'Choppy' joins Tigers in country Queensland leagueTHE good folk in the five opposition clubs of the Mackay competition in Queensland would have hoped former AFL hard man Byron Pickett had stayed retired. But he hasn't, and the Bakers Creek Football Club recruit should strike more than a little fear into the hearts of those worried souls when he lines up for the Tigers.
Pickett (pictured), the 2004 AFL Norm Smith Medal winner, dual premiership player (1999, 2004) and Indigenous Team of the Century defender, joins the Tigers in the Mackay AFL competition after joining his cousin, and team-mate, Xavier Smith.
Pickett, 31, made his debut for the second-placed Bakers Creek at the weekend against league leaders Whitsunday Sea Eagles. And already he's makingan immediate impact.
"Byron's made a major impact already," Bakers Creek club president Russell Pollock told
AboriginalFootball yesterday. "We're a close-knit Aussie rules community in a rugby league city of 100,000 people, and the crowd we had last Saturday was like a finals-type crowd."
Punters turning up to see Pickett's trademark hardness and polished skills weren't disappointed. Unfortunately, a troublesome foot injury limited Pickett's output in the second half and he spent more than a quarter of the game on the bench. The Tigers ended the match with no interchange players after Pickett, countryman Bob Miller, and two other team-mates all unable to go back on. They also lost to the Sea Eagles.
At the half-way mark of the season, Pollock is looking forward to having Pickett around for the remainder.
"Wait until he has a couple of games under his belt, then lookout!" Pollock said. "Byron will be a great asset not only to our club but also to the league. That's where the benefit is, just his stature and his promotion here."
Pickett, the 1998 AFL Rising Star winner, retired from top level footy in 2007 after 204 games with three clubs, Port Adelaide, North Melbourne and Melbourne..
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Last Modified on 25/06/2009 22:07