Although Pickett never played higher than the under-19s with Port Adelaide, Port senior coach John Cahill was eager to name Pickett in Port Adelaide's squad for their inaugural Australian Football League (AFL) season in 1997. However, Pickett, citing homesickness, turned down this offer, although he later nominated for the 1996 AFL Draft, where he was taken by North Melbourne.
AFL career
North Melbourne (1997–2002)
Nicknamed "Choppy", Pickett burst onto the scene in 1997 with the North Melbourne Football Club, 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 a 'tough' player for his aggressive attack on the ball, with a frequent tendency to cause opponents serious injuries. Pickett was known for hard bumps and was consequently suspended three times from 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 hard clash.
Port Adelaide (2003–2005)
He moved to Port Adelaide in 2003, a season in which he kicked 43 goals in 25 games (2nd on the list of top goal kickers in 2003). He was part of Port Adelaide's first ever AFL premiership in 2004, and his 3-goal, 20 possession performance earned him the Norm Smith Medal.[3] At the end of the 2005 season Pickett was traded to Melbourne, finishing a short but successful stint at Port Adelaide.[4]
Melbourne (2006–2007)
At the end of 2005, Pickett was involved in a trade that saw him play at the Melbourne Football Club 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.[5]
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.[6] 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.[7]
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.
Controversy
In 1999, Pickett crashed into Hawthorn's Brendan Krummel 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. In the 2005 semi-final between Adelaide and Port Adelaide, a bump on Adelaide Football Club's Rhett Biglands knocked the 104 kg ruckman out cold, seeing Biglands stretchered from the field.[8] He was not suspended for the collision.[9]
Pickett has also made numerous appearances in court related to drink-driving offences.[10]
In 2007 Pickett was suspended by Melbourne for failure to attend a game against the Western Bulldogs; 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.[11]
Post-AFL career
Following his AFL retirement, Pickett was rumoured to be approached by several Victorian country football clubs including Port Fairy in the southwestern Victorian based Hampden Football League. Eventually Pickett returned to Port Adelaide in the SANFL for 2008 and 2009.[12] Pickett is also involved with the club's Football Academy Program with a specific focus on mentoring some of the young Aboriginal players in this program.
