20-year-old Nicholls, who was recently elevated off the rookie list following the long-term injury to Sean Rusling, enjoyed an excellent pre-season after a strong first year at Collingwood in 2006 playing for Williamstown.
He was ecstatic to be a late inclusion to the Collingwood team for Saturday night’s showdown at Subiaco, after a groin complaint forced Ryan Lonie out.
“Mick (Malthouse) came up and told me I would be playing. I was pretty excited and pumped for it”, Nicholls said after training at the Lexus Centre on Tuesday.
Recruited from Rowville and the Dandenong Stingrays in the Victorian TAC Cup Under 18 competition with the 18th overall selection in the 2005 rookie draft, Nicholls possesses attributes that will quickly endear him to Magpie fans.
Renowned for his hardness at the ball, Nicholls, who stands at 177 centimetres, has a lovely left foot kick and excellent pace.
Nicholls was told by Collingwood’s chief of football Geoff Walsh a couple of weeks ago that his impressive pre-season had won him a spot on the senior list.
“I’ve just got to keep taking the next step, and rising for the challenges that get thrown at me.”
As for his first game against the Eagles, lining up on premiership players Daniel Kerr and Rowan Jones meant Nicholls was thrown into the deep end from the word go, and while he didn’t win a lot of the ball (two kicks, one handpass), the experience was invaluable.
“The game itself was good, fast paced. I did struggle a bit, I was just a bit eager with the tackles and that, but it’s just a learning curve for me, and I can hopefully move forward from here.”
