Tara Murray
When Diggers Rest coach Jamie Lobb was asked at the pre-game function who he thought would win the Doug McIntyre Medal for the best on in Riddell District Football League grand final, he didn’t hesitate to say Jaycob Hickey.
Just hours later after Diggers Rest won its flag, Hickey received the Doug McIntyre Medal for his performance in the grand final.
Lobb even told Hickey before the game that he was backing him in.
“He put the mozz on me before the game when watching the twos before,” Hickey said after the game.
“Having a couple of weeks off at the end of the season was sort of not ideal preparation for me. I went down with a bit of cramping, nice and hot.
“I think there were a few other boys doing the same. It wasn’t too bad, I was happy to get on the scoreboard. I set a couple up and was happy to get the win.
“There were some great performances today, Calv [Marcus Calvaresi] was awesome, Jaidyn [Caruana] was awesome in there, [Josh] Flower, Jenno [Mitch Jensen] as well.
“It could have gone to anyone, six or seven blokes. I’m rapt to get that one too.”
The premiership was a second in a row for Hickey, who joined the club from Ballarat Football League side Melton last off season.
It’s a move he said had been enjoyable.
“I knew that Diggers Rest were going to be really a good side this year,” he said. “They’re always up the top end of the ladder every year.
“I knew that coming across with my brother [Lachlan] and good mate Mark [Orr], we could probably do something special this year.
“To get it done finally will be an awesome feeling and I’ll really enjoy this one tonight [Sunday], I think.”
Hickey said he was keen to have a bit of a change and Lobb and Orr both spoke to him about coming across and he said he’d loved every minute of it.
He said they were full of confidence heading into the grand final.
“I think that final against Wallan really set the tone for us,” he said. “We could do anything this year and the sky’s the limit.
“Getting that one done and having the week off was really good for us, able to freshen up and hit the ground running.”
After playing in heavy rainy conditions in his premiership win 12 months ago, Hickey said it was nice to be able to play in perfect football conditions.
He said it was special to be able to share that with his brother and Orr again.
