MELBOURNE veteran Tom McDonald has revealed Kysaiah Pickett's dazzling performance against Fremantle was rated by Demons coaches as being in Gary Ablett jnr-like territory.
Pickett was unstoppable at the MCG on Saturday, leading the charge to put an end to Melbourne's miserable winless start to the season.
The 23-year-old booted five goals, four of them in the first half, as the Dockers had no answers for a player they will look to lure west in the off-season.
Melbourne's post-game review was understandably glowing of Pickett, even drawing comparisons to Ablett, the Geelong and Gold Coast legend and two-time Brownlow Medal winner.
"We (Demons players) rate our games out of seven, and then the coaches do the same," McDonald said on Wednesday.
"I think he was the first one in a long time to get a seven out of seven from the coaches, which is normally ... Gary Ablett territory, where you have 40 (possessions) and kick four (goals).
"He was spectacular. Awesome to see him do it and see him having fun out there as well."
Despite being tied to Melbourne until 2027, Pickett has been linked to a move to Fremantle.
Ahead of the Indigenous All Stars game in February, Pickett attempted to shut down that speculation: "I'm contracted at Melbourne, I'm having fun there and I love it at the club."
McDonald insisted contracts and potential player movements aren't discussed at the club, and that Pickett remained a popular teammate.
"He's a quiet guy, he keeps to himself a lot," the swingman said.
"The way he stands out is his fashion, comes in with different outfits every day looking really good.
"A great person, lovely family, brings his little daughter along to training quite a bit, which is fun."
Pickett will loom large in Melbourne's Anzac Day Eve clash with Richmond on Thursday night at the MCG as the Demons attempt to move to 2-5 and get their season back on track.
Tigers coach Adem Yze previously worked with Pickett when he was an assistant at Melbourne before joining Richmond at the end of 2023.
"Not sure who we're going to play on Kozzy Pickett, but he played like a star (against Fremantle)," Yze said.
"We might have to put two or three players on him.
"He's a talented kid ... he's getting some opportunity at centre bounce, and what he does forward of the ball is really potent.
"You're coming up against good teams, you know that they're going to have good forwards.
"Hopefully they're worried about three or four of our boys in our front end."
Young Richmond defender Campbell Gray will make his debut as a replacement for Noah Balta, who will be forced to sit out the match due to a court-imposed curfew preventing him from being outside of his home between 10pm and 6am.
