Finally, after enduring an injury riddled start to his career at Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast ruckman Tom Nicholls enjoyed an extended run in 2015, establishing himself as the No. 1 ruckman at the SUNS.
 
The 23-year-old took a little bit of time to get going after an interrupted pre-season, but once he broke into Rodney Eade’s team in round four against Greater Western Sydney in Canberra, Nicholls quickly put his hand up to lead Gold Coast’s ruck division.
 
The athletic Victorian ruckman strung 12 games together up until round 16 in the most fruitful patch of his burgeoning career. Nicholls grasped the ruck responsibility from the more experienced Zac Smith, and despite the match committee attempting to play two specialist ruckmen at times, it quickly became apparent that wouldn’t work, especially with Charlie Dixon able to pinch hit when required.
 
During that uninterrupted spell, Nicholls wasn’t only doing damage in the air with his deft trigger hand, he became one of the best tackling ruckmen in the competition, regularly collecting more than five per game, including a staggering haul of 11 tackles against West Coast in Perth.
 
His performance against the Eagles at Domain Stadium was one of the finest of his year. Despite Gold Coast being comprehensively dispatched by Adam Simpson’s side, Nicholls got the better of Nic Naitanui in an enthralling duel in the wet. He beat him in the ruck, and in a more comprehensive manner, he beat him around the ground.
 
Nicholls run of form late in the first half of the year continued the following week against Collingwood ruck pairing Jarrod Witts and Brodie Grundy. Eade’s decision to use Nicholls as the lone ruckman paid dividends, with the SUNS big man rising to the challenge against the highly fancied Magpies duo. He not only limited their influence, but collected 26 telling hitouts of his own, to go with 14 possessions and two goals.
 
The crowning moment of Nicholls year came against Sydney in round ten at Metricon Stadium. Opposed to premiership ruckman Mike Pyke, Nicholls did his best despite an enormous gulf in midfield personnel. On a handful of occasions, his hitouts were as pure as you are likely to see from a ruckman, and his work around the ground was first class. He blew Pyke up, collecting 18 possessions and six marks to go with 22 hitouts, and at times went behind the ball to take some strong grabs in front of Lance Franklin and Kurt Tippett.
 
Frustratingly for the injury-plagued ruckman, another knee injury ended his season shortly after the main break against Richmond in round 20. An aggravated knee capsule brought a close to his season in a year where he put his hand up to lead the SUNS engine room moving forward.
 
After only managing 15 games in his first four seasons in the AFL, 2015 was a significant step forward in the right direction for Nicholls. His performances against the likes of Nic Naitanui, Todd Goldstein and Stefan Martin suggest he has what it takes to become a very good ruckman at senior level. Once a full complement of midfielders return, the midfield division in Carrara looks extremely dangerous.