Garry Lyon sends message to Melbourne ace Kysaiah Pickett after AFL suspension upheld

Melbourne Demons great Garry Lyon has called for Kysaiah Pickett to control his on-field aggression after the forward was suspended for the third time in 12 months for his hit on Jake Soligo. Pickett made headlines after he was suspended for a collision with Carlton captain Patrick Cripps in the AFL semi-finals last year.

He had already copped a two-game suspension earlier in the year when he collected Western Bulldogs gun Bailey Smith. This time around, Pickett jumped and took out Soligo with his upper arm. And now Simon Goodwin has called for the forward to curtail his aggressive approach to avoid missing so many games.

"This isn't the first conversation that we've had (with Pickett)," Goodwin said on Wednesday ahead of their clash. "He's certainly modified the way he goes about it. He's a high pressure, high intensity player, and we love what he brings.

"He has modified what he does ... he will continue to improve in that space. What we don't want is one of our best players missing games of footy so we'll keep working with Kozzy. What he has got an appetite to do is learn get better and do it better and that's what we love about him."

Melbourne challenged his one-game suspension at the AFL Tribunal having claimed he was bracing for impact. But the Demons were unsuccessful and he will miss the game against the Lions. Despite the challenge, Pickett has received the backing of his teammates. And Goodwin backed Pickett to slightly change his approach to avoid suspensions down the line.

"When you get suspended you've got to look at examples where you can get better at it," Goodwin said. "I think what both Alan and Christian are saying is we love his intensity, the way he goes about his pressure.

"But can you get better at it? And that's what we do. You've got to learn from your experiences as you go through, and that's what the best players do."

Garry Lyon calls for Kysaiah Pickett change

The decision to fight the Pickett suspension at the AFL Tribunal certainly raised eyebrows among fans. The Demons lost the decision and AFL great Garry Lyon claimed Pickett needs to make the adjustements, which shouldn't be hard.

"What happens now?" How does Pickett make the changes he needs to make," Lyon said on SEN Radio on Wednesday. "Because that's the third suspension he has got, for bumping an opposition player to the head.

"He has just got to try and get it out of his game." Lyon was confident the Demons star would be able to erase the move out of his game.