Indigenous Sport Month: Marlion Pickett opens up on prison and his shot at AFL redemption

Marlion Pickett credits his family and football with helping him recover after a jail stint. Here’s how he turned his life around.

Marlion Pickett spent two-and-a-half years of his life in Western Australian prisons.

So he doesn’t hesitate when asked what advice he’d give to a 15-year-old version of himself.

“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,” the two-time Richmond premiership star reflects.

“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.

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“I didn’t really have anyone to give me that advice.”

Pickett, 29 — the father of four who stunned the football world by playing in an AFL premiership on debut — has been to the other side and back.

Ten years ago, after a stint in juvenile detention, he was sentenced to a lengthy stay in Perth’s hardcore Acacia Prison over a series of burglaries.

“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,” Pickett says.

“Having her in my corner was so important. 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.”

While Pickett has more immediate dreams of adding a third premiership medal to his collection, he has a longer-term plan to follow teammate Bachar Houli into mentoring.

“I want to go to the prisons and schools and have a good yarn and just try and change one person’s life because if I’m changing one person’s life then I’m doing my job,” he says.

“Bachar is a gun. We have a similar background, so I kind of look up to him as a role model for what he does for his community.”

Marlion Pickett is mobbed by teammates after his Grand Final debut goal.

Pickett’s life changed forever the day coach Damian Hardwick and his selectors picked him for the 2019 Grand Final against Greater Western Sydney.

The fairytale peaked during the third quarter when Norm Smith medallist Dustin Martin set him up for a set shot goal.

“I saw him point his hand,” Pickett says of the magic moment.

“Dusty had a good day, but it just goes to show the type of player he is – to kick it to a first gamer for a first goal.

“I can’t remember the roar so much, but more my teammates getting around me. I’ve watched the replay over again and it’s probably my favourite part of the Granny.”

Marlion Pickett was playing in the WAFL before being taken in the mid-season draft.

Pickett worked jobs in carpet cutting, digging soakwells, deliveries and in bike shops while playing in the WAFL for South Fremantle before the Tigers snared him in the 2019 mid-season draft.

“I didn’t think I was going to get drafted at all. I broke my finger for the second time and was happy playing wherever but then my opportunity came,” he says.

“(Tigers list boss) Blair Hartley called me straight after the pick but I’d been watching it on the App on my phone and my name came up at pick 13. I stood up scratching my head, because I thought my finger might have stuffed my draft chances up.”

Marlion Pickett has become a mainstay of the Tigers side.

As a proud indigenous man, Sir Doug Nicholls Round means a lot to Pickett and in a twist of fate this weekend’s Dreamtime clash against the Bombers has been shifted to his home state.

“My dad’s mob is the Ballardong mob (south west WA). Sydney (Stack) and I are both Ballardong. His dad and my dad are related,” Pickett says.

“(My culture) means a lot to me. We’re all the same mob but from different areas.

“I’m proud of being indigenous and my indigenous heritage and all of the things that my ancestors had to go through to change to the things that we aren’t going through at the moment.

“They sacrificed a lot to make sure our younger generation could lead an easier life. If they didn’t go through all of that we wouldn’t really be having the great life that we have now.”

Marlion Pickett celebrates Richmond’s 2020 Grand Final win with his daughter.

Pickett’s story of redemption has captivated the AFL.

Pickett said he first felt the sting of casual racism as a young boy living in the remote Western Australia town of Manjimup, 300km south of Perth.

“They didn’t have many indigenous people,” he says.

“We had people calling us names, and so we’d chase a couple down.”

It’s a scourge the two-time premiership Tiger is grateful never followed him into football.

He’s never been racially abused during his playing days in the WAFL or AFL.

“The footy side of things has helped with racism a lot more than it used to be,” he says.

“Nicky Winmar stood up for our culture. Somebody had to stand up and Nicky was the man to do it.”

Marlion Pickett wants to mentor young people in jail to help turn their lives around.

Pickett is also proud of the work Richmond does in promoting indigenous culture and its Korin Gamadji Institute empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth where he volunteered over 100 hours of work during last year’s Covid shutdown.

“I didn’t realise it until I got here and sometimes it’s not just the black fellas that step up and talk about it, it’s the leadership guys like David Astbury, Jack Riewoldt and Dylan Grimes,” he says.

As the Black Lives Matter riots raged across America last year, Pickett says the Tigers leaders called a meeting to discuss it.

“They just wanted to jump on board and talk about it. It made me smile a bit and be proud of the club itself. Richmond stands up for people and I take off my hat to everyone who was involved in it,” he says.

As an indigenous athlete, Pickett hopes his famous story of redemption will inspire others.

“I’m one of the luckier ones to get picked up but you want to pave the way for the next generation to come through,” he says.

“My footy is different to my personality. I play hard and give away free kicks but off the field I’m no better than anyone else. I’m just a normal person. We are all working but I’ve just got the privilege to play footy while some others out there are still busting their arse.”

Originally published as Indigenous Sport Month: Marlion Pickett opens up on prison and his shot at AFL redemption