Dual Richmond premiership player Marlion Pickett made a successful return to local footy on the weekend, suiting up for Northern Territory Football League club Tiwi Bombers.
Pickett finished with 14 disposals – including 10 contested – in the Bombers' 57-point win over Wanderers during the opening round of the NTFL season.
The Noongar man also had four clearances and three tackles in the Bombers' 19.9 (123) to 9.12 (66) win at TIO Stadium on Saturday.
The ex-Tiger showcased his versatility by playing in a number of positions on the ground, including spending time in the ruck.
Pickett's Tiwi teammate – former Greater Western Sydney and Western Bulldogs midfielder Sam Darley – said the 32-year-old created plenty of excitement for the Tiwi community.
"Having Pickett is great, for a community like the Tiwi where footy is almost a religion to have a bloke fresh out of the AFL it's pretty special for them to have that access to him," Darley told the NT News post-match.
"We hope he had fun, and now it's on to next week, we want to teach these (Tiwi) boys how to prepare for games so our history of hot stretches followed by fall offs will no longer be the case."
Pickett was revealed as the Tiwi Bombers' marquee signing in late August and is expected to be based in Darwin for the entirety of the NTFL season.
He announced his retirement from the AFL this year after a 92-game career that included being a member of Richmond's premiership triumphs in 2019 and 2020.
The West Australian spectacularly made his AFL debut in the 2019 grand final and placed third in the Norm Smith Medal voting in his team's huge win over the Giants.
Pickett was not the only ex-AFL player to showcase his talents in Tiwi's win on the weekend.
Former Essendon-listed player Anthony Munkara provided a handful of highlights and finished with four goals while Sam Darley and ex-West Coast small forward Ashton Hams also produced strong performances.
In other NTFL news, Steven Motlop had a solid outing in his first game for Southern Districts after joining the club during the pre-season.
Motlop transferred from PINT to the Crocs after his brother Shannon's controversial dismissal as coach at the end of last season.
The 33-year-old gathered 20 disposals – all of them kicks – in Districts' 12.9 (81) to 7.3 (45) win over Waratah at TIO Stadium.
The ex-Geelong and Port Adelaide player used the ball at 90 per cent efficiency and had a game-high five rebound-50s.
In the same game, former Hawthorn, North Melbourne and Gold Coast midfielder Jed Anderson finished with 22 disposals and kicked a goal.
