The absence of Nic Naitanui for much of 2019 meant that Tom Hickey got almost a full season in the seniors, though he beat the ruck baseline only three times in 18 appearances. He played lead in a tandem with Nathan Vardy, then his TOG went even lower when paired up with Naitanui on the latter's late-season return. Hickey was not fantasy relevant in his days at St Kilda and is even less so at West Coast, as the club seems determined to play two ruckmen or at worst a strong forward/ruck. If NicNat manages to survive a whole season in the same timeshare as in last August and September, neither of them have much use in draft fantasy leagues.
This Hickey sucks
The absence of Nic Naitanui for much of 2019 meant that Tom Hickey got almost a full season in the seniors, though he beat the ruck baseline only three times in 18 appearances. He played lead in a tandem with Nathan Vardy, then his TOG went even lower when paired up with Naitanui on the latter's late-season return. Hickey was not fantasy relevant in his days at St Kilda and is even less so at West Coast, as the club seems determined to play two ruckmen or at worst a strong forward/ruck. If NicNat manages to survive a whole season in the same timeshare as in last August and September, neither of them have much use in draft fantasy leagues.
Kiss off, Hickey
The two-ruck trend that will probably sweep the AFL this season came too late for Tom Hickey in his time at the Saints, as he was strictly back up to Billy Longer after losing his job early in 2017. He has booted a total of 23 goals from 79 senior games, underlining his history of being a middling-quality lead ruck with little to no forward play. Hickey transferred to West Coast in the off season, who were one of the pioneers of the old/new tandem style, to replace Scott Lycett's spot on their list. The main problem with that is his unsuitability to Lycett's ruck/forward role, leaving Nathan Vardy up forward if Nic Naitanui can't go. It is very hard to justify drafting him.
Raspberry for Hickey
An up-and-down first month saw Tom Hickey give up his lead ruck spot in the seniors for Billy Longer and he didn't get it back all season, save for one game covering an injury. This came off the back of his best season to date, reaching the middle ranks of league rucks. Hickey can't play as a ruck/forward so he looks to be surplus to requirements, though Longer's numbers aren't that much better so he could conceivably win his job back in the preseason. You probably don't want either of the Saints rucks.
