THE PROSPECT of holding down St Kilda's No.1 ruck position this season is what has driven Tom Hickey through the summer months.
The former Gold Coast big man is now the most experienced of the Saints' young ruck brigade, following the trade of Ben McEvoy to Hawthorn.
Although the 22-year-old has played just 24 games, he has more under his belt than Billy Longer, who arrived from the Brisbane Lions having played nine.
After a stint of games in the second half of last season, Hickey is determined to make the main ruck spot his having gained confidence from his strong end to 2013.
"It's definitely been a driving factor in this pre-season and off-season in particular," Hickey told AFL.com.au this week.
"We've got Billy as well and hopefully we can work together and form a good partnership.
"It's been a really big driving factor because I know if I do everything right, I could play 22 games and I've never done that before.
"I'd love to have that opportunity to try and come up for the whole year."
Hickey has been working with Longer and new part-time ruck coach Darren Jolly this year, with the two young big men pushing each other through weights and training while trying to build a competitive partnership.
The former Sun jokingly described himself as "the old hand" in the ruck department, having arrived at the club 12 months before 20-year-old Longer.
Despite their inexperience – and the fact Rhys Stanley is expected to spend more time in attack this season – Hickey says he's more excited than daunted by the prospect of the two of them sharing the big man duties.
"What better way to learn than to play against [other ruckmen] and have that chance to spend a whole game up against them and trying to figure them out?" he said.
"I'm obviously very excited; I've played against the majority of the ruckmen in the competition over a 24-game career and I've been learning from every game I've played so I just can't wait to get out there and keep learning and try to beat a few of them."
Hickey's first season as a Saint didn't start well when he injured his heel in his very first ruck contest in round one against his former team.
He was out for a few weeks before he had to prove his form in the VFL, and it took until round seven before he earned a recall.
He described the situation as less than ideal but believed the confidence he gleaned from playing VFL before coming back into the seniors set him up for the rest of the season.
Then, he had his breakthrough moment in round 21 against the Sydney Swans.
McEvoy was subbed off in the third quarter and Hickey was left alone to hold the fort against Shane Mumford and Mike Pyke, which he did with aplomb.
The following week, he had 16 hit-outs and 17 disposals – 10 of which were contested – against his former team.
"I think it was good for my confidence, that I could match it with some good ruckmen in the competition," he said.
"More than anything, it was really good mentally for me because I felt as though I was part of the team and I could be trusted to shoulder the ruck for a bit."
Hickey was on a modified program during the Saints’ visit to Colorado in November, as he has a history of leg soreness after hill work.
However, he's come back from the USA feeling strong and has barely missed any actual football training this pre-season.
"It was a bit of maintenance more than anything," he said.
"I've come back and I've felt really good and I've been running really well."
