Touching tribute to Pickett

On the eve of Marlion Pickett’s fairytale AFL debut with Richmond in the 2019 Grand Final against Greater Western Sydney, he received a moving message from the family of the Tigers’ 1969 premiership player Colin Beard, who died suddenly in August.

Beard, like Pickett, had been a top player at WAFL club South Fremantle before transferring to Tigerland and going on to be a valuable member of that 1969 flag-winning side.

He was 27 years old, when he played in Richmond’s ’69 Grand Final victory over Carlton.

Pickett was 27, when he stepped out for the first time with the Tigers at the game’s highest level, in the premiership-decider against the Giants, 50 years on.

Leading sports writer with 'The West Australian' newspaper, Steve Butler, reported that Beard’s son Geoff sent a letter of congratulations to Pickett in memory of his father, who also had coached South Fremantle at one stage, guiding Indigenous greats Stephen Michael and the late Maurice Rioli.

"One of my last conversations with him was actually about you when your name was in the mix to get a game leading into the finals," Geoff Beard wrote to Pickett.

"What you may not know is dad has been a regular supporter of South Fremantle and has seen you playing over the past five or six years, and I can tell you he was a big fan.

"To this extent, he had taken the time to ring the club a few years ago to suggest they look out for you, as he considered you had a big future.

"The other thing that is very significant is he sent me an email the week before he passed away, when there was talk of a possibility of you being selected for your first game (at Richmond).

"What he did say is just like you, but 50 years earlier, he was a 27-year-old mature age recruit from South Fremantle.

"He played in a winning Grand Final in front of 119,000 people. He did think this was so uncanny and was very hopeful you could get the same opportunity – and now it becomes a reality.