Gold Coast Suns player reveals he nearly quit the AFL after the toughest year of his career

ONE of the inaugural Gold Coast Suns players has revealed how he nearly quit the AFL after one of the toughest seasons of his career in 2017.

Tom Nicholls (left) has opened up about his difficult 2017 season and what has him fired up for 2018. Picture: Regi Varghese.

ONE of the inaugural Gold Coast Suns players has revealed how he nearly quit the AFL after one of the toughest seasons of his career in 2017.

Ruckman Tom Nicholls has opened up about the widespread injuries and bad form had him questioning whether his career was coming to an end in 2017.

“It was really tough — it was the hardest year I have had up here” the usually optimistic Melbourne product and inaugural Suns player said.

“At different times throughout the year I thought about different options, whatever they would be.

“To be honest I considered a bit of everything. I suppose that is the industry. If you are down and out you tend to think about other things.

“It was just consuming me throughout the year. I felt like it was a vicious cycle where I was beating myself up every week.”

Tom Nicholls (left) has opened up about his difficult 2017 season and what has him fired up for 2018. Picture: Regi Varghese.

Nicholls didn’t play a single AFL game in 2017.

The 25-year-old was hampered by a shoulder injury in the season’s earliest stages, had a re-occurring ankle problem and then had his season ended by a quad injury that meant he missed out on playing in the club’s NEAFL semi-final loss to the Sydney Swans.

Nicholls said his inability to train consistently resulted in his form taking a downward turn and left him stranded on 45 AFL games.

Nicholls had been Gold Coast’s preferred ruckman in the previous two seasons but his absence opened the door for recruit Jarrod Witts to take his spot where he became one of the Suns best performed players.

“Last year was quite disappointing for me form-wise and injury-wise but to Wittsy’s credit he had a great year,” Nicholls said.

Nicholls said he used the off-season to speak to family and travel, a decision that gave him perspective and helped him rediscover his love for the game.

Now the 203cm talent has declared he wants his spot back in the AFL side “more than anything” and is ready to do it after going in to the preseason without having surgery for the first time in five years.

“With the shape my body is in I have given myself no excuses to get there,” Nicholls said.

“I don’t really know myself at the moment.

“I’ll be doing everything I can to get out there and I’m looking forward to that.

“I’m super keen to get out there and play some good footy with the boys.”

Originally published as Gold Coast Suns player reveals he nearly quit the AFL after the toughest year of his career