After never previously playing more than 12 games in a season, Tom Hickey produced a breakout season in 2016 to establish himself as the No. 1 ruckman at Linen House Centre.
The 25-year-old earned first crack in Round 1 and from there never looked like handing back the responsibility to Billy Longer or the other big men nipping at his heels.
In the season opener at Adelaide Oval, Hickey amassed a club record and personal best 56 hitouts against Port Adelaide ruckman Matthew Lobbe, before entrenching himself inside the Saints’ engine room across the first half of the season.
He got the better of All Australian ruckman Max Gawn in both encounters this season, helping to extend the Saints unbeaten run against Melbourne to 14 matches by playing crucial roles on the Demons star in Round 6 and Round 17.
A calf injury sustained in the loss against Sydney in Round 21 brought Hickey’s eye-catching season to a premature end, but by then he had emerged as one of the most improved ruckmen in the competition and one of the most improved players at St Kilda.
An eighth place finish in the Trevor Barker Award capped off a stellar rise from the former Gold Coast Suns big man, who now looms as a critical component of St Kilda’s evolving midfield.
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Alan Richardson’s Views:
“Tom had a very positive year. He was one of our most improved players. He went from a player who had struggled for any continuity with his program previously because of injury to having a really solid pre-season which meant he was able to get a lot of work into his body, improve his running, improve his vertical leap and improve his strength. He ended up having a really strong year because of it. There’s not too many ruckmen that he got beaten by.
“As his year unfolded he grew as a player, not only was he really competitive for us with his primary role, he was then able to play as an onballer after his ruckwork; his follow up work was impressive, his handball work became really positive. As the year kept going he got better and better in the air from a marking perspective. It was a very positive year.”
The Numbers:
20 games
28.7 hitouts (No. 9 in the AFL) *Club Record for total hitouts
8.6 hitouts to advantage (No. 8 in the AFL)
13.3 disposals
3.7 clearances (No. 4 at St Kilda)
3.3 tackles
