| Kysaiah Pickett | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Pickett in April 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Kysaiah Klem Paul Kropinyeri-Pickett | ||
| Nickname | Kozzy | ||
| Born | (2001-06-02)2 June 2001 (age 24) Port Lincoln,South Australia | ||
| Original teams | Woodville-West Torrens (SANFL) Port District (AdFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 12,2019 national draft | ||
| Debut | Round 1, 2020,Melbourne vs.West Coast, atPerth Stadium | ||
| Height | 171 cm (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Weight | 73 kg (161 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward /midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Melbourne | ||
| Number | 36 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2020– | Melbourne | 126 (201) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2025 | Indigenous All-Stars | 1 (1) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 24, 2025. 2 Representative statistics correct as of 2025. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
AFL
Melbourne
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Kysaiah Klem Paul Kropinyeri-Pickett[1] (/kaɪˈzeɪə/ky-ZAY-ə;[2] commonly known asKysaiah Pickett, born 2 June 2001) is a professionalAustralian rules footballer playing for theMelbourne Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL). Aforward, he is 1.71 metres (5 ft 7 in) tall and weighs 73 kilograms (161 lb).
Pickett is the nephew of former Demons playersNeville Jetta andByron Pickett[3] and a second cousin of former Richmond playerMarlion Pickett.
He was nominated for the2020 AFL Rising Star award in round 11 of the2020 AFL season.[4]
Pickett was born on theEyre Peninsula inSouth Australia but raised inQuairading,Western Australia[5] before returning to South Australia with his uncle, former AFL playerByron Pickett. Initially, he played junior football withPort District inLargs Bay, before boarding atPrince 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 withWoodville-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 the2019 AFL draft which it received fromFremantle. Pickett was the club's second pick taken by Melbourne behindLuke Jackson.[8]
Pickett made hisAFL debut in Round 1,2020 againstWest Coast atPerth Stadium. He played 14 games in his debut season earning aRising Star nomination in round 11 following Melbourne's 57-point win overNorth 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 teammateCharlie Spargo travelled via anUber 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 theGrand Final, though he was held to four possessions and three tackles in the game.[8]
Pickett played 23 games in2022 for Melbourne kicking 41 goals, missing only Melbourne's round 7 game againstHawthorn due to Health and Safety protocols. In 2023, Pickett kicked four goals in Melbourne's opening game of the season against theWestern Bulldogs, but was suspended two games for a high bump on Bulldogs playerBailey Smith.[11]
In September of2023, 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. In2024, Pickett received a third suspension in just over a year for head high contact, this time againstJake Soligo ofAdelaide.[13] Prior to the2025 season, Pickett played in theIndigenous All-Stars representative match againstFremantle. He kicked a goal in the 43-point win.[14]
Reaching career-best form in2025, including five goals and 24 disposals againstFremantle, rumours began to spread that Pickett would request a move to aSouth Australian orWestern 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]
Pickett identifies with theYamatjiNoongar andNgarrindjeri nations.[17] His father Kevin Kropinyeri designed Melbourne's 2025Sir Doug Nicholls Round guernsey using traditional Ngarrindjeri artstyles.[18]
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 | 20 | 40 | 29 | 274 | 117 | 391 | 61 | 73 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 13.7 | 5.8 | 19.5 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 10 |
| Career | 126 | 201 | 142 | 1104 | 462 | 1566 | 306 | 425 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 8.7 | 3.6 | 12.4 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 21 | ||
Team
Individual
