Is Kozzi Pickett a top 10 player

[Shooter#17]

Basically averaging 20d and 2 goals a game this season, only player to do that since 2016 which is astounding.
Is he a top 10 player in the game now, id say he's now the most impactful maybe outside of Heeney.

 

[Mr Cheese]

If you have to ask the question, you probably already know the answer...

 

[Lingsface]

My favourite player in the comp to watch right now. Top 10 for sure in my mind.

 

[yulong]

The only reason I am still going to the footy this year. A highlight and he will continue to improve.

That and Gawn in AA team this year our only positives ...

Unless goodie gets the arse

 

[demondavey]

He doesn’t have a basketball background like Pendlebury. Other than that, top 10.

 

[Corn Cobbers]

If he's not, must be a pretty good top 10

 

[yulong]

He doesn’t have a basketball background like Pendlebury. Other than that, top 10.

Glad you mentioned that it's a valid point.

Gawn and Kosi should be 2025 AA captain and vice captain respectively.

 

[Cmarsh]

I'd be curious to know if the AFL get State of Origin going next year as reported, would he be eligible to play for WA, SA, or both? His history suggests he spent significant time in both states.

 

[PhatBoy]

Geez he is good.
10 games out of 15 this year with 15+ disposals/2+ goals. And in two of those games he had multiple goal assists.

Incredible season so far.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I don't have a problem if people want to put him up there. Personally, I'd say it's a bit much.

He's undoubtedly a star, but it seems to me as though he has one ridiculously dominant game for every three that Gawn has. For me, Gawn is easily still Melbourne's best player and I'd suggest it's a bit of overkill to have 20% of the top 10 list coming from a bottom 6 team.

 

[PhatBoy]

I don't have a problem if people want to put him up there. Personally, I'd say it's a bit much.

He's undoubtedly a star, but it seems to me as though he has one ridiculously dominant game for every three that Gawn has. For me, Gawn is easily still Melbourne's best player and I'd suggest it's a bit of overkill to have 20% of the top 10 list coming from a bottom 6 team.

Again, two thirds of his games this year have been 15/2 or better. That’s not just good, that’s sensational for a player in his role. And more than half of those games have been against teams in the top 8.

Essendon - 23/2
Fremantle - 24/5/1 assist, 3 tackles
Hawthorn - 17/2, 9 tackles
Brisbane - 21/2 (and he had 4 behinds - if he kicked straight it would have been outstanding), 3 tackles
Sydney - 24/5 (and another 4 behinds), 4 tackles
Collingwood - 15/3, 3 tackles
Port Adelaide - 16/3/1 assist, 6 tackles
Gold Coast - 25/3/3 assists, 5 tackles
Adelaide - 22/2/1 assist, 2 tackles
Carlton - 23/5/2 assists, 2 tackles.


They are dominant numbers and what Gawn is or isn’t doing shouldn’t matter.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Again, two thirds of his games this year have been 15/2 or better. That’s not just good, that’s sensational for a player in his role. And more than half of those games have been against teams in the top 8.

Essendon - 23/2
Fremantle - 24/5/1 assist, 3 tackles
Hawthorn - 17/2, 9 tackles
Brisbane - 21/2 (and he had 4 behinds - if he kicked straight it would have been outstanding), 3 tackles
Sydney - 24/5 (and another 4 behinds), 4 tackles
Collingwood - 15/3, 3 tackles
Port Adelaide - 16/3/1 assist, 6 tackles
Gold Coast - 25/3/3 assists, 5 tackles
Adelaide - 22/2/1 assist, 2 tackles
Carlton - 23/5/2 assists, 2 tackles.


They are dominant numbers and what Gawn is or isn’t doing shouldn’t matter.

Dominant seems a bit strong for me, a fair few of those look like a good day at the office for Shaun Mannagh.

He's only featured in the coaches votes six times this year and on two of those occasions, he only earned votes from one of the two coaches.

"For a player in his role" is interesting... I thought this was a discussion about the best 10 players in the league, regardless of their role?

 

[PhatBoy]

Dominant seems a bit strong for me, a fair few of those look like a good day at the office for Shaun Mannagh.

He's only featured in the coaches votes six times this year and on two of those occasions, he only earned votes from one of the two coaches.

"For a player in his role" is interesting... I thought this was a discussion about the best 10 players in the league, regardless of their role?

Mannagh has done it 9 times in 27 games to date. Yes he is much earlier in his career but he’s also almost 28 years old and his team has spent a total of maybe 3 weeks outside the top 4 since he joined it.

23/3/3 assists in a 15 goal drubbing of Port (who WERE a top four team it must be said)
17/3 against Hawthorn
24/3/2 against St Kilda are the only times he’s ever done it with more than 2 goals.
Mannagh’s tackle numbers against the Saints were through the roof; he had 11.

But yeah even this season in isolation Mannagh if you combine his goals and assists, he is right on 2. Pickett is clearly over 3, (it’s about 3.3) and he gets an extra couple of touches. And he’s playing in a terrible team.

I love Mannagh and rate him highly but it’s not the same thing.

Plus I have no data to back this up whatsoever but I doubt he’s good for Mannagh’s obligatory holding the ball howler every week

 

[PhatBoy]

For some respective on that criteria of 15 touches and 2 goals, the immediate name from Geelong that springs to mind is Steve Johnson.
At current pace, Pickett has managed to do it in 66 per cent of his games this season.

