Richmond dual AFL premiership winner to retire – as he faces ongoing criminal charges including burglary
- Marlion Pickett to retire from AFL this weekend
- Made his debut for Richmond in the 2019 Grand Final
- Appear in court for alleged commercial burglaries
Two-time championship winner Marlion Pickett is set to retire this weekend as the Richmond AFL star faces charges he was involved in the theft of more than $380,000 in a series of commercial burglaries in Perth last summer.
Pickett, 32, will play his 91st and final football match against his former mentor Damien Hardwick’s Gold Coast at the MCG on Saturday.
He was a high profile player who was drafted mid-season as a mature player from Western Australia and made his debut in the 2019 AFL Grand Final.
Pickett went on to play a role in the Tigers’ 2020 win.
The father of four, who served time in prison as a teenager, often feared his chance at the AFL would never come.
βIt’s been a beautiful journey… I never thought I would ever be called up,β he said this week.
“My past and the way I grew up is different from everyone else and it wasn’t easy to be called up. I was overlooked for six or seven years and in 2019 I was on the verge of giving up all my dreams.
‘[Thankfully] There were a few people who supported me and told me to keep going…they told me to try for another year.
Two-time AFL premiership winner Marlion Pickett retires this weekend (pictured after winning the flag with Richmond in 2019)
Pickett is accused of being involved in the theft of more than $380,000 in a series of commercial burglaries in Perth last summer – he plans to plead not guilty in court
The sacrifices we make [family] made…it was all worth it.’
Off the field, Pickett faces some major challenges.
In June last year – after Richmond’s victory over Fremantle at Optus Stadium – the midfielder was charged with 12 offences and spent the overnight in custody before being released on bail.
The charges included three counts of theft, four counts of aggravated burglary and three counts of criminal damage or destruction of property.
It is alleged the football star was involved in four commercial burglaries between December 3, 2022 and January 3 last year in Perth.
Pickett is accused of helping to steal more than $350,000 from businesses in Beverley, Bindoon, Beechboro and Girrawheen.
In one of the robberies, $325,000 was reportedly stolen from a currency exchange.
Pickett is also accused of renting a campervan to transport the money across Australia, and buying the tools and clothing needed for the alleged crimes.
He reportedly pocketed $15,000 in stolen money for his services.
Ny Breaking Australia has learned that Pickett will plead not guilty and his trial will take place in Perth District Court.