'Special talent' stars as Demons revival continues
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has warned maestro Kysaiah Pickett's best is yet to come after another masterclass inspired the Demons' 53-point demolition of Sydney.
In Sir Doug Nicholls Round, Melbourne's Indigenous superstar was unstoppable at the MCG as he booted five goals to stun the sluggish Swans.
Only poor conversion kept Sydney in the match on the scoreboard for as long as they were, but Melbourne pulled away late in the third quarter, setting up the 19.17 (131) to 12.6 (78) victory.
After a disastrous 0-5 start to the season, the Demons' campaign is suddenly alive on the back of five wins from their past six starts.
It was Pickett's second eye-catching performance of the season, after also kicking five in Melbourne's breakthrough win over Fremantle in round six.
The 23-year-old is without question one of the most damaging players in the AFL when firing, with Melbourne also using him more at centre bounces to go with his elite forward craft.
Pickett (24 possessions, six clearances) could have finished with seven or eight goals, but missed several chances when attempting crowd-pleasing finishes rather than simply putting it through the middle.
"He's a pretty special talent," Goodwin said.
"He's just someone that we value so highly, and since he's come back into the team you can see the type of effect that he has.
"He's only going to keep getting better and better.
"He's still got a lot of work to do, still a young player and there's still so much growth in his game."
All of Melbourne's big guns fired - Max Gawn, Christian Petracca in his 200th game, Clayton Oliver - in a clear sign things have turned around dramatically for the Demons.
The Swans, in their first outing at the MCG since last year's grand final capitulation against the Brisbane Lions, were never in the contest.
A lack of pressure was evident from the start, and Sydney struggled badly with their ball movement.
To make matters worse, injury-prone Swans captain Callum Mills - playing his first match since last year's qualifying final - will face scrutiny from the match review officer for a bump on Melbourne's Charlie Spargo in the third term.
Callum Mills gave away a free kick for this incident involving Charlie Spargo as Pickett kicks his fifth goal.#AFLDeesSwans pic.twitter.com/USavmltdOe
— AFL (@AFL) May 25, 2025
Mills launched himself off the ground and made contact with Spargo, forcing the umpires to intervene and send the Demons forward off for a head injury assessment.
Spargo was later subbed out of the game, but Melbourne insisted it was a tactical move and he passed a concussion test.
After virtually single-handedly steering the Swans to victory against Carlton last week, Sydney superstar Isaac Heeney played another lone hand with three goals and 22 possessions.
With a long injury list and players regularly getting suspended for undisciplined acts, Sydney's season is teetering on the brink at 4-7 ahead of hosting red-hot Adelaide at the SCG on Saturday night.
The Swans threaten to continue a long trend of teams who have suffered heavy grand final losses struggling the next season.
"They (Melbourne) have been in really good form, and they've got it back off doing that (pressure), and we weren't able to match it," Sydney coach Dean Cox said.
"Our inconsistencies are way too frequent in games and week to week."
On the other hand, Melbourne are among the AFL's most in-form teams, just weeks after there was significant pressure on Goodwin to keep his job.
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