Alice Springs product Jordann Hickey says she’s ready to be a regular in Gold Coast Suns AFLW team ahead of clash v Fremantle

ALICE Springs product Jordann Hickey believes hours and hours of gruelling training have finally prepared her for wearing her No.4 Gold Coast jumper on a regular basis.

Alice Springs product Jordann Hickey handballs for the Suns against Fremantle on March 21 last year. Picture: Richard Wainwright/AAP Image

ALICE Springs product Jordann Hickey believes hours and hours of gruelling training have finally prepared her for wearing her No.4 Gold Coast jumper on a regular basis.

Now in her third year in the Suns system, the more time Hickey spends in that competitive environment, the more comfortable and prepared she feels to take to the field, with seven matches of AFLW experience currently under her belt.

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“I just want to get out there. I’m feeling really confident with my improvement over the last season, especially going back home and training with my local team, the Rovers,” Hickey told the NT News ahead of her side Round 4 clash away to the Dockers at Fremantle Oval on Saturday.

“I was training with the men which I think has really improved my game. I’m more confident in it and I want to get the opportunity to show that on the field.”

A relocation to the Gold Coast is possibly the best thing for the 26-year-old’s career and while she is still 2500km away from home, the smaller size of the Gold Coast has been easier for Hickey to settle into.

“Living in Melbourne (on the Demons’ list) was tough, especially as one of my first experiences going away and coming over here (to the Gold Coast). It’s a bit more of a country vibe which is a bit more suited to me, but it’s also a new environment, a new start, which was what I was most excited about,” she said.

“(I’ve bonded with) my housemate Kalinda Howarth. We’ve been living together from the start so it’s really lucky that we get along so well.”

Hickey’s commitment has never been questioned, which means the lure of playing at AFLW level is outweighing the temptation of going back home.

Alice Springs product Jordann Hickey believes she’s now good enough to be a regular starting player for the Suns in the AFLW. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos

“I think it’s better to stay in the one place during the season, especially if you’re playing,” she said.

“You need the recovery time and you don’t want to be flying and travelling and wasting energy on that,” she said.

“The Gold Coast is definitely a good environment to be a part of, too. We’ve got a great group of girls and staff. It definitely makes it easy to come to training even if you’re feeling a bit homesick.”

As for her own pathway, Hickey believes the Suns’s young and ripening partnership with the Northern Territory, as well as the recent reinstalment of representative footy in the NT, will help provide a clear pathway for other girls looking up to her to follow.

“It’s massive, it’s one of the main reasons I got to where I am. Having those pathways shows the talent is there,” she said.

“Sometimes it is quite sheltered, so without the pathways we don’t get to see it.

“It’s great to see those girls have a spotlight in the rep game.

“There are so many girls who have the talent to get to that level.

“It’s just about being seen and having those opportunities is great for them, it helps them get their names out there.”

Like many in Territory football, Hickey would love to see representative footy continue and would even love to be a part of it, whether it was wearing the NT’s ochre, black and white, or even in opposition wearing a red-and-gold guernsey.

“It’d be massive. It’d be really interesting, a good clash, a good game so I say bring it on,” she said.

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