From a ruthless criminal and ice addict to premiership glory: Footy star Marlion Pickett opens up on his VERY shady past, his time behind bars - and how the suicide of his best mate helped turn his life around

AFL star Marlion Pickett has told of his remarkable personal turnaround from a drug dealer who turned to burglary to fund his ice addiction to an admired athlete and doting father-of-four.

The 28-year-old is a household name among Tigers fans after starring in his debut for Richmond, which also happened to be the 2019 Grand Final when they thrashed Greater Western Sydney. 

Though Pickett lived a very different life in his teenage years - during which he was jailed twice for a series of offences including grievous bodily harm and robbery.

After getting out of jail for the second time following a two-and-a-half year stint behind bars, the then-21-year-old's son Latrell didn't even recognise him as his father anymore. 

Then last July, his close friend Sam Nannup - the brother of his partner Jess and Pickett's cell mate in prison - tragically took his own life.

The Richmond midfielder has opened up about his difficult and often heartbreaking rise to sporting stardom in his new book Belief.

Richmond star Marlion Pickett with his partner Jess and children Marlion, Shaniquae, Levi and Latrell. The 28-year-old has endured a difficult and often heartbreaking rise to AFL stardom

Star player's shady past 

Pickett was once a lost soul who hit rock bottom with a string of burglary offenses. 

Back in 2010, while living aimlessly and using the drug ice, Marlion agreed to join mates in breaking into a shopping centre. 

'Somebody said, "Let's do some shops",' Marlion recalls. 

'We cruised around for an hour. We were after tools to smash our way through the glass doors of the shopping centre, so then we could do the easy shops in the middle courtyard. 

'We found a cement truck with sledgehammers just lying in the back.' 

With no security visible, the young men engaged in a brazen smash and grab exercise that would bring them to the attention of the police. 

'We pulled the car up right out front of the shopping centre,' he said.

'I was excited, like a rush, but scared too. We got out of the car and smashed through the glass door. The three of us scattered, going for the small shops and kiosks in the centre. 

Pickett pictured with his partner Jess. The Richmond player was jailed twice for a series of offences including grievous bodily harm and robbery

'I remember a Lottery West agency. You try the till, look for the lockbox. I found it, smashed it open with the sledgehammer. 

'I didn't think about it till much later: this was somebody's business. I just wanted the cash and to get out of there.' With alarms sounding Marlion knew the police must be on their way.

'I was terrified of being caught in the shop or something.

'Let's go, let's go, we was shouting. We raced outside to the car and sped off.' 

The young men then splurged their takings on celebrating, visiting nightclubs and the casino – and the money was all gone within a week. 

They then planned another job, although Marlion knew he would soon get caught. 

And sure enough – the police soon arrived at his home, leading to a fateful stint in prison that would change his life forever.

Budding AFL star's family tragedy

Although his ALF career has taken him to the heights of success, Richmond Football Club star Marlion Pickett has always put family first. 

Marlion Pickett poses with his children Marlion, 9, Latrell, 8, Shaniquae, 4, and Levi, 2 during the AFL Grand Final Parade in September 2019

So when his tight-knit world was rocked by a shocking tragedy, the then rising star and his partner Jess were hit particularly hard. 

Speaking of his personal heartbreak in his new book, Marlion revealed how the death of his good friend, and Jess' brother, Sam Nannup, left him devastated.

Sam and Marlion had a long history – Sam had requested to be Marlion's cell mate during his stint in prison, and the family were particularly tight.

When the shocking news of Sam's passing hit the family, it threatened to overwhelm them. 'Jess came running back in, and then out again,' Marlion recalls of the shocking moment she heard of Sam's passing.

Pickett left with his close friend and former cell mate Sam Nannup who took his own life last year

'Then she came back in and signalled we all had to leave.'

It was then that Jess related the news that Sam had taken his life – news they had to withhold from their young children.

'I thought that the aunties or cousins or the women of the family would tell Sam's daughter about her dad, but they couldn't. So they asked me to do it,' Marlion recalls.

'It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life, telling a ten-year-old girl her father had passed. It broke my heart.'

 Pickett pictured left as a pall bearer at Sam's funeral following his former cell mate's death in July 2019

Friend Anthony Van Der Wielen recalls answering a call from Marlion that revealed the scale of his devastation.

'Marlion is as tough as they come and never asks for anything, but he was in tears. I said, what's going on, brother? And then he told me Sam had taken his own life. He was devastated.'

While Marlion tried to return to training, he was consumed with feelings of guilt and sadness over Sam's tragic death, wondering what he could have done to avert the tragedy.

Pickett was consumed with feelings of guilt and sadness over Sam's tragic death

'I guessed he might be struggling,' Marlion recalls of the last time he saw him. 'He was just sitting there and I thought about getting up and going to speak with him, but I was just too tired.'

Jess was also left shell-shocked by the devastating turn of events.

'We were very close,' she says. 'I knew he was doing it tough but he was normally such a bubbly person.'

With his family in mourning and burgeoning football career hanging in the balance, the star would need all his strength and commitment to pull through for those who depended on him.

And that's just what he was determined to do.   

AFL Grand Final star's racism hell 

Pickett now finds himself at the top of his game and loved by fans around Australia, but the star has endured troubles in the past dealing with racism.

The indigenous star, 28, says that he has faced hostility and prejudice from people who have a problem with the colour of his skin.

