Richmond coach Damien Hardwick admits he locked in star WA recruit Marlion Pickett for the AFL grand final four days before the big game.

Speaking on Richmond FC, Hardwick revealed he was so impressed by Pickett’s best-on-ground performance in the VFL grand final that he made his decision on the Tuesday night.

“I said to (assistant Adam Kingsley), ‘do you think Marlion could play in an AFL Grand Final in six days’ time?’ I reckon his jaw dropped, but that’s where it all started,” Hardwick said.

“I, personally, was thinking that I was playing him. But then I had to make sure that everyone was on the same page from a buy-in point of view.

“It took a little bit of time. I reckon 80 percent of our match committee were saying he was playing. Then there were 20 percent who will always ask the questions: ‘What about this guy? Can he do the job better?’ That was a challenge for us.”

“Marlion just kept playing (in the VFL grand final) and he kept doing things that good players do.

“You found yourself looking at him and he just put someone in space or he just did something that was quite special and you think, ‘that’s the difference between an AFL player and a VFL player’. He would do things that were AFL quality.

“That’s when it really started to become evident that he could play.”

Hardwick knew he had one position to fill in Richmond’s grand final side with Jack Graham injured in the prelim final a week prior.

After ruling returning youngster Sydney Stack out by half time in the VFL grand final, Hardwick says he then had the tough decision to tell Kamdyn McIntosh and Jack Ross – who were famously left out of the VFL decider to stay fit for the AFL grand final.

“I just said I had some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that you won’t be playing in the VFL Grand Final because we have two injuries in Jack Graham and Nathan Broad. The good news is that you might be playing in an AFL Grand Final,” Hardwick said.

“I said I couldn’t guarantee they would, but that there was a possibility they would.

“Even to this day, they don’t hold any grudges and they completely understand the decision we made. Were they disappointed? Of course they were. Everyone wants to play in a Grand Final, no matter what the level. But the fact of the matter is they’re Richmond people.

“They took it on the chin and they did what was best for the side.”

Even Hardwick admits Pickett’s rise to AFL grand final debutant came unexpectantly.

“He was a distant fourth,” Hardwick said, referring to McIntosh, Ross and Stack as those in line for selection first.

But just four months after being snapped up by the Tigers in the Mid-Season Draft from South Fremantle, Pickett’s tale is now written in AFL history.