Jump to content

Kysaiah Pickett

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kysaiah Pickett
Pickett in April 2025
Personal information
Full name Kysaiah Klem Paul Kropinyeri-Pickett
Nickname(s) Kozzy
Date of birth (2001-06-02) 2 June 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth Port Lincoln, South Australia
Original team(s) Woodville-West Torrens (SANFL)
Port District (AdFL)
Draft No. 12, 2019 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2020, Melbourne vs. West Coast, at Perth Stadium
Height 171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 73 kg (161 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Melbourne
Number 36
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2020– Melbourne 122 (197)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2025 Indigenous All-Stars 1 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Round 20, 2025.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Kysaiah Klem Paul Kropinyeri-Pickett[1] (/kaɪˈzeɪə/ ky-ZAY-ə;[2] commonly known as Kysaiah Pickett, born 2 June 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A forward, he is 1.71 metres (5 ft 7 in) tall and weighs 73 kilograms (161 lb).

Pickett is the nephew of former Demons players Neville Jetta and Byron Pickett[3] and a second cousin of former Richmond player Marlion Pickett.

He was nominated for the 2020 AFL Rising Star award in round 11 of the 2020 AFL season.[4]

Early life

[edit]

Pickett was born on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia but raised in Quairading, Western Australia[5] before returning to South Australia with his uncle, former AFL player Byron Pickett. Initially, he played junior football with Port District in Largs Bay, before boarding at Prince Alfred College where he was part of the school's 1st XVIII,[6] and was regarded as one of the most exciting players in the private school football system. Pickett played his senior football in Adelaide with Woodville-West Torrens as a small forward in 2019 and also selected in South Australia's Under 18 team.[7] He was predicted to go high in the draft and Melbourne, his uncle Byron's last AFL club, announced its intention to recruit him.

Pickett was selected by Melbourne with the 12th overall pick in the 2019 AFL Draft which it received from Fremantle. Pickett was the club's second pick taken by Melbourne behind Luke Jackson.[8]

AFL Career

[edit]

Pickett made his AFL debut in Round 1, 2020 against West Coast at Perth Stadium. He played 14 games in his debut season earning a Rising Star nomination in round 11 following Melbourne's 57-point win over North Melbourne, when Pickett kicked a goal and had 12 possessions.[9]

In June 2020, Pickett was suspended for one match for breaching AFL COVID-19 protocols after he and teammate Charlie Spargo travelled via an Uber to an unauthorised house for a gathering.[10]

In 2021, Pickett played all 25 of Melbourne's games through their finals campaign. Pickett earned a premiership medal as Melbourne won the Grand Final, though he was held to four possessions and three tackles in the game.[8]

Pickett played 23 games in 2022 for Melbourne kicking 41 goals, missing only Melbourne's round 7 game against Hawthorn due to Health and Safety protocols. In 2023, Pickett kicked four goals in Melbourne's opening game of the season against the Western Bulldogs, but was suspended two games for a high bump on Bulldogs player Bailey Smith.[11]

In September of 2023, Pickett was handed a one-match ban by the Match Review Officer's verdict after a head-high hit on Patrick Cripps that left the superstar Carlton captain bloodied.[12] Melbourne went on to lose that match, giving them a fourth consecutive finals loss. In 2024, Pickett received a third suspension in just over a year for head high contact, this time against Jake Soligo of Adelaide.[13] Prior to the 2025 season, Pickett played in the Indigenous All-Stars representative match against Fremantle. He kicked a goal in the 43-point win.[14]

Reaching career-best form in 2025, including five goals and 24 disposals against Fremantle, rumours began to spread that Pickett would request a move to a South Australian or Western Australian club in the upcoming off-season. However, in June 2025, Pickett signed a seven year contract extension, keeping him at the club for nine years and a reported $12.5 million dollar salary over that period, breaking records across the league.[15][16]

Personal life

[edit]

Pickett identifies with the Yamatji Noongar and Ngarrindjeri nations.[17] His father Kevin Kropinyeri designed Melbourne's 2025 Sir Doug Nicholls Round guernsey using traditional Ngarrindjeri artstyles.[18]

Statistics

[edit]
Updated to the end of Round 20 2025.[19]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
  #  
 Played in that season's 
premiership team
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2020[a] Melbourne 36 14 7 13 62 47 109 17 35 0.5 0.9 4.4 3.4 7.8 1.2 2.5 0
2021# Melbourne 36 25 40 28 193 103 296 59 87 1.6 1.1 7.7 4.1 11.8 2.4 3.5 2
2022 Melbourne 36 23 41 18 180 59 239 55 62 1.8 0.8 7.8 2.6 10.4 2.4 2.7 4
2023 Melbourne 36 23 37 30 193 72 265 58 93 1.6 1.3 8.4 3.1 11.5 2.5 4.0 2
2024 Melbourne 36 21 36 24 202 64 266 56 75 1.7 1.1 9.6 3.0 12.7 2.7 3.6 3
2025 Melbourne 36 16 36 25 215 102 317 49 60 2.2 1.5 13.4 6.3 19.8 3.0 3.7 0
Career 122 197 138 1045 447 1492 294 412 1.6 1.1 8.5 3.6 12.2 2.4 3.3 11

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

[edit]

Team

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "PAC Chronicle 2019" (PDF). Prince Alfred College. 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. ^ "How to say the AFL's trickiest names". Australian Football League. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Pickett extends family ties to Melbourne", Ben Gibson for the Melbourne Football Club, 27 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Pickett recognised with Rising Star nomination". www.melbournefc.com.au. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  5. ^ Melbourne’s Kysaiah Pickett returns home to WA after tragic death of his mother from The West Australian 15 February 2021
  6. ^ Eagle Kysaiah Pickett’s star continues to rise by Andrew Capel 4 November 2019
  7. ^ Rookie Me - Kysaiah Pickett
  8. ^ a b "Premiership drafts | Looking back at 2019". melbournefc.com.au. 15 November 2021.
  9. ^ McGowan, Marc (13 August 2020). "Dee-ja vu: Melbourne makes it back-to-back Rising Stars". www.afl.com.au. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Club Statement: Pickett and Spargo". 12 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Bump verdicts: Pickett, Franklin learn fate as Ablett snr considers class action". The Age. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Dees star Pickett banned over bump that left Cripps bloodied". Fox Sports. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  13. ^ "AFL scoffs at Demons' argument, Tribunal upholds ban after star claims 'brace not bump'". Fox Sports. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  14. ^ Bastiani, Gemma. "Joy, flair and fun: Indigenous All Stars shine in special win over Freo". afl.com.au. Optus Stadium.
  15. ^ Edmund, Sam (12 June 2025). "How risky is Demons $12 million Pickett deal?". 1116 SEN.
  16. ^ Faulkner, Will (12 June 2025). "This $12.5m longest deal in footy was needed to stop a star's trade request. It could backfire badly". Fox Sports.
  17. ^ "Indigenous Sport Month: Kysaiah Pickett opens up on the passing of his 'old mum', his culture and his sporting hero". Herald Sun. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  18. ^ "Kropinyeri Connection | Dees launch Sir Doug Nicholls Round guernsey". Melbourne Football Club. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  19. ^ "Kysaiah Pickett". AFL Tables. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kysaiah Pickett.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kysaiah_Pickett&oldid=1302757929"