When his family moved to the Western Australian town of Manjimup, where there were few aboriginal people, he suffered hostility at the local primary school he had never experienced before.

'They'd call us and our cousins "n*****s" and "boongs", stuff like that,' he revealed.

Pickett was once living aimlessly and using the drug ice, once agreeing to join mates in breaking into a shopping centre

The cruel welcome to the town came as a shock for the future star, who had been used to a more accepting environment in Perth.

'First off there was a few kids calling us names,' recalls Marlion, who remember one student in particular targeting him.

'Next time he called me something I walked up and punched him in the face. The other kids pretty much stopped after that, but not him. He never changed.'

When the family later moved to Perth, Marlion became embroiled in further racial tension in high school, with the local community sometimes divided along racial lines.

Pickett pictured with his partner Jess.  The then-21-year-old's son Latrell didn't recognise him as his father when he got out of jail after his second stint behind bars

'I was enrolled at Balga High School,' says Marlion, who recalls separation between white, indigenous and African students in the neighbourhood dubbed by some in the community as 'The Bronx'.

'We didn't mix much at all. The Indigenous kids and Africans didn't get on,' remembers Marlion.

 'One day, me and this African kid bumped into one another on the playground. 

'Neither one of us would back down. We started fighting. I think that was my first real fight.'

The two boys eventually patched up their differences – through football. It was an early sign of the bonding power of the game, but Marlion wasn't always so fortunate. 

Pickett celebrates with his daughter following the 2020 AFL Grand Final. The star is well-loved by Richmond and other footy fans alike but he faced racist taunts growing up

When playing for Nollamara Junior Football Club he received racial abuse during games – worst of all, from a teammate.

'We were playing a game and the other side were players short, so we loaned them some of ours. How it went down was, I think I tackled this fella who was one of ours, but on the other side that day. He called me a n****r.

'I wasn't going to stand for that so I punched him in the guts. My coach ordered me to apologise. I was pissed. I was like, "What about what he said? So it's okay for him call me that and you want me to apologise?"

'They did nothing. I refused to apologise for a long time and just sat on the bench. 

'Near the end I said I was sorry, but I was angry.' 

The experience stayed with him, with the anger only building. 

'When we made the grand final, I refused to play. I didn't want to play for a club that thought it was okay for their players to be racially abused,' he said.

Pickett said he was called racist names like'n*****' and 'boong' when his family moved to the regional Western Australian town of Manjimup

As he grew older, Marlion had increasing run-ins with the police, hitting crisis point at the age of 15, with the future footy favourite finding himself sentenced to six months in juvenile detention for committing grievous bodily harm and robbery.

A young Marlion was sent to Western Australia's Rangeview Remand Centre while on remand and awaiting trial – his first time in a detention facility.

It was there that he saw first-hand how indigenous youth are highly overrepresented in the justice system.

'I reckon about eighty per cent inside were Indigenous boys,' he said.

But despite all the trials he faced on his path to success, the athlete is now a major success, and he is grateful for the career the AFL has given him.

He now hopes more indigenous players will be given access to a career path like his. 

'A lot of fellas never get the chance they deserve,' he said.

Pickett celebrates with (left-right) Daniel Rioli, Shai Bolton, Mabior Chol of the Richmond Tigers after their 2020 AFL Grand Final triumph

'It's really hard for those boys up in those remote communities. They've never even been to the city.'  

Troubled family past 

Describing an extended family environment while growing up in Western Australia that was tainted by drug abuse, Marlion confesses that illegal substances were a presence in his life from an early age.

'Everything would start well,' he remembers of the family get-togethers that were a feature of his childhood.

'There was lots of food and laughing. A lot of drink and drugs too.

'We kids would be running around with our cousins having fun, riding bikes, playing games. It always ended in a fight. The uncles would be fighting or Dad would be fighting.

'I just accepted it, you know, as normal. The drugs, alcohol, fights, that was just what happened. Mum and Dad were good and all, but in terms of family members, it was alcohol and drugs all the time.'

By the time Marlion was 18, drugs had become a direct part of his own life. Drinking alcohol and experimenting with the drug ice, Marlion's life began to spin out of control.

Pickett's experiment with dealing came to an end with his growing distaste over the business – and he didn't want drugs around his young family 

With the drug all over Freemantle, he found it hard to resist.

'Gave me a rush at first, then I felt calm,' he recalls. 'Your problems didn't matter anymore. At least, not till the next smoke.'

He would take the drug and then sleep for days.

Soon he graduated to dealing to fund his lifestyle – although he refused to sell to anyone under the age of 18.

'Older people, people my age, men, women, some white people. It was everywhere,' he remembers.

Marlion Pickett of the Tigers celebrates the win with the Premiership Cup during the 2019 AFL grand final between the Richmond Tigers and the GWS Giants at the MCG in Melbourne 

His experiment with dealing came to an end with his growing distaste over the business – and he didn't want drugs around his young family.

But the ice lifestyle played into his ill-fated decision to participate in a break and enters at a shopping centre.

'Somebody said, "Let's do some shops", something like that,' he remembers.

His subsequent stint in prison was enough to straighten him up, and set him on the road towards redemption.

Marlion had had enough of the 'bulls**t', and as his football career beckoned, alcohol and drugs were consigned to the past.

Belief by Marlion Pickett with author David Warner is out now