He then did a pre-season with Collingwood. It threw him back like an undersized fish. He did a pre-season with the Dogs. The same happened again. He went to Williamstown. The VFL club was so impressed by him that,when the Dogs were looking for a"run-with"player,Williamstown paid $20,000 of the $30,000 cost involved in taking on a mature recruit. Liam Picken,the son of a player who was one of the aerial artists of his generation,became a player who specialised in playing the game in packs beneath his knees.
Bob Murphy,a teammate of Liam's,describes him as"humility on steroids". He is a humble man of few words. I learn,only by asking,that he has a bachelor's degree in international business and is halfway through a master's in applied finance. He says he"stumbled along"at school,describing his academic career this way:"I always played footy at lunchtimes and didn't really concentrate until later years."
He likes the Dogs,says the club has"a good culture". He's their multicultural ambassador and,in this capacity,took the half-Muslim,half-Jewish MUJU Peace Club for training. Of that experience,he says:"You don't realise until something like that happens how diverse the game is."
The Dogs have a tradition whereby,after each game,the players rate their best teammate. The winner gets the match ball signed by all the other players. Liam Picken has won the match ball five teams this season,more than any other player. And so the son of a flamboyant footballer will be remembered for his selflessness and application.
Liam says that throughout his footy career and those of his brothers,his father"has always been around". Billy says that while he still has friends at Collingwood he now follows the Bulldogs. The young Dogs,he says,just have to stay positive."Things can turn very quickly. In 1976,Collingwood finished last. The next year we were in a grand final."