It’s no secret that 2018 hasn’t gone St Kilda’s way.
Crippling inaccuracy in front of goal coupled with overuse of the footy has broken the Saints’ hopes of a strong start to the season, but in-form ruckman Tom Hickey believes his side has what it takes to turn it around.
Speaking to saints.com.au, the Queenslander didn’t shy away from the reality of what has been labelled a “completely unacceptable” start to 2018 by CEO Matt Finnis.
“Obviously one win and one draw
“But we’re not far off it, there’s just been a couple of things, like maximising our opportunities, where we’re letting ourselves down a little bit.”
The 27-year-old has a quintessentially “Queensland” approach to life, and the ex-Gold Coast ruck doesn’t pay too much attention to the external media noise that has surrounded the club recently.
“I don’t read too much in the footy world, we have so much of it jammed down our throats every day, so I try and stay away from it a little bit,” he said.
After a breakout season in 2016 where he finished eighth in the Trevor Barker Award, Hickey endured a frustrating 2017, hampered by injury and form slumps in what he described as a “bizarre, crappy year”.
Match Preview: Saints v Dockers
The 201cm big man has been one of few shining lights for the Saints so far in 2018 and believes the team can make amends for their poor start.
“I suppose if we didn’t think we were a good side, we wouldn’t care as much … but we know we’re better than this, and it’s probably not going to take too much to turn it around,” Hickey said.
“All the boys are putting in the effort and we’re training super hard and reviewing every game really hard … it’s going to turn, just hopefully sooner rather than later.”
Get your Halo On for 2018
Hickey said that the openness to both give and receive feedback within the entire football department is the best it’s been in his time at St Kilda.
“The feedback among the group is probably the best it’s been,” the Saints No. 1 ruck said.
“We’re all in this together, coaches included. It’s been a really open and honest conversation both ways, which has been really beneficial.
“We’re pretty confident that it’s going to turn, so we’ve just got to keep working at it.”
Hickey and the Saints come up against an embattled Fremantle outfit on Saturday night at Optus Stadium.
