Tom Hickey

Tom Hickey is a ruckman who was traded to St Kilda by his former side, Gold Coast at the end of the 2012 season. Hickey is also the son of a former Queensland rugby league player. [1]

Early Career
Hickey is considered having come to football quite late, after initially starting his sporting career as a vollyballer who earned state representation for Queensland.

Draft & Gold Coast Suns 2011-2012
Hickey was selected by the Suns with their 2010 local talent access zone selection after standout performances in the 2010 AFL Draft Combine in Canberra. He was the best-performed ruckman in the agility test and equal second best among ruckmen in the beep test. He also ranked second overall in the new 'clean hands' test.[2]

Suffering with injury for most of the year, Hickey finally made his AFL debut in Round 22 against Adelaide. He made an impression straight away, picking up 14 disposals and a goal in the 61-point loss. Hickey earned a recall, playing the following week against Melbourne, but had just the 5 disposals.

Hickey played the opening 2 rounds of 2012, before missing several games. He rejoined the side in round 10, picking up an impressive 19 disposals. The following week against St Kilda, Hickey had 12 disposals, 18 hitouts and kicked 2 goals in an impressive display. Hickey went on to play in matches against North Melbourne, West Coast and Geelong, then missed a few weeks, before playing the last 3 games of the season.

Trade and Arrival at St Kilda 2013 to present
Hickey was the subject of much speculation at the end of the season, as he requested a trade to Melbourne to be with his girlfriend.[3]  Hickey nominated St Kilda as his preferred destination, but he also attracted the attention of Essendon and North Melbourne. However, it wasn't until the final days of the month-long trade period that a deal was made. The Saints initially offered pick 25 for the ruckman, but the Suns rejected it, saying they wouldn't accept anything less than a first round pick. After more than a week of negotiations, a deal was finally made, with the Saints offering picks 13, 37 & 57, in return for Hickey and picks 26 & 47.[4] =Statistics=