Byron Pickett
Encyclopedia
Byron Pickett is a former professional Australian rules football
er who played with three clubs in the AFL. He was known as a big game player as well as for his strength, hard bumps and tough approach to the game. Pickett is one of 12 players with two premiership medallions, a Norm Smith Medal and over 200 AFL games. In 2005 Pickett was acknowledged as one of the finest Aboriginal players in the history of the game, with his selection to the Indigenous Team of the Century
. He announced his retirement from AFL at the end of the 2007 season
.
After his retirement from the AFL in 2007 he continued playing semi-professionally including some time with the with the Port Adelaide Magpies
in the South Australian National Football League
.
to Indigenous Australian parents, Byron Pickett grew up in Tammin
and then Geraldton, Western Australia
before moving to South Australia
and Port Lincoln where he played the majority of his junior football for the Mallee Park Football Club. He made the long trip each weekend to Adelaide
, where he was later to play for the Port Adelaide Magpies
in the SANFL from which he was recruited by AFL
club North Melbourne.
, playing only one game. However, in 1998 he had a fine year and was rewarded with the Norwich Rising Star
award.
At only 178 cm and 86 kg, Pickett was not a large Australian Rules player, however he is solidly built and unquestionably tough. Pickett developed a reputation as 'dirty' player for his aggressive attack on the ball and the man with a frequent tendency to cause opponents serious and painful injuries. Despite this reputation, Pickett rarely did so outside of the rules of the game and consequently only been suspended three times since 2001.
In 1999 he played in a premiership team with the Kangaroos
, before switching to the club he originally played for in the SANFL, Port Adelaide Football Club, in 2002.
In the last days of his playing career with North Melbourne, he famously broke the collarbone of Geelong's Darren Milburn
in a violent clash.
's first ever AFL
premiership in 2004, and his 3-goal, 20 possession performance earnt him the Norm Smith Medal
. In 2005 Byron played a disappointing year finishing a successful but short career at Port.
from 2006 onwards, and he has vowed not to alter his style of play. He wore No 33, previously worn by former aboriginal player Jeff Farmer.
In a round 7, 2006 clash with Fremantle
at the MCG
, Pickett sent Ryan Crowley
to hospital with a broken cheekbone in a shepherd.
Pickett suffered successive hamstring
injuries in 2006 which sidelined him for several games.
2007 began slowly for Pickett, not selected in the initial rounds due to poor pre-season match fitness. However he returned in Round 4. In April he laid a heavy tackle on Tadhg Kennelly
which tore Kenelly's anterior cruciate ligament
. On 5 May 2007, Pickett laid a strong tackle on Port Adelaide's Kane Cornes
, which left him concussed and taken from the ground on a stretcher.
After round 6 in 2007, the Demons suspended Pickett to a minimum of four weeks at the Sandringham Football Club for the official reason of failing to attend a game. Unofficially, there were club concerns surrounding Pickett's weight and pre-season work ethic and him turning up to training under the influence of alcohol.
Despite drawing criticism late in his career for being increasingly overweight and slow, however he maintained an impact in matches, continuing to score goals and make game turning plays.
Byron Pickett announced his last game of football on Sunday 2 September, in the match against Carlton, retiring along with Demons teammates Clint Bizzell
and Nathan Brown. He kicked a goal in his final game against the Blues.
while his head was down to get the ball. In the bump, Pickett broke Krummel's nose, he was concussed and had short-term amnesia. A free kick was awarded but no official charge from the AFL. Despite his injuries, Krummel publicly defended Pickett's actions.
In 2000, Byron was admitted to a mental health clinic with fears of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other mental illnesses. Pickett was released from the clinic with reports that his mental health was fine.
In 2005 he received a 6 week suspension for a clash which accidentally knocked out James Begley
in a pre-season match with both players chasing for the ball. The incident sparked controversy and in response many football commentators, including premiership player Robert Walls
called to ban the bump. Many cynics felt that Pickett had been singled out over the incident and his style of play unfairly made an example of, with the rules changing in response to the incident.
He received a 2 week suspension for a hip-and-shoulder on Carlton's
Simon Wiggins as he completed a mark, after slowing down and pulling up to reduce the collision. Later in the season, a bump on Adelaide Football Club's Rhett Biglands
knocked the 104 kg ruckman
out cold, seeing Biglands stretchered from the field. Biglands recovered, returned and played later in that match.
Pickett has also made numerous appearances in court related to drink-driving
offences.
