KOZZY Pickett has been spending large chunks of his week in Darwin visiting his young daughter before flying back to Melbourne to play, but Melbourne coach Steven King says the club’s willingness to accommodate that arrangement has helped fuel the superstar’s career-best season.
As Pickett pushes towards a second All-Australian blazer, King revealed the 25-year-old has regularly commuted to the Northern Territory capital this year, saying clubs need to be flexible in supporting players’ personal circumstances.
The unique arrangement has done little to slow Pickett, who is in career-best form and emerging as one of the competition’s most influential players.
“You need to respect everyone’s situation for what it is, and how can you work with your people to value their private lives,” King said of the unique arrangement with Pickett.
“What looks right for Kozzy might be different for the next player.
“You just need to be flexible and adaptive to what each individual requires, so it’s not one size fits all.
“We need to accept that everyone’s got different things going on, and how can we make both world’s co-exist.”
Kysaiah Pickett is congratulated by teammates after winning the Neale Daniher Trophy in the match between Collingwood and Melbourne at the MCG in round 13, 2026. Picture: AFL Photos
King believes Pickett is only “scratching the surface” of his potential despite the Demons dynamo’s transformation into a genuine superstar.
Mostly a damaging small forward who would spend cameos in the midfield early in his career, Pickett has spent far more time in the centre during King’s first season in charge of the Demons.
Pickett is coming off scintillating back-to-back best-on-ground performances in wins over Collingwood (28 possessions and three goals) and Essendon (32 and three).
“He’s definitely a top-five player in the competition,” King said of Pickett on Tuesday.
“When he’s at his best, in that form, he’s the complete player.
“We’re clearly at a point where we’ve won more games than we’ve lost, and he’s been prominent in all of those wins.
“I’d imagine he’d capture the umpire’s attention … I mean everyone that goes to watch him can’t take their eyes off him.
“He’s been influential in our wins, but he’s still just scratching the surface of evolving to be that complete player.
“There’s still heaps of scope for him to improve and evolve even more, which is super exciting.”
King has praised the influence of former Melbourne champion and current Demons assistant coach Nathan Jones on Pickett.
“Nathan Jones does a great job coaching him hard, demanding excellence from him,” King said.
“If you want to be a full-time mid, there’s certain requirements that you need to take on board as well.
“To see him not only kick goals up in that front half but get back to help mop up and defend that (defensive) 50, that’s been the growth.”
King confirmed swingman Harrison Petty would miss Saturday’s clash with the Crows at Adelaide Oval due to a minor hamstring injury.
The fourth-placed Demons (9-5) have a perfect 8-0 record at the MCG this year, but are yet to win a match outside of Victoria.
