Marlion Pickett

Marlion Pickett (born 6 January 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). At age 27 and after a six and a half season career with South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League which included a club best and fairest award, Pickett was drafted by Richmond with the 13th selection in the 2019 mid-season rookie draft. He won the Norm Goss Memorial Medal as best on ground during Richmond's reserves side's premiership in 2019 before making his debut in a victorious AFL grand final the following week. Pickett was the first player to debut in a VFL/AFL grand final in 67 years and the first to win a premiership in his debut game since 1926.

Pickett hails from Manjimup in the South West region of Western Australia. He played junior football in both Manjimup and York, before earning an invitation to play colts-levelrepresentative football with South Fremantle in 2010. Pickett never took up that offer, after being convicted of, and jailed for numerous non-violent criminal offences including burglary.

While imprisoned in 2011, Pickett played amateur football at the Wooroloo Prison Farm as part of a program covered by the ABC's documentary television series, Outside Chance.

In 2013, Pickett made his debut for South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), kicking three goals along with 26 disposals and nine marks on debut. He spent the remainer of the season playing on the wing and at half-forward and was a member of the club's reserves-grade premiership victory that season.

In 2015 he was moved to the half back line and was rewarded with state team selection in the Western Australia representative team and also finished third in South Fremantle's best and fairest award.

In 2016 he was again selected in the state team and finished second in the best and fairest.

Until 2018, he played primarily as a half back, before moving into the midfield in 2018 following the departure of recently AFL drafted teammate Tim Kelly. In 2018, Pickett won the club's best and fairest award and was named to the WAFL Team of the Year while playing as a midfielder and averaging 21.8 disposals per game. He contributed a stand-out performance in that season's qualifying final against West Perth, kicking four goals from 26 disposals.

Following the 2018 WAFL season, Pickett attracted the recruiting attention of AFL clubs, St Kilda and Gold Coast, though ultimately went unselected in that year's AFL and rookie drafts.

In May 2019, Pickett met with Essendon and Richmond recruiters and underwent an AFL medical screening prior to the upcoming mid-season draft.

He played 98 games and kicked 37 goals for South Fremantle over six and a half seasons in the WAFL.

In 2019, Pickett was selected by Richmond with the 13th selection in the 2019 mid-season rookie draft. Although unable to immediately play due to a broken finger, he made his debut for Richmond's VFL side late in the 2019 VFL season. He played in their 2019 VFL premiership win and was awarded the Norm Goss Memorial Medal as the best player in the game. Six days later he made his AFL debut in the 2019 AFL Grand Final, the first player to debut in a grand final since Keith Batchelor in 1952, and the first to win a premiership in his debut game since 1926. Pickett performed very well to finish third in the Norm Smith Medal voting after gathering 22 possessions and kicking his first AFL goal.

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2019 season

AFL

• AFL premiership player: 2019

VFL

• VFL premiership player: 2019
• Norm Goss Memorial Medal: 2019

WAFL

• South Fremantle best & fairest: 2018
• Western Australia State game representative: 2015, 2016

Pickett was imprisoned between 2010 and 2012 for multiple criminal offences committed during his teenage years, including burglary.He has four children.