In 2007 Pickett was suspended by Melbourne
for failing to turn up to a game against the Western Bulldogs in which he was listed as an emergency. It was later revealed he sent a phone text message to his coach Neale Daniher
to inform him that he was too hungover to play.
in the Warrnambool league. However he signed with the Port Adelaide Magpies
in the SANFL for 2008 and 2009, enabling him to once again play for his former club. Pickett is also involved with the club's Football Academy Program with a specific focus on mentoring some of the young Aboriginal boys in this program.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er who played with three clubs in the AFL. He was known as a big game player as well as for his strength, hard bumps and tough approach to the game. Pickett is one of 12 players with two premiership medallions, a Norm Smith Medal and over 200 AFL games. In 2005 Pickett was acknowledged as one of the finest Aboriginal players in the history of the game, with his selection to the Indigenous Team of the Century
Indigenous Team of the Century
The Indigenous Team of the Century was selected to recognise the role of Indigenous Australians in the sport. It was announced in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first senior game played by an indigenous player, Fitzroy's Joe Johnson...
. He announced his retirement from AFL at the end of the 2007 season
2007 AFL season
The 2007 AFL Season was the 111th season of the Australian Football League, the highest-level professional Australian rules football league in Australia...
.
After his retirement from the AFL in 2007 he continued playing semi-professionally including some time with the with the Port Adelaide Magpies
Port Adelaide Magpies
The Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the South Australian National Football League...
in the South Australian National Football League
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
.
Early life
Born in Kellerberrin in country Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
to Indigenous Australian parents, Byron Pickett grew up in Tammin
Tammin, Western Australia
The town of Tammin is located in the central agricultural region, east of Perth, Western Australia and midway between the towns of Cunderdin and Kellerberrin on the Great Eastern Highway.-History:...
and then Geraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958...
before moving to South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and Port Lincoln where he played the majority of his junior football for the Mallee Park Football Club. He made the long trip each weekend to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, where he was later to play for the Port Adelaide Magpies
Port Adelaide Magpies
The Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the South Australian National Football League...
in the SANFL from which he was recruited by AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
club North Melbourne.
North Melbourne/Kangaroos (1997–2002)
Nicknamed "Choppy", Pickett burst onto the scene in 1997 with the North Melbourne Football ClubNorth Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
, playing only one game. However, in 1998 he had a fine year and was rewarded with the Norwich Rising Star
AFL Rising Star award
The NAB AFL Rising Star award is given annually to a standout young player in the Australian Football League. Since 2007 the winner has been presented with the Ron Evans Medal and was first awarded in 1993...
award.
At only 178 cm and 86 kg, Pickett was not a large Australian Rules player, however he is solidly built and unquestionably tough. Pickett developed a reputation as 'dirty' player for his aggressive attack on the ball and the man with a frequent tendency to cause opponents serious and painful injuries. Despite this reputation, Pickett rarely did so outside of the rules of the game and consequently only been suspended three times since 2001.
In 1999 he played in a premiership team with the Kangaroos
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
, before switching to the club he originally played for in the SANFL, Port Adelaide Football Club, in 2002.
In the last days of his playing career with North Melbourne, he famously broke the collarbone of Geelong's Darren Milburn
Darren Milburn
Darren Milburn , is an AFL assistant Coach for the Adelaide Crows and a retired Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League...
in a violent clash.
Port Adelaide Power (2003–2005)
He started his career at Port in 2003 where he kicked 43 goals in 25 games (2nd on the list of top goal kickers in 2003). He was part of Port AdelaidePort Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
's first ever AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
premiership in 2004, and his 3-goal, 20 possession performance earnt him the Norm Smith Medal
Norm Smith Medal
The Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
. In 2005 Byron played a disappointing year finishing a successful but short career at Port.
Melbourne Demons (2006–2007)
At the end of 2005, Pickett was involved in a trade that saw him play at the Melbourne Football ClubMelbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
from 2006 onwards, and he has vowed not to alter his style of play. He wore No 33, previously worn by former aboriginal player Jeff Farmer.
In a round 7, 2006 clash with Fremantle
Fremantle Football Club
The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
at the MCG
McG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
, Pickett sent Ryan Crowley
Ryan Crowley
Ryan Crowley is an Australian rules footballer. He plays as a midfielder, half forward flanker or small forward and began his football career at Calder Cannons Football Club in the TAC Cup.-Fremantle career:...
to hospital with a broken cheekbone in a shepherd.
Pickett suffered successive hamstring
Hamstring
In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...
injuries in 2006 which sidelined him for several games.
