William Robert Picken (7 June 1956 – 23 July 2022) was an
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
er who played for the
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...
and the
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...
in the
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
(VFL). Picken was still at school when he arrived at Collingwood in 1974 from Macarthur as a forward and developed into a talented centre-half back.
Despite playing in four losing grand finals, Picken maintained his reputation as a finals performer and was recognised for his contributions when he was named in the Collingwood Team of the Century. A notable example of his exploits was a
spectacular mark
A spectacular mark (also known as a specky, speckie, speccy, screamer or hanger) is a mark (Australian rules football), mark (or catch) in Australian rules football that typically involves a player jumping up on the back of another player.
The ...
in the 1979 grand final.
Picken was a dashing defender, capable of taking a spectacular mark and dashing off with the ball turning defence into attack in an instant.
When Picken controversially moved to the Swans in 1984, he was hit by a succession of injuries for the first time in his career. He later returned to Victoria Park to captain-coach the reserves.
Picken is the father of former
Western Bulldogs
The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition.
Originally named the Footscray F ...
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...
player
Marcus Picken
Marcus Picken (born 9 October 1979) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Picken is the son of former Collingwood star Billy Picken, older brother of former Wester ...
, and the uncle of former Brisbane Lions captain Jonathan Brown.
He also played first-grade cricket for
Collingwood Cricket Club
Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club is an Australian cricket team competing in the Victorian Premier Cricket competition. The club formed in 1996 from an amalgamation of Collingwood, Victoria, Collingwood Cricket Club, a foundation member of Victorian ...
and had the dubious distinction of being the first first-grade cricketer ever to be suspended by the
Victorian Cricket Association
Cricket Victoria (CV) is the governing body for the sport of cricket in the Australian state of Victoria. It is integrated with the Victorian Women's Cricket Association to include funding, programs, office accommodation and staff assistance.
...