AFL Origin: Kysaiah Pickett’s burning desire to represent WA leaves no doubt over where he considers home

Under the initial eligibility criteria for AFL Origin, Kysaiah Pickett would not have been to represent WA against Victoria in front of a sold-out Optus Stadium on Saturday night. But despite spending his teenage years in South Australia, the Melbourne superstar left no doubt over what State he considers his home by petitioning the league for permission to pull on the black and gold jumper. Now one of the competition’s most dynamic players, Pickett was born on the Eyre Peninsula but moved to the Wheatbelt town of Quairading, where his mother’s side of the family hails from, as a child. He returned to Adelaide as a teenager and spent time living with his uncle Byron — a 204-game, two-time premiership-winning AFL star — before being drafted out of SANFL club Woodville-West Torrens by the Demons in 2019. Last year, the AFL expanded Origin’s selection criteria beyond a player’s State league club, also accounting for where they were born and played their junior football, as well as their Indigenous cultural heritage. In a club documentary released in 2024, Pickett said Quairading held a special place in his heart. “I grew up there, all my family live there,” he said. “I learned how to play footy there actually, and basically did all my primary schooling there before I moved over to Adelaide. “That’s probably where most of my favourite memories are. I had a lot of friends, a lot of my family members were going to school with me. “To see my family, my mum, my nanna, my little sisters, that’s why I love it. “Going back home is always pretty special for myself. It’s my relaxing place.” Pickett was believed to be considering requesting a trade back to WA in both 2024 and the early stages of 2025 before committing to a seven-year contract extension tying him to Melbourne until the end of the 2034 season. Quairading Football Club president Jack Richards said the town held a huge amount of pride in what Pickett had been able to accomplish. “I know his coaches growing up through the ranks were saying ‘this guy’s definitely got the gift to play AFL’, and they were spot on. It’s pretty cool to hear those stories,” he said. “We’re fortunate enough that there’s a couple of guys that have come from Quairading to play AFL footy over the years. Sport’s a big thing in Quairading, so the juniors have a lot to look up to. “A little place like Quairading being put on the national stage is pretty exciting.” Pickett’s fellow WA representatives are also stoked to have their chance to call him a teammate, with Sydney’s Chad Warner last week revealing he was one of the players he was most looking forward to running out alongside. “I just want to be on the same team as him for once rather than him tearing us up all the time,” Warner told 7NEWS. Get a FREE WA AAMI AFL Origin Guernsey worth RRP $130 when you sign up for a 12-month subscription to thewest.com.au Subscribe now from just $6 per week. T&Cs apply, limited time only. https://www.thewest.com.au/footypack