2007 began slowly for Pickett, not selected in the initial rounds due to poor pre-season match fitness. However he returned in Round 4. In April he laid a heavy tackle on Tadhg Kennelly
Tadhg Kennelly
Tadhg Kennelly is an Irish sportsperson known for his top level careers in both Gaelic football and Australian rules football....
which tore Kenelly's anterior cruciate ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
. On 5 May 2007, Pickett laid a strong tackle on Port Adelaide's Kane Cornes
Kane Cornes
Kane Graham Cornes in an Australian rules football player who plays for Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early life:...
, which left him concussed and taken from the ground on a stretcher.
After round 6 in 2007, the Demons suspended Pickett to a minimum of four weeks at the Sandringham Football Club for the official reason of failing to attend a game. Unofficially, there were club concerns surrounding Pickett's weight and pre-season work ethic and him turning up to training under the influence of alcohol.
Despite drawing criticism late in his career for being increasingly overweight and slow, however he maintained an impact in matches, continuing to score goals and make game turning plays.
Byron Pickett announced his last game of football on Sunday 2 September, in the match against Carlton, retiring along with Demons teammates Clint Bizzell
Clint Bizzell
Clinton "Clint" Bizzell was a professional Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.He is currently a television extra.-Early life:...
and Nathan Brown. He kicked a goal in his final game against the Blues.
Controversy
In 1999, Pickett crashed into Hawthorn's Brendan KrummelBrendan Krummel
Brendan Alan Krummel is a former Australian rules footballer who played for West Coast, Fremantle and Hawthorn in the AFL....
while his head was down to get the ball. In the bump, Pickett broke Krummel's nose, he was concussed and had short-term amnesia. A free kick was awarded but no official charge from the AFL. Despite his injuries, Krummel publicly defended Pickett's actions.
In 2000, Byron was admitted to a mental health clinic with fears of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other mental illnesses. Pickett was released from the clinic with reports that his mental health was fine.
In 2005 he received a 6 week suspension for a clash which accidentally knocked out James Begley
James Begley
James Begley had a promising career ahead of him after being named an AFL Rising Star nominee in 2001. In 2002 he returned to his hometown of Adelaide to play with the Crows....
in a pre-season match with both players chasing for the ball. The incident sparked controversy and in response many football commentators, including premiership player Robert Walls
Robert Walls
Robert Walls is a former Australian rules footballer and coach who now works primarily as a television commentator and newspaper columnist on the sport. On 22 June 2006 he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame.- Carlton :...
called to ban the bump. Many cynics felt that Pickett had been singled out over the incident and his style of play unfairly made an example of, with the rules changing in response to the incident.
He received a 2 week suspension for a hip-and-shoulder on Carlton's
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
Simon Wiggins as he completed a mark, after slowing down and pulling up to reduce the collision. Later in the season, a bump on Adelaide Football Club's Rhett Biglands
Rhett Biglands
Rhett Biglands is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.-Career:He made his debut as an 18 year old in the SANFL with Woodville West Torrens kicking 5 goals in his first match....
knocked the 104 kg ruckman
Ruckman (Australian rules football position)
In Australian rules football, a ruckman is typically a tall and athletic player who contests at centre bounces and stoppages . The ruckman is one of the most important players on the field...
out cold, seeing Biglands stretchered from the field. Biglands recovered, returned and played later in that match.
Pickett has also made numerous appearances in court related to drink-driving
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
offences.
In 2007 Pickett was suspended by Melbourne
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
for failing to turn up to a game against the Western Bulldogs in which he was listed as an emergency. It was later revealed he sent a phone text message to his coach Neale Daniher
Neale Daniher
Neale Francis Daniher is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League . Neale was also an Assistant Coach to the Essendon and Fremantle Football Clubs and the Coach of the Victorian State Team and the Melbourne Football Club...
to inform him that he was too hungover to play.
Post-AFL career
Following his AFL retirement, he was rumoured to be approached by several Victorian country football clubs including Port FairyPort Fairy Football Club
The Port Fairy Football Club are an Australian rules football club which compete in the Hampden Football League.They are based in the Victorian town of Port Fairy and have played in the Hampden Football League since 1949.-Maskell Medallists:...
in the Warrnambool league. However he signed with the Port Adelaide Magpies
Port Adelaide Magpies
The Port Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the South Australian National Football League...
in the SANFL for 2008 and 2009, enabling him to once again play for his former club. Pickett is also involved with the club's Football Academy Program with a specific focus on mentoring some of the young Aboriginal boys in this program.