Melbourne captain Max Gawn has seen plenty in his decorated career, but even he is running out of ways to describe Kysaiah Pickett.
After the Demons’ hard-fought 54-point win over Richmond, Gawn could only shake his head when asked about the electric small forward-turned midfielder who is rapidly becoming one of the most damaging players in the competition.
“Some of the stuff he’s doing at the moment … it’s unbelievable,” Gawn told this masthead.
Pickett’s numbers were eye-popping – 29 disposals, six clearances and four goals – but it was the way he amassed them that had his captain most impressed. This was not a cameo performance inside forward 50. This was a full-bodied midfield display, built on work rate, accountability and a two-way running capacity that has taken his game to another level.
He also possibly took mark of the year – a hanger for the ages – in the dying stages.
“The best thing I like about ‘Kozzie’ is players like him around the AFL will get forward from stoppage, then someone else comes and defends their man,” Gawn said.
“You’ve got players all around the competition that are like that, high half-forwards coming to centre bounce and [they] spit forward. Bailey Humphrey, ‘Trac’ [Christian Petracca], ‘Bont’ [Marcus Bontempelli] is awesome when he does that role.
“‘Kozzie’ doesn’t. It looks like he does, but he doesn’t. He’s actually a hard-working, two-way midfielder, which is the bit I love the most.
“If he’s in the All-Australian team, I’ll be shattered if he’s in the forward pocket because that’s not his position any more.”
Coach Steven King revealed after the game that Pickett spent time in Darwin earlier this week for his daughter’s birthday.
“We afforded ‘Kozzie’ the luxury of going up to Darwin earlier in the week to see his daughter for her birthday on a five-day break,” King said.
“The way he looked after and managed his body – then to do that tonight, it is pretty amazing to watch.
“As a player and performer, the package he has got, it’s inspiring, and it really is a pleasure and a treat for me to coach. What he does on the footy field is electric.”
In a game that was anything but straightforward, Pickett’s influence proved decisive.
Richmond’s pressure and contest work turned the match into a scrap for three quarters, forcing Melbourne into a grind that was far removed from the free-flowing style that dismantled Gold Coast a week earlier. The Tigers were combative, organised and more than capable of taking advantage of any lapse.
“They took it to us in the first half. They probably could have been in front, to be fair,” Gawn admitted.
Up until the final term, the result remained in the balance. But when Melbourne needed composure, they found it through class – and increasingly, through Pickett.
His ability to impact at stoppage, surge forward and then work just as hard defensively has become a defining feature of his game. It is also, in Gawn’s eyes, what separates him from others in similar roles across the league.
“He’s turned himself into a pure mid,” Gawn said.
“I doubt he even played forward today, and he kicked four goals with 29 touches. That’s unbelievable. And I guarantee he stopped goals the other way as well.”
It is a transformation that Melbourne always believed was possible, but one that required both physical development and a shift in mindset.
“That’s what we wanted from him – that was the ceiling,” Gawn said.
“If you can be a full-blown mid, you can take your game to a whole other level. Kozzie’s done that. He runs incredibly well, runs hard [on] offence, runs hard [on] defence. He’s a pleasure to play with.”
Pickett made high contact with Richmond’s Jacob Hopper at one stage during the clash, but it looked to be low impact as he attempted to evade a sliding player.
Richmond coach Adem Yze struck a defiant tone despite the loss, making it clear Richmond’s internal standards won’t be diluted by a competitive showing that ultimately fell short.
“We’re a winning footy club, we’re not a losing footy club,” Yze said. “We’re not going to be happy with [just] a competitive performance.”
While the Tigers matched Melbourne for large stretches – particularly across the first three quarters – Yze was adamant that simply “staying in the fight” is not enough for a club trying to rebuild its identity. The frustration, he said, was not just the final-quarter fadeout, but the inability to sustain the level required across four quarters.
“We’re disappointed,” he said. “We don’t want to expect to not play a four-quarter performance.
“What I do expect is our players to walk out of here with a bad taste in their mouth.”
Yze acknowledged the reality of a young list and the challenges that come with it, but refused to lean on that as an excuse for their 0-7 season start. Instead, he framed it as a learning phase that must still be underpinned by high expectations.
“The boys will be disappointed,” he said.
“[We’ll] take the positives out of the first three quarters … but there just were things in the last quarter just weren’t good enough and we’ve got to get better at.”
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Sam McClure is an award-winning AFL journalist and broadcaster.Connect via X or email.