Melbourne forward Kysaiah Pickett has been texting his mates at a rival club that he will be playing alongside them next year, according to a report.
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Plus, Carlton face the enormous challenge of trying to retain star ruck Tom De Koning amid plenty of interest from rival clubs.
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DEES LIVEWIRE HITS HEADLINES AGAIN
Kysaiah Pickett has been texting his mates who play for Fremantle telling them he will be in Dockers colours next year, according to the Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph.
Pickett has been in the headlines throughout summer, after liking a social media post about a potential move to Fremantle at the end of the season.
The Melbourne livewire is set to head west next week to take part in the Indigenous All Stars match, despite a three-week ban set to delay the start to his season.
Port Adelaide came hard for Pickett last year but this time around it’s the Dockers, who are keen to add the exciting talent to what is developing into a very nice list primed for a deep finals run.
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Pickett is close friends with Quinton Narkle as well as Shai Bolton, Michael Walters and Luke Jackson. Narkle’s partner is sisters with Pickett’s partner and both couples hope to move to Darwin post-footy.
“Kysaiah Pickett has been texting his mates who play for Fremantle telling them he will be in Dockers colours next year,” Ralph wrote.
Ralph says Melbourne will “wrap its arms” around Pickett, who has been homesick at times during his stint in Victoria.
It looms as a big year for the Dees, who also had star midfielders Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver disgruntled at different stages last year.
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BLUES BIG MAN IN DEMAND
Carlton could face a big fight to retain star ruck Tom De Koning, as St Kilda consider putting a life-changing contract in front of the rising star.
SEN’s Sam Edmund reported that St Kilda are willing to splash some serious cash on the gun ruck to lure him out of Ikon Park.
Edmund says that figure could be a seven-year contract worth close to $12 million, which would equate to $1.7 million a season.
While no offer has been formally tabled, if De Koning were to stay at Carlton he would be sacrificing “somewhere in the vicinity of $700,000 a season”.
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St Kilda have made no secret of trying to land a star player in recent years. They went hard after Collingwood gun Jordan De Goey back in 2022, while Essendon captain Zach Merrett is another player they had been linked to previously.
In 2025, they’ve been linked to North Melbourne jet Luke Davies-Uniacke and Fremantle midfielder Andrew Brayshaw, while Giants on-baller Finn Callaghan is a local product who is also potentially a player of interest.
De Koning had a breakout season in 2024 as he took over the number one ruck mantle at the Blues, becoming one of the most damaging rucks in the competition.
The back half of his season was interrupted due to injury, but all signs point towards a big 2025 campaign.
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