Garry Lyon calls out Melbourne Demons over Kysaiah Pickett and Christian Petracca 'disaster'
The Demons legend has responded to the ongoing drama at his former club.
Melbourne club great Garry Lyon has questioned why there is constant drama at the Demons after the latest reports suggest Kysaiah Pickett could be considering a move away. The Demons have been embroiled in a number of off-field controversies across the last season and failing to reach AFL finals has been a huge letdown for fans.
The club has been fending off reports Christian Petracca wants out of the club, which would be a bitter blow for a team already set to lose Alex Neal-Bullen. Petracca still has another five years to run on his lucrative contract, but reports suggest he wants to leave Melbourne. And Channel 7 reporter Mitch Cleary dropped a bombshell report Pickett could also be looking for a move away from Melbourne due to 'homesickness'.
Latest reports suggest suggest Fremantle would be his preferred destination if he were to leave the Demons. This comes as Pickett became a father recently after the birth of his first child. “Kozzy Pickett expressed to Simon Goodwin and Melbourne officials that he was dealing with homesickness in his exit meeting yesterday (on Tuesday),” Cleary said on 7 News.
“He will be a name to watch in the upcoming Trade Period with family links in both WA and SA. Both his management and the club are confident they can work through his concerns and he will be staying to see out the remaining three years of his contract at Melbourne.”
And club legend Lyon has conceded the constant reports of player unrest at the Demons is hard to fathom as a supporter. “I did see where it was quoted by Mitch that both club and manager are hopeful that this will sort itself out. But in the environment that Melbourne are in I get how it is a big story," Lyon said on SEN Radio.
“Every time I look up at the news there’s a ‘Dees disaster’ headline and that’s really hard to watch as a Melbourne supporter. That’s the world we live in. He signed for four years, he’s had a little baby which is great news for them. Six weeks ago Peter Rohde said, ‘Nup, that’s a non-story and he’s staying’.” Unfortunately for the Demons, Alex Neal-Bullen has already informed the club he wants a trade with Adelaide his preferred destination for personal reasons.
If Melbourne’s Kysaiah Pickett does ask the Demons for a trade, it’s understood he wants to play for Fremantle.
The Dockers are fully aware of Pickett’s desire to join them in the event he chooses to leave Melbourne.
Would join Shai Bolton in purple.@7afl @7NewsMelbourne— Theo Doropoulos (@TheoDrop) August 29, 2024
Melbourne president addresses player unrest at Demons
Melbourne president Kate Roffey also tuned into SEN Radio to address the ongoing turmoil at hte club. The president admitted the club was at the centre of a number of issues regarding big name players, but she was confident the situation was salvageable.
“We’ve got some issues, absolutely. I’m heartbroken for our supporters because they don’t get to see our day-to-day operations at the club,” Roffey said. “Is there ever a club not in some kind of flux state? Like always, we’ll deal with it and get through it.”
Roffey was pressed about the Petracca drama surrounding the club and claimed the Demons star was still contracted to the team. “I just want to point out to people … we’re dealing with individuals, and it’s an incredibly difficult time for ‘Trac’. I have been in intensive care myself, it’s horrific, it’s a traumatic experience,” Roffey said.
“I haven’t spoken to him directly about (his intentions) … he’s a contracted player at our club. These conversations have been had as appropriate with the football department, not me – that’s not my area of expertise. What I am saying that Trac is a contracted player … he’s a critical part of our team.”
Roffey also turned her attention to Pickett and claimed he wasn't set to leave. However, she admitted they were working through an individual situation with a player missing his family. “(Pickett) is homesick, they all get homesick from time to time. Kozzie is a home person, he’s got a beautiful little baby and his family, there’s some in South Australia, some in WA,” Roffey added.
“He gets homesick but we work through that with Kozzie, it’s not a new thing. That was a conversation about him being homesick, it wasn’t a conversation about him asking for a trade or leaving the football club." The president claimed there was no need for an external, independent review at the Demons after a number of off-field disruptions.