Johnson never managed to do that. I’m not saying he’s a better player, far from it. Or that he’s having a better season than some of Johnson’s. But it is a feat in itself to be more consistent at both scoring - in a notoriously shithouse scoring team - and ball gathering than one of the best modern exponents of that combination in a relatively lengthy span of games.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Mannagh has done it 9 times in 27 games to date. Yes he is much earlier in his career but he’s also almost 28 years old and his team has spent a total of maybe 3 weeks outside the top 4 since he joined it.

23/3/3 assists in a 15 goal drubbing of Port (who WERE a top four team it must be said)
17/3 against Hawthorn
24/3/2 against St Kilda are the only times he’s ever done it with more than 2 goals.
Mannagh’s tackle numbers against the Saints were through the roof; he had 11.

But yeah even this season in isolation Mannagh if you combine his goals and assists, he is right on 2. Pickett is clearly over 3, (it’s about 3.3) and he gets an extra couple of touches. And he’s playing in a terrible team.

I love Mannagh and rate him highly but it’s not the same thing.

Plus I have no data to back this up whatsoever but I doubt he’s good for Mannagh’s obligatory holding the ball howler every week

I like Mannagh too, but he's maybe in the top 150 AFL players.

Pickett's not competing against Mannagh, he's competing against Jeremy Cameron, Nick Daicos, NWM, Bontempelli, Dawson, Butters, Gawn, Holmes, Green/Greene, Serong, McCluggage, Holmes, Anderson, Heeney... I could go on. You'd have to be putting Pickett ahead of several of those players for him to be top 10 and I simply don't have him at that level.

 

[PhatBoy]

I like Mannagh too, but he's maybe in the top 150 AFL players.

Pickett's not competing against Mannagh, he's competing against Jeremy Cameron, Nick Daicos, NWM, Bontempelli, Dawson, Butters, Gawn, Holmes, Green/Greene, Serong, McCluggage, Holmes, Anderson, Heeney... I could go on. You'd have to be putting Pickett ahead of several of those players for him to be top 10 and I simply don't have him at that level.

I don’t see why you couldn’t put him above a few of them.
I’d put him above Holmes at the moment, much as I think Max is still on an upward trajectory.
I’d have him above Toby.

Remember, this is a ‘right now’ thing. It’s not like I’m saying ‘well if I had to say who’s the best factoring in form, and the demonstrated ability to maintain it over a long period I would say he’s in the best 10 players in the AFL.’ Players have to be allowed to build up credits in the bank. Some of those guys have been top 5 for 5+ years so can be a bit quiet for a while and still be in the elite list.

But using a lot of the criteria people like to judge these things on, Bailey Smith probably isn’t in the best 10-20 players in the AFL either, yet he’s among the Brownlow medal favourites because on form right now (although he’s actually dipped a little) he’s had a really good season. Pickett has too.

I would also suggest that with a couple of exceptions the players you named are all in good sides. If Pickett had been posting his performances this season in any of those teams, I wonder how much differently they’d be interpreted?

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

His best is enough for a top 5 player but needs to narrow down the gap between best and worst IMO and to be clear, his worst isn't bad just not good enough for top 10 player.

 

[yulong]

I like Mannagh too, but he's maybe in the top 150 AFL players.

Pickett's not competing against Mannagh, he's competing against Jeremy Cameron, Nick Daicos, NWM, Bontempelli, Dawson, Butters, Gawn, Holmes, Green/Greene, Serong, McCluggage, Holmes, Anderson, Heeney... I could go on. You'd have to be putting Pickett ahead of several of those players for him to be top 10 and I simply don't have him at that level.

Pickett is ahead of a few of those players this year.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Pickett is ahead of a few of those players this year.

This year, sure. For example, he's been better than Toby Greene this year, but I look at this exercise as 'if I was picking a team that I needed to win this weekend and everyone was fully fit', I'm not sure I could go Pickett over Greene.

If we're looking at it purely on 2025 form, yeah we can put him ahead of Greene. But then do we put him ahead of, say, Jamie Elliott (who was probably getting the same 'is he a top 10 player' buzz six weeks ago)?

I'm a bit dubious at these sort of hot takes a few days after a player has put up a 10 coaches votes performance. He had seven coaches votes from his previous six outings. I like him and I think he'd have to be a huge chance for AA as it stands. He deserves enormous credit for performing the way he has been after signing that eye popping contract. But let's see him redeem that poor performance earlier in the year against the Saints this week. Let's see him in the votes in two of the next three weeks before we start talking top 10 in the league. That's all I'm saying.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Just doesnt seem like a match winner to me. He's a fine player though

 

[1972championsofaust]

Maybe….

On his own Team!

 

[Mr Clunk]

Favourite non Saint since Cyril

 

[Fadge]

Brilliant player, but needs to do it for longer to break into my top 10 (which already includes one Melbourne player - Gawn).

 

[Trav 20]

I've had the slows on Pickett due to consistency, but he's 5 games away from having an incredible year for a mid/forward.

He's 5 games off having a 45 goal season on his current goal average, while averaging 20 disposals.

To put that into perspective, Cyril's best years (3 x All Australian) don't come close.

 

[My Tilly]

I've had the slows on Pickett due to consistency, but he's 5 games away from having an incredible year for a mid/forward.

He's 5 games off having a 45 goal season on his current goal average, while averaging 20 disposals.

To put that into perspective, Cyril's best years (3 x All Australian) don't come close.

Toby Greene has been averaging 18-20 disposals & 2 goals for years. Still the best small forward/mid in the competition.