Byron Pickett has joined Demon team-mates Nathan Brown and Clint Bizzell in announcing his retirement from AFL football on Friday.

The trio will all make their final appearance this Sunday against the Blues at the MCG.

In contrast to other retirements this season, all three players will walk away from the game on their own terms rather than being forced out through injury.

Pickett, whose career has spanned 11 years and featured premiership wins with both the Kangaroos and Port Adelaide, said despite physically feeling able to play on he was ready to finish after his 204th game this weekend.

"It's not in my heart to keep playing at this level, that's probably the main thing it's not in my heart to keep playing AFL," Pickett told the media at Junction Oval on Friday.

The 30-year old veteran made a name for himself in 1998 by playing in all 25 games for the Kangaroos, including the Grand Final, and winning the AFL Rising Star award.

After five seasons at Arden Street, Pickett switched to Port Adelaide in 2002 and won the Norm Smith Medal for his best on ground performance during the Power's 2004 premiership, a moment he rates as the highlight of his career.

"On the day there were probably three of us that could've got the Norm Smith and I was the lucky one," he said.

"Over the years when you play in premierships you win friends for life, it doesn't matter what team it is."

Bizzell, who played 75 games for Geelong before being traded to the Demons at the end of 2001, said it had been an emotional moment telling his team-mates of his decision to walk away from the game which has dominated his life for the past twelve years.

"To tell them (the players) that you're giving it away, Nathan (Brown) went first and you just saw the tears well up in his eyes and you just try to fight it back as much as you can, (but) I couldn't really look the guys in the face, couldn't look at Neita' and it's (even) hard now," he said.

"Physically I was pretty done and mentally I suppose that desire to keep that fully competitive edge and keep that drive (going) just slowly withered away and I thought it's a good time to go out."

The 31-year old listed playing in the forward pocket alongside Gary Ablett as one of the highlights of his career as well