AFL: Marlion Pickett’s best yet to come

Dion Prestia believes “hugely talented” teammate Marlion Pickett only scratched the surface of what he is capable of last year

Richmond’s grand final hero Marlion Pickett. Picture: Sarah Matray

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.”

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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.”

Richmond meets Collingwood in its first game of the Marsh Community Series on Sunday, March 1.

Herald Sun