Four years after famously making his AFL debut in the 2019 grand final win over GWS, Pickett was the central figure in the dying minutes of Sunday's 16.14 (110) to 15.14 (104) shoot-out victory.

His brilliant turn and left-footed pass to Dion Prestia allowed the Tigers midfielder to tie the scores with a couple of minutes remaining.

And the 31-year-old had one more trick left, curling home a goal - again on his non-preferred foot - to seal the victory.

"Marlion didn't have a great day. He'd be the first to admit that there were things that didn't go his way," said Andrew McQualter, who celebrated his first win as interim coach since replacing Damien Hardwick.

"But speaking about moments, Marlion had a big moment and he owned his moment and was able to finish it for us and the team."

The Tigers (4-7-1) had to withstand one last surge from the Giants at the final bounce of the game, with Pickett stepping in to lay a crucial tackle inside the centre square.

"He maybe had three big moments, and after not a great game by what Marlion usually expected," McQualter said.

"A great result for him to be able to own his moments."

Tigers midfielder Tim Taranto was impressive in his first match against his former club, finishing with 35 disposals and nine clearances - both of them game highs.

Jack Riewoldt slotted five majors as the Tigers spearhead bounced back from having consecutive goalless games for the first time since 2020 to be the most damaging forward on the ground.

Prestia (23 disposals, six clearances) and Dustin Martin were also important especially as the Tigers set up their early advantage, while Shai Bolton (23, one goal) added a spark throughout.

Tom Green (35 disposals, eight clearances) battled hard for the Giants, while Callan Ward (32, one goal) turned back the clock.

Skipper Toby Greene booted three goals, including two in the final term as the Giants pushed hard to chase down the Tigers, after being well held earlier in the contest.

"Toby has got a few niggles, that's fair to say," Giants coach Adam Kingsley said.

"He's pretty tough, he doesn't say a lot but he's got a couple of bumps and bruises that he's managing.

"He kicked three again today, he had some challenging moments too, but I thought he fought through it well and led his team appropriately."

The Giants (4-8) willbe counting the cost of a hamstring injury to Brent Daniels after the zippy forward left the field in the second term and was subbed out of the match.

Daniels has impressed in 11 matches and booted 17 goals this season after missing all of last year with persistent hamstring issues but the luckless Giant now faces another stint on the sidelines.

Australian Associated Press