AFL player Marlion Pickett has been accused of stealing sensitive information from the judges of The Frownlow Medal. Pickett is alleged to have taken the documents from an undisclosed property in order to increase his chances of winning the biggest prize in Australian sport.
The Frownlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off-field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern-day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes; the National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), the A-League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. NRL player Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015, while NRL star Manase Fainu is the most recent recipient.
Pickett allegedly broke into the top-secret headquarters of The Frownlow Medal and succeeded in opening a safe. Alas, the safe was a decoy, and the priceless voting cards have been kept safe – for now.
The brazen break in at Frownlow HQ follows reports that the Richmond player was granted bail after allegedly carrying out burglaries on commercial properties in which more than $380,000 was stolen. That’s a lot of money, but still less than Pickett’s annual salary, and less valuable than the Frownlow secrets.
A total of 12 charges were laid against the grand final hero, including aggravated burglary, stealing and criminal damage for incidents in Perth dating back to December 2022. The Tiger spent a night in police custody while his teammates flew back to Melbourne following their game against Fremantle recently.
During the robberies, Australia and foreign currency was stolen, and a campervan was allegedly hired in Pickett’s name before being driven interstate. Sums of $6000 and $9000 dollars were paid into Pickett’s bank account, and he’s alleged to have purchased some of the clothing worn in the crimes. It wasn’t Richmond merchandise, because Pickett gets that for free.
Pickett must think he has a good chance of winning the Frownlow this year, and this explains his audacious act. He served a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for similar crimes in 2010-11, and was fined in 2016 for possessing unlawfully obtained property.
Like every other Frownlow nominee, he’s also a great role model, and is a paid mentor for young Indigenous players at Richmond.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 