Former North Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Melbourne star Byron Pickett appeared well over his 86 kilogram AFL playing weight on Saturday, but put the extra impetus to good use in the centre for Ceduna Blues against Thevenard.

Jarrod Trowbridge, Thevy's Under 16 Colts rising star who backed up for a second game on Saturday with the A side, certainly felt the impact of the extra Pickett bulk.

He left the ground with a broken collarbone in the second half and will miss the rest of the season after tackled from behind by Pickett and ended up with Pickett landing on top of him.

Blues coach, Chris Vorstenbosch, said that while Pickett "wasn't our best player" on Saturday, he had a "presence" that helped team-mates "lift".

"We would have beaten them (Thevenard) without him, but he had a positive impact on our game.

"Our ruckmen certainly said they enjoyed having him out there in the centre and benefited from him directing play - telling them where to direct the ball," Vorstenbosch said.

Pickett, 30, who played 204 AFL games - mostly in the mid-field or half-back - in a career that spanned 10 years, put his experience to good use, beating at least three opponents rotated against him.

Vorstenbosch said he rang Pickett, whose partner and children live in Ceduna, when the Ceduna Blues' list looked like being down "six or seven" players through injury.

"I'd been trying to get him to play for us for a bit, and I just happened to catch him when he was looking for a game.

"I put his (player) permit in to the council office late on Friday - I didn't want to let everyone know too early that he'd be playing for us.

“I reckon the word went around the council office before I got back out the door," he said.

Vorstenbosch said he was unsure if Pickett would be available for any more games for the Ceduna Blues this season - during the week he left for WA where he has been offered a job.

"If he comes back, we'll be after him," Vorstenbosch said.

Originally from country WA, Pickett moved to Port Lincoln and played for Mallee Park.

He was North Melbourne's fifth AFL draft pick in 1996 and played only one senior game in 1997, but won the top rookie award the following year.

After 120 games with the 'Roos, Pickett moved to Port Adelaide for three seasons and a total of 55 games from 2003. He won the Norm Smith Medal at Port in 2004

He was traded to Melbourne Demons for two years and finished his AFL career with them last year after 29 games.

Far West and Mid West football scoreboards Page 22