![\"Marc](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1794690015_11_1fd9e8feb443a3c0e7ff1305e00989af6ff0ed64.png\")
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November 15, 2026 \u2014 7:00am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n There was always someone in Lachie Hicks\u2019 corner when things got tough in his draft year.<\/p>\n In a world where sports parents can be overbearing, the talented Western Jets midfielder, who also played for Altona and Wesley College, has had a far more positive experience with his mum and No.1 fan, Christina.<\/p>\n \u201cMum\u2019s kind of everything, to be honest,\u201d Hicks told this masthead.<\/p>\n \u201cShe comes to every single game. She doesn\u2019t say too much \u2013 she kind of stays away \u2013 but I know she always wants the best for me, and obviously, ideally, she wants me to make it [as an AFL player].<\/p>\n Editor’s pick \u201cShe\u2019s always been my biggest support, and it\u2019s always been there for me as well \u2013 every bad game, every good game.\u201d<\/p>\n Hicks averaged almost 29 disposals, five clearances and 1.4 goals for the Jets in an outstanding Talent League campaign this past season, then put his athletic prowess on display with top-10 results in draft combine testing in agility, the two-kilometre time trial and the 20-metre sprint.<\/p>\n His late father, Scott, introduced him and his other son, Brodie to football not long after they could walk.<\/p>\n Scott played for Essendon\u2019s reserves and under-19 sides, as well as playing 54 VFA games for Box Hill and another eight at Port Melbourne with his older brother Ashley after starting at Doutta Stars, where the Hicks family has a strong legacy.<\/p>\n A serious heart condition brought a premature end to his football career, then tragically his life six years ago while he was sleeping.<\/p>\n Doutta Stars<\/a> and Box Hill<\/a> each posted their condolences at the time, illustrating the impact Scott \u2013 or \u201cScacs\u201d, as he was known \u2013 had at each club, describing him as a \u201cnaturally talented, likeable larrikin\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the reason I started footy,\u201d Hicks said of his dad.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d always go for a kick with Dad and my brother. He got a footy in our hands at a young age \u2026 it will be the best day of my life if I get drafted after all the work that\u2019s gone in.\u201d<\/p>\n There is plenty of sporting success through the family, beyond just his father.<\/p>\n Among Hicks\u2019 immediate family, Christina was a state-league netballer and Brodie represented Australia at the world under-20 athletics championships four years ago, while his cousin, Robbie Hicks, played three games for Richmond in 2010.<\/p>\n \u201cI got lucky with their genetics,\u201d Hicks said.<\/p>\n \u201cI got in contact with Robbie, and have been messaging him throughout the year because he\u2019s been through kind of what I\u2019m going through, so he understands it, and has been keeping track of how I\u2019m going.\u201d<\/p>\n Hicks, who models his playing style on that of Swans superstar Isaac Heeney, tried to dodge anything written or said about him this year to maintain his focus in the biggest season of his life.<\/p>\n Related Article He has been a state representative since the under-15s, so being drafted into the AFL has been a long-held and now realistic dream.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a fair bit of pressure, and then people writing stuff about you \u2013 good, bad, whatever \u2013 so that\u2019s when you lean on people you\u2019re close with and talk to them,\u201d Hicks said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re struggling, or you want to talk about something, that\u2019s when your friends and family are so important. You just have to focus on yourself and listen to your coaches and people who really know you.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Lachie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/fef247e860faea3b9a55b8d17bdf854b6a6fce07.jpeg\")
Lachie Hicks has a special kind of motivation spurring him on into the AFL draft this month.AFL Photos<\/p>\n![\"Dougie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/589e9bb4149a99c9f9d1c86c8266a49ca7184d55.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Hicks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/68356ad66628ac0e38eaf9b0e693a6d81d1397b6.jpeg\")
Hicks (second from left) with fellow draft prospects Mason McGroder, Sam Gayfer and Albert Macgowan at the draft combine.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Ethan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/7357907c4a3d478032e425a314ff3d40bc193ef5.jpeg\")
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