Recently retired Richmond midfielder Marlion Pickett has signed with Northern Territory Football League club Tiwi Bombers for the upcoming season.
The former Tigers midfielder announced his retirement from the AFL a couple of weeks ago after playing in two premierships for the club.
The Tiwi Bombers posted the announcement on social media early on Thursday morning.
"Tiwi Bombers are excited to announce Richmond Premiership hero Marlion Pickett will join the club this season," it read.
"Marlion's football journey is an amazing story of persistence where he made his AFL debut in the 2019 AFL Grand Final at age 27.
"We are fortunate to also welcome his partner Jess Nannup who is a star footballer in her own right and will play for our Women's Premier League team.
"We welcome Marlion and Jess and their beautiful children Marlion Jnr, Latrell, Shaniquae and Levi into our Tiwi community."
Pickett and his family will relocate to Darwin shortly in preparation for the NTFL season, which commences during the first weekend in October.
It will be a further boost for the Bombers with the club taking great strides forward last year under new coach Patrick Bowden.
Before Bowden's appointment, the Bombers had struggled down the bottom of the ladder in the few seasons following the pandemic, with the team at times appearing close to disbanding.
Last year, Tiwi were competitive across most games and posted four wins, including three consecutively around the Christmas period and a victory over eventual premiers St Marys.
Bowden told the NT News everyone at the club was 'very excited' to have secured Pickett's services.
"He's an unbelievable talent and footballer, and we're absolutely excited to have him," he said.
"We've got a really young team and we're looking to add experience around that.
"The best thing is we don't get him as a fly-in player, but we get him living here with his family, it adds so much value to our football club having him in Darwin full-time."
Pickett may be a chance to join forces with another former AFL star in Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, with Bowden revealing he could return to the club after a season in country Victoria.
"Last year we had Walla come up to play and really show some great leadership," Bowden said.
"We're hoping that he can (return), he's playing in Mildura at the moment so we're hoping he can come back and play for us again after."
