When midfield beasts Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca left Melbourne last year, the Demons’ engine room was suddenly gutted. The bullocking ball magnets are among the elite on-ballers in the game and were instrumental in the Dees’ drought-breaking premiership in 2021. Then, with Jack Viney sidelined indefinitely due to an achilles injury, new Demons coach Stephen King had to devise a quick and innovative plan to build an on-ball brigade from scratch.
Kysaiah Pickett was the obvious choice. The dynamic small forward had spent the best part of the last five years dazzling defenders with his unique creativity and flair. But it wasn’t until round three against Carlton that King finally unleashed Pickett into the middle, after Melbourne’s midfield was mauled by the Dockers the week before. It didn’t start well, but after the main break Pickett exploded. The 25-year-old inspired the Demons to a remarkable comeback against the Blues, finishing with 33 touches, 10 inside-50s and a goal. It was the first time he had more than 30 disposals. Kozzy was just getting warmed up.
Against Richmond Pickett produced one of the most stunning individual performances of the season so far. He had 29 touches, six clearances, seven score involvements and kicked four goals. He also probably stitched up the mark of the year after taking an absolute screamer over Campbell Grey in the dying seconds of the game. Footy experts and fans were starting to chatter about Kozzy.
King said Pickett had the skills to become one of the best players in the competition. “He’s pretty competitive,” the coach said. “He doesn’t just want to be a highlight reel, he wants to be the best each week. That came with a desire to play a bit more midfield time … he’s bought in wholeheartedly and what you see now is recognition for the work he puts in.”
But after his scintillating show against the Tigers, Pickett may have begun to understand why playing as a midfielder is the hardest trade in the AFL. One of the key components of an on-baller’s evolution is learning to cope with receiving attention on the field as if you’re Virat Kohli on the streets of Mumbai. The tags came. Pickett’s form dipped. Mastering the craft of an inside mid can take years. Gary Ablett Jr, Nat Fyfe and Patrick Cripps showed you need physical, mental, tactical and technical precision to become a top midfielder.
Pickett is not there yet, but he’s rapidly becoming the most damaging player in the AFL because of his vision, lightning-quick decision-making and breathtaking pace. He might not get the possessions like Nick Daicos (he’s averaging just under 23 disposals a game compared with Daicos’s 35), but his taps, touches and trickery can break open a game. The 2025 All-Australian currently sits second on Melbourne’s goalkicking list this year with 19 majors while playing predominantly on the ball. But when not directly impacting the scoreboard, he consistently torches opponents at stoppages with his speed, zip and guile.
One of the knocks on Pickett has been his inability to perform on the big stage. That was put to bed against the Magpies on Monday. In front of nearly 90,000 fans, he recorded 28 disposals, seven score involvements, five clearances and three goals including the match-winner, earning the inaugural Neale Daniher trophy as best on ground.
He’s still learning, though. With only 40 seconds left in the game, he took a mark inside 50 as the Demons led by two points. Teams relentlessly practise counting down the clock in these exact moments. Pickett chose to play on to snap a goal. No doubt, King will have a word in his ear, but playing with that freedom is what is making Kozzy the most watchable player in the AFL.
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