Have to say Byron Pickett looked in great shape in todays picture in the Hun. 

Loved him in the Red and Blue, my second favourite "Hard Man" equal with Rodney Grinter.

He looks very very fit. Retirement must be keeping him in good shape.

Some of his hits and tackles were Brutal! 

Would love to still have him playing,

A definate favourite!

 

Must have slimmed down since last I saw him in the KFC guernsey... (Unless the pic you saw isn't current?)

 

 

Byron Choo Choo Pickett.  Great player,  loved him in his time at the Demons.

Forget the corny music and just enjoy.

He was superb in 2006

the midfield was often cleared out when Byron was lurking!

All the other players walked taller that year knowing they had there backs covered. This year is the first time since that there is that similar feeling out there

He was okay *shrugs*

He used to protect our smaller, younger players, something that's been missing in a few of our recent 'rebuilds'.

I vividly remember Aaron Davey standing on the wing with the ball one night, hesitating whether to kick or carry; Byron comes sprinting towards him and waves him on, then proceeds to clean up the player approaching Davey.  Davey takes a couple of bounces and puts it inside our 50.

A footy thug that had to go.

The illegal bump is done and dusted.

If you want tough, look at our hard years under Northey....those guys were ball hunters.

3 minutes ago, jumbo returns said:

If you want tough, look at our hard years under Northey....those guys were ball hunters.

Don't have to. I only have to look at Viney circa 2016. Oliver. Vince. Hogan isn't lacking for courage. Tyson. How good is footy...

Can someone post the photo and or link to the article.

He was great for us for that one year. No doubt about it.

We also need to remember that we came back after the preseason terribly unfit and then basically gave up.

I remember thinking that we were massively screwed at the trade table and paid way too much for him. Especially after Mark Williams said that he was 'unemployable' during the year due to multiple suspensions. 

4 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

Forget the corny music and just enjoy.

Wow, I forgot how good he was, ferocious attack on the ball carrier.

Those tackles are soul-destroying; opposition players would have been genuinely afraid of him.

4 hours ago, Wiseblood said:

Forget the corny music and just enjoy.

What a shame a lot of those fantastic tackles would be deemed "unsafe/dangerous" and would be given as a free kick to the opposition these days.

How quickly the game has changed.

I think the unsuspecting player that got cleaned up always stuck in my caw and I always found that sort of bump cowardly.

 

I have this vivid memory (must be circa 95'?) of Tingay lining him up for revenge from an incident in an earlier fixture. Eyes lit up and he ran right past the ball to collect Byron in what would have been a brutal hit, but Pickett sprung up like a crazy cat at the last second and scared the bejeezus out of a charging Tingay.  

Anyone recall what Tingay may have been seeking revenge for? And how they got along after in the same team?

 

3 minutes ago, Skuit said:

I have this vivid memory (must be circa 95'?) of Tingay lining him up for revenge from an incident in an earlier fixture. Eyes lit up and he ran right past the ball to collect Byron in what would have been a brutal hit, but Pickett sprung up like a crazy cat at the last second and scared the bejeezus out of a charging Tingay.  

Anyone recall what Tingay may have been seeking revenge for? And how they got along after in the same team?

 

That was a window of opportunity Tingay missed!

 

Just now, jumbo returns said:

I think the unsuspecting player that got cleaned up always stuck in my caw and I always found that sort of bump cowardly.

 

He certainly walked a fine line, jumbo. Some of his hits were legitimately good ones, while others weren't all that flash.  He was at his best when he was fit and hitting legal, crunching tackles that not only put the opposition on the back foot but also made our players walk a little taller as well.

He only had a couple of good years for us but I do remember that, in one of those years, he had a blistering run of form where he was a difference maker in a number of games.  It was just a shame we got him at the tail end of his career. 

13 minutes ago, Skuit said:

I have this vivid memory (must be circa 95'?) of Tingay lining him up for revenge from an incident in an earlier fixture. Eyes lit up and he ran right past the ball to collect Byron in what would have been a brutal hit, but Pickett sprung up like a crazy cat at the last second and scared the bejeezus out of a charging Tingay.  

Anyone recall what Tingay may have been seeking revenge for? And how they got along after in the same team?

 

Pretty sure Tingay would of been long gone by the time Pickett arrived. 

They would of barely played against each other, if at all.

Just now, Dalrot said:

Pretty sure Tingay would of been long gone by the time Pickett arrived. 

They would of barely played against each other, if at all.

Pickett was around (I think it was he debut season) in 1998 when Tingay was still playing.  It was only a year but they would certainly have crossed paths, especially in the '98 Prelim.

Love the tackle on Campbell Brown. He really (censored) himself

50 minutes ago, Dalrot said:

Pretty sure Tingay would of been long gone by the time Pickett arrived. 

They would of barely played against each other, if at all.

Of course. I'm getting well muddled. The decades of failure are all blending into one big lump. But they did play against one another. The original incident must have been around 98' then. Did Pickett take out one of ours at some stage or Tingay himself?

Edit: Just checked (for fear I was losing my marbles). They played against each other twice in 98'. Once in the prelim and once in round 17 - a match I'd otherwise forgotten for good reason. We also played the Roos in Rnd 2 and although Tingay didn't play, I recall his charge on Byron was a square-up for something that happened in that one . . .

6 hours ago, picket fence said:

 

Loved him in the Red and Blue, my second favourite "Hard Man" equal with Rodney Grinter.

There was nothing tough or hard about Pickett. He was a sniper at best, and gutless at worst.

We paid massively over the odds for him and he did nothing in return. He was the biggest waste of space ever to grace the MFC with his presence in my 32 years as a member. Viewed the club as his superannuation only. Rarely got out of 3rd gear on or off the field, and resembled a keg on legs by the end of his time. Probably fast tracked the departure of Neale Daniher.

27 minutes ago, poita said:

There was nothing tough or hard about Pickett. He was a sniper at best, and gutless at worst.

We paid massively over the odds for him and he did nothing in return. He was the biggest waste of space ever to grace the MFC with his presence in my 32 years as a member. Viewed the club as his superannuation only. Rarely got out of 3rd gear on or off the field, and resembled a keg on legs by the end of his time. Probably fast tracked the departure of Neale Daniher.

but apart from those little peccadilloes, you quite liked him poita?