New Melbourne Demons coach Steven King has heaped praise on superstar Kysaiah Pickett, as the AFL landscape begins to truly appreciate his livewire's brilliance.
After Friday night's victory over Richmond, Pickett made headlines when revealing to broadcaster Fox Sports that he "wants to be the best in the game".
The way he is playing lately, that feels more reachable than every for the 24-year-old.
"He reminds everyone why you (sic) love the game," King said, when discussing Pickett's rich vein of form of Fox Footy's AFL360 program, on Monday night.
"He's got that inner drive. He wants to be a full-time mid, he wants to be the best in the game... he's got that innate competitiveness to be great."
After a Round 2 loss to Fremantle, Pickett requested a meeting with Nathan Jones and Steven King, to plead his case for more midfield minutes.
Jones made no secret of the expectations that he, as the line coach, would have for Pickett, should he grant that wish.
Pickett has surely exceeded them, however, averaging 24.5 disposals, more than seven tackles and over a goal per game this season.
The upstart Demons have been one of the stories of the year, sitting inside the top four just seven games into King's tenure. In discussing the reasons for their early success, King applauded his side's bravery with the ball, and ability to move on quickly from errors as key drivers behind his side's ascendancy so early in his coaching career.
"I'm still pinching myself," he said.
"I think getting a couple of early wins was really important...I felt like a bit of a salesman early, saying "this is what I want," but we had no proof.
"Now there's a little body of work - we'll continue to evolve, and we'll look different in a month's time...but so far, the foundation of what I set out is starting to develop, which is really promising."
The Demons next travel to Sydney for a top four clash with the Swans, on Sunday afternoon.
