Melbourne marquee Mel Hickey signs with Geelong for 2019 AFLW season

FORMER Melbourne AFLW marquee Mel Hickey will depart the club to join expansion club Geelong for the 2019 season, in the Cats’ first big signing ahead of their entry into the competition.

Mel Hickey will depart Melbourne to join Geelong for the 2019 AFLW season. Picture: Getty

THE famous Hickey name will again grace the field in the blue and white hoops of Geelong after the Cats secured Melbourne star Mel Hickey for its debut AFLW season.

Hickey, one of the Demon’s first signings as a marquee player alongside Daisy Pearce in AFLW01, has a family connection with the Cats — her grandfather’s cousin was the legendary Reg Hickey and she grew up supporting the club.

A stand named after the premiership player and coach rises above the GMHBA Stadium oval.

It’s expected Hickey will also have an off-field job with the Cats with a mentoring role to start in coming weeks.

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Hickey tore her ACL during the AFLW season but is expected to be fit for Round 1 next year.

Hickey’s teammate Lily Mithen, a Geelong local, was also courted by the Cats but has decided to stay at the Demons.

However, Demons Richelle Cranston, Erin Hoare and Anna Teague will join Hickey at GMHBA Stadium.

Carlton captain Bri Davey is set to become one of the league’s highest paid players regardless of where she pulls on the boots next season.

Mel Hickey will depart Melbourne to join Geelong for the 2019 AFLW season. Picture: Getty

The talented half-back is expected to earn a minimum of $120,000 next year thanks to deals with the club and sponsors outside of player payments.

She is being courted by Collingwood and is believed to be close to making a call on where she will play. There’s a feeling she will remain a Blue, but no deal is done yet.

The league and its players have agreed on list management rules for the expansion clubs and while Geelong (Hickey) and North Melbourne (Emma Kearney) have each secured a big name player, the movement will officially start on Friday.

The expansion clubs have submitted a list of target players to the league and the foundation clubs are believed to be aware of who they will lose.

A player must agree to a move and an expansion club can’t sign more than four players from the one team, unless the existing club agrees.

The AFL rejected some moves after one expansion club wanted more than four players from a rival.

The Cats and Kangaroos can secure more players from a foundation club via the trade period, but they can only exchange picks, not players they have previously secured.

It’s believed between 12 and 20 current players will join the two new franchises and interstate clubs, many boasting strong Victorian talent, will be hit hard.

The trade period will begin on May 23 while the draft will be held in October.

A club list will have 28 players plus two rookies from another sport.

A new broadcast agreement under negotiation will dictate how much players will earn.

It is believed Channel 7 and Fox Sports securing the cricket has complicated the process.

The tier payment system will remain with players to be paid across four categories under a salary cap.

Emma Kearney will play for North Melbourne next season. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Media

The base wage (Tier 4) is yet to be set. The top players, Tier 1, will earn double the base wage but will be restricted to three players per club while it’s expected Tier 3 will be 25 per cent higher than the base and Tier 2 increased by a further 25 per cent.

Pay ranged last season from $10,500 to $20,000 with a $40,000 marketing payment budget for each team. The total player payment pool per club was $500,000.

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