Has Pickett reached Daicos and Bontempelli status?

Kysaiah Pickett delivered one of the season’s best individual performances on ANZAC Eve, winning the Frank ‘Checker’ Hughes Medal against Richmond thanks to a game-high 29 disposals, four goals and a mark of the year contender.

But that sensational performance has not been an anomaly for the Demon this season.

Since Kozzy has been predominantly moved into the midfield, the 24-year-old has averaged 24 disposals, six score involvements, five tackles and one goal per game - phenomenal numbers.

In fact, Gerard Whateley believes Pickett has elevated his game to the level of Nick Daicos and Marcus Bontempelli.

“Melbourne has lived its end of the bargain by giving him the midfield minutes - he's up beyond 80% now,” Whateley told SEN’s Crunch Time.

“He is in the conversation with Nick Daicos and Marcus Bontempelli.”

West Coast premiership coach Adam Simpson agreed with Whateley’s big call.

But admitted that Pickett will need to prove himself for another few seasons to truly be in the same echelon as those two stars.

“He is right now (but) part of the conversation for those guys is that they sustain it, they've been doing it for a while,” Simpson stated.

“In the bracket of this year, he's in the top five, and I suppose you can't really let him live in that space regardless of his performances until he's done it for several years in a row.

“So, he's still got a bit of work to do.”

Midway through last season, Pickett re-signed with Melbourne on a whopping $12.5 million contract, locking the gun into the Demons until the end of 2034 on $1.4 million a year.

Regarding that ginormous contract, Simpson continued by exclaiming that the contract is now justified and may actually be a bargain based off his current form.

“They saw the evolution before we did,” he admitted.

“We all thought there was talent there, but I didn't think it was going to be at this high end and this repeatable.

“What he's done now in the midfield (against Richmond) - he's had six clearances, six inside 50s and kicked his 4 goals. He knows how to win a contest and knows how to accumulate as well.

“No one can catch him! You can't, you cannot catch him… If you're trying to coach against him, it's just force him to kick it, not take two bounces and kick it.

“He’ll have an off quarter or an off half, but he always has at least one to two quarters where it's electric, and it puts him in the top bracket in the competition.

“(The contract’s) cheap now, isn't it?”

Tom Morris would agree with Simpson's sentiment.

Morris: “$1.4 million a year sounds cheap as to the way he's playing.”

Whateley: “It was the contract of an elite midfielder, not a small forward, and that was the shift.”

Pickett and his Demons play the ladder leading Swans next week.