Marlion Pickett proves Richmond on the money with stunning AFL debut
Richmond’s decision to recruit Marlion Pickett surprised many but a bigger shock came when he was named to make his AFL debut in the Grand Final. However, the gamble paid off and a star was born.
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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.
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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.”
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