and is better tackler when he's in the thick of it ....blokes won't just be waltzing it out of the middle with him there....speaking of which and on a side note - hope if & when we play Lefau he attends a few cb's and stoppages as well.... :shh
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Dual premiership Tiger Marlion Pickett's court case over allegations of his involvement in a series of commercial burglaries now won't take place until at least May after it was adjourned.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-midfielder-marlion-picketts-300k-theft-court-case-delayed/news-story/513e21fd95f33f4c7706b841866e9894
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What a joke this is.
Police must be struggling to present actual evidence??
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Because there is no evidence. He had nothing to do with the crimes
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Something smells fishy in that area that for sure.
Innocent or not. Get him to 100 then stuff him off.
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Because there is no evidence. He had nothing to do with the crimes
And you make this sweeping statement based on?
We don't know what evidence they have or haven't got. If they have anything what type of evidence? Circumstantial? Physical? Who knows...
All I know from watching him play every week he hasn't been the same player since the entire mess began
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Because there is no evidence. He had nothing to do with the crimes
And you make this sweeping statement based on?
The Italian jungle drums are beating
WP, I thought you realised he knows all about all
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Because there is no evidence. He had nothing to do with the crimes
And you make this sweeping statement based on?
We don't know what evidence they have or haven't got. If they have anything what type of evidence? Circumstantial? Physical? Who knows...
All I know from watching him play every week he hasn't been the same player since the entire mess began
Based on all they information presentation.. a phone ping , not even near the scene , and the fact they know each other is not EVIDENCE.
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Because there is no evidence. He had nothing to do with the crimes
And you make this sweeping statement based on?
The Italian jungle drums are beating
WP, I thought you realised he knows all about all
You really do have issues . Must be really sad being you
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Lol how about we just wait and see. Black Brown Green Brindle or god forbid White. Do the crime do the time.
None of us have any clue as to why it has been adjourned again.
The big concern for me is others he was supposed to be with have already pleaded guilty but i suppose those bad old redneck cops in wa beat that out of them.
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Who ever said he was with them?