Author Topic: Marlion Pickett [merged]  (Read 165405 times)

Offline Rampsation

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #150 on: September 29, 2019, 04:18:56 AM »
The 6 who didnt play in 2017 ie. Soldo Bolton Pickett Short etc get life memberships

Online Loui Tufga

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #151 on: September 29, 2019, 06:26:09 AM »
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.

Offline one-eyed

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #152 on: September 29, 2019, 07:02:38 AM »
'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

Offline one-eyed

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #153 on: September 29, 2019, 07:17:17 AM »

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

Offline one-eyed

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #154 on: September 29, 2019, 07:23:08 AM »
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://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/marlion-pickett-proves-richmond-on-the-money-with-stunning-afl-debut/news-story/1103afa986f3376db778c67c1eff576c

Online georgies31

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #155 on: September 29, 2019, 07:55:48 AM »
Speechless 2 flags in one week he's something special.

Offline Diocletian

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #156 on: September 29, 2019, 02:19:43 PM »
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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FJ is the only one that makes sense.

Online Andyy

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #157 on: September 30, 2019, 10:12:33 AM »
“He is quiet and I am quiet. So we got along well.”
-Dusty

Had me in stitches this hahaha.

Offline one-eyed

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #158 on: October 02, 2019, 03:10:18 AM »
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

Offline one-eyed

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #159 on: October 03, 2019, 06:01:48 PM »
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

Offline Tiger Khosh

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #160 on: October 04, 2019, 09:26:37 AM »
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.

Offline mightytiges

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #161 on: October 04, 2019, 01:35:14 PM »
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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Offline one-eyed

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #162 on: October 06, 2019, 05:33:28 PM »
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

Offline mightytiges

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #163 on: October 06, 2019, 11:16:00 PM »
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.
All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be - Pink Floyd

Offline one-eyed

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Re: Marlion Pickett [merged]
« Reply #164 on: October 14, 2019, 03:38:45 PM »

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