Reg Hickey - Coaching Career

Coaching Career

Due to travel restrictions and an exodus of players to war service in the Second World War, Geelong were unable to field a side for the 1942 and 1943 seasons. Players transferred to other clubs, but not all returned when Geelong rejoined the competition for the 1944 season, and the club was left with the unenviable task of rebuilding, leading to poor finishes down the bottom end of the ladder for the rest of the late 1940s.

Hickey was appointed coach for the third time in 1949, with immediate success. Though the club failed to make the finals, they showed marked improvement.

Hickey had a policy of fast, direct play, relentlessly drilling his players to ensure they made every possession count. 1950 saw Geelong make the finals for the first time in ten years. For the next two and a half years, Geelong was the strongest side in the competition, winning two consecutive flags, and establishing a VFL/AFL record of 23 wins in a row during 1952 and 1953. It wasn't until the end of 1953 that Collingwood, with the use of ugly and restrictive football, were able to defeat on Hickey's side. The Cats lost the Grand Final and failed to seriously challenge for the flag again for the rest of Hickey's reign. He retired from coaching at the end of the 1959 season, after 35 years of service to the Geelong Football Club.

In 2001, Reg Hickey was selected as the captain, coach, and centre half back of Geelong's official 'Team of the Century', a testament to his outstanding leadership skills and football talent. Likewise, his place in football was concreted with his naming on the interchange bench in the Victorian Team of the 20th Century, some 50 years after his own playing retirement, and his status as an Australian Football Hall of Fame member.

Reg Hickey's grandson is former Port Adelaide coach and captain Matthew Primus.