Australian Football

After a somewhat shaky start to his career Liam Pickering eventually developed into one of the leading midfielders in the land. He began with North Melbourne in 1989 but in four seasons with the club failed to establish himself, playing almost four times as much reserve grade as senior football. After transferring to Geelong in 1993, however, he gained a new lease of life, seemingly improving year on year capped by Victorian representation in 1996 and a club best and fairest award the following year.

Pickering's strengths as a player included an ability to assess situations and respond appropriately and a happy knack of being able to find space and force the play. He also displayed a versatility with the Cats which had not been in evidence at North, playing with equal success in attack and defence as well as in his accustomed on-ball role.  He probably obtained slightly fewer possessions than several of his team mates but those he did obtain tended to be effective and telling.

His 102 appearances for Geelong included the losing grand finals of 1994 against West Coast and 1995 against Carlton. In the latter match he was one of the best players on view, with his tally of 27 disposals bettered by just one other player. The Kangas phase of his career saw him play 22 senior games while over the course of his whole career he registered 54 goals, all but 8 of them with the Cats.

Author - John Devaney