Kozzy Homesick & Wants to Leave?

[Rab D Nesbitt 8,649]

Easy enough for one of these *cough* journalists to call him out about it at the next press conference he does.  

[MrReims 323]

Has anyone bothered to go past the paywall and get the full article though?

 

Ralph: Kozzie’s Dockers texts could mean everything — or nothing

 

sounds like a clickbait beat up with a misleading headline

Edited 3 hours ago by MrReims

[titan_uranus 25,063]

18 minutes ago, MrReims said:

Has anyone bothered to go past the paywall and get the full article though?

 

Ralph: Kozzie’s Dockers texts could mean everything — or nothing

 

sounds like a clickbait beat up with a misleading headline

“Kysaiah Pickett has been texting his mates who play for Fremantle telling them he will be in Dockers colours next year.

That is a fact as he prepares to head west for the frenzy that will be created by his Indigenous All-Stars appearance next week.

To suggest anything more is pure conjecture as multiple clubs try to get to the bottom of the enigma that is the 23-year-old Demons’ matchwinning premiership player.

Fresh from a fourth placing in Melbourne’s best-and-fairest last year, Pickett has been in Darwin in recent days – a city he would ideally call home, if only the city had an AFL team.

Instead, Pickett lives in Melbourne after spending his childhood across two states – an early stint in Western Australia before living with relative Byron Pickett in Adelaide, before being drafted to Victoria.

Once again this summer, Pickett has been at the forefront of headlines over a move to the Dockers, fanning the flames after liking a social media post about a potential move.

Melbourne is used to this predicament – Pickett spends time with rival AFL players outside Victoria during the off-season; they whisper sweet nothings about him playing alongside them.

Last year it was Port Adelaide that came hard, given the links to good mate Quinton Narkle, after the Cats’ midfielder was signed by the Power in the 2023 mid-season draft.

Only time will tell whether 2025 is Groundhog Day or something much more substantial.

Narkle has since moved to play with Fremantle. Pickett is also friends with new Dockers recruit Shai Bolton and Michael Walters as well as his Demons’ premiership teammate Luke Jackson.

Narkle’s partner, Taylah Cubillo, is the sister of Pickett’s partner Ardu Cubillo. Both couples have been blessed with children since August 2023, which has only strengthened the bond.

But there is no guarantee Narkle will be at the Dockers in 2026, with both couples keen to end up back in Darwin post-football no matter where the players finish their playing careers.

Fremantle and West Coast have made clear their interest in Pickett across the years – and recently – as the Demons rebuffed any trade prospects when the small forward told coach Simon Goodwin he was, at times, homesick in their exit meeting last year.

So Melbourne will wrap its arms around him with support again and hope when his three-week AFL suspension expires, he again falls back in love with the city and the club.

If the season turns pear-shaped, there is some chance he could officially ask for a trade, but the Demons could just as easily rebuff it. There are no guarantees. He shares a strong friendship with Goodwin, but the senior coach is not certain to be at the club past this season.

He is hugely motivated for the Indigenous game in WA, but that three-week ban is problematic because it is hard to get up for a season in which his first game for Melbourne is on April 4.

The very best-case scenario is Pickett helps lead this team towards a deep finals run that allows the Demons to hold firm on a contract through to 2027. 

But Melbourne has perhaps its three most talented players in Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Pickett all under a degree of doubt about their futures past this season.

Oliver and Petracca seem motivated to prove their critics wrong and Melbourne would reason that Pickett has always performed despite uncertainty about his future.

So that flurry of texts to his Dockers mates could mean everything or nothing, depending on how the Demons’ season of reckoning pans out across the next eight months.“

[Steamin Demon 396]

What surprises me most is it wasn't Michael Warner that wrote the story. His January hit piece was due. 

[adonski 12,770]

Hearing rumours we've chucked Narkle on the rookie list and given Luker Kentfield the chop

[Queanbeyan Demon 6,913]

If the rumor is legit (which I gravely doubt), then no dramas Floggers. At the end of 2025 he'll be a two-time premiership player, under-contract and have kicked 200 career goals. So, we'll take:

• Pavlova's kids and grandchildren,
• Andrew Brayshaw and Sean Darcy,
• Harley Reid and Oscar Allen (not our problem how you get them to us - just make it happen),
• Your first round picks for '25, 26 and '27, and
• Credit for another botched trading period for the Floggers.

Edited 2 hours ago by Queanbeyan Demon
Typo

[BDA 22,979]

4 hours ago, Deefender said:

Kozzie should have a chat to Jeff Farmer about moving to Fremantle from Melbourne.

and jesse hogan

[Neil Crompton 5,736]

Could Kossy just be playing with the media?

[Ollie fan 3,568]

The full article makes me feel a lot better.

 

Just as a BTW, I see that the sisters' name is Cubillo - a very famous name in legal circles, from the Stolen Generations case ( which unfortunately failed). 

[Rednblueriseing 832]

10 minutes ago, Neil Crompton said:

Could Kossy just be playing with the media?

Could be an element of this, however it does more harm than good... how is the club going to sell memberships if there is constant speculation about their 3 best players wanting to leave. Imo the players need to state their intentions, after all there is a season to play in 25 before any of this

[mmwd6 230]

1 hour ago, Neil Crompton said:

Could Kossy just be playing with the media?

I don't see who that benefits though. Just makes him look very unprofessional. 

I see Bolton and Narkle have now liked the foxfooty instagram post about this article.

So either Kozzy and all his close mates are having a laugh, or he is just trying to say as much as he can publicly without actually saying it to put pressure on the club. 

I don't think I've ever seen a player this open about trade speculation, especially at this stage of the year. Even Bailey Smith was more towards the end of the year, and he was uncontracted. 

[Dr. Gonzo 24,379]

1 hour ago, Neil Crompton said:

Could Kossy just be playing with the media?

Denial

[Ethan Tremblay 31,200]

Have seen the alleged texts. I’m pretty sure Kozzie is referring to playing in the all stars game vs Freo on the 15th. 

[DeeMee 905]

Really a bit over the media - create the fire - stoke the fire

Really a bit over contracts not being contracts.

Really a bit over players not coming out and killing rumours if there’s nothing in it.

Really over homesickness being so geographically limited that it is a suburb not a state.

Come on season start - let’s watch footy.

[rpfc 28,853]

21 minutes ago, Ethan Tremblay said:

Have seen the alleged texts. I’m pretty sure Kozzie is referring to playing in the all stars game vs Freo on the 15th. 

Let’s hope he cleans someone up on the 15th