Kysaiah Pickett backed his instincts when he played on to kick the sealer for Melbourne in an enthralling eight-point win over Collingwood on Monday.

Pickett starred in the first half for the Demons in their 12.11 (83) to 11.9 (75) victory in front of 88,019 fans at the MCG.

The first King's Birthday blockbuster and Big Freeze event since Neale Daniher's passing a fortnight ago was a cracker, with neither side leading by more than 16 points throughout.

There were eight lead changes - three in the final term - and both sides squandered multiple goal-scoring chances in the last few minutes.

Pickett missed a set shot and sent another kick on the run out on the full before seizing the decisive moment inside the final minute of play.

The Dees superstar was told by teammates to take his time for the previous set shot, but ignored thoughts of letting the clock tick down when he played on from his final mark and snapped truly.

PICKETT KICKS THE SEALER 😤#AFLPiesDees pic.twitter.com/bqjG6BEPbG

— AFL (@AFL) June 8, 2026

"I was in a moment, seeing no-one there, so I played on and luckily enough I kicked it through to seal the game," Pickett told AAP.

"It was pretty special. I don't know how much time there was, but to get the goal after I missed two, and seal it, it was real good."

Pickett finished with 28 disposals, five clearances and three goals despite being well held by Ed Allan for most of the second half, and was awarded the Neale Daniher Trophy for best afield.

But he will come under scrutiny from the match review officer for a possible trip on Brayden Maynard, who fell and dislocated his right shoulder for the second time when the pair tangled.

Maynard, who earlier hurt the shoulder when tackling Harrison Petty, was ruled out for the rest of the game and faces a significant period on the sidelines.

Melbourne (8-5) move back into the top six, while Collingwood (5-7-1) sit just outside the wildcard finals places after a fourth loss in five matches.

"We didn't take our chances when we had chances to hit the lead with a couple of minutes to go," Collingwood coach Craig McRae said.

"Then there's moments of them kicking goals from the boundary line and we missed our set shots.

"That's what I'm reflecting on at the moment.

"We're playing good footy and there's parts of our game that continue to improve, but ultimately we sit here with the same result."

Australian Associated Press