Tom Nicholls Biography

Tom Nicholls retires from football.

The inaugural Suns player managed 45 games for the club, having been recruited as an underage selection a decade ago, but has not featured at senior level since 2016.

"Tom has played a considerable role in establishing our football club as a foundation player and will always be part of our history and welcome anytime," Suns footy boss Jon Haines said.

"He's a great character, has brought a lot to the playing group and wider Gold Coast community throughout his career and has been much loved by our players, staff, members and fans. We wish him all the best with his future endeavours."

Gold Coast keeps Tom Nicholls off the free agency list, quietly re-signing the ruckman until the end of 2019.

The deal underlines the club's faith in the 203m Victorian despite a difficult 2017 season when he failed to play a senior game.

Tom Nicholls signs a two-year deal with Gold Coast that will keep him at the club until the end of 2018.

Out of contract Tom Nicholls says he loves Gold Coast, but still has some thinking to do before inking a new deal.

"I suppose it's a bit like everything in life, you want to take everything into account and make a measured decision," he said.

The AFL's Multicultural Program will expand to 18 player ambassadors in 2016 and will also include two female players.

Sabrina Frederick-Traub and Darcy Vescio will be joined in promoting some of the many diverse backgrounds in Australia’s Game by Brisbane Lions Vice Captain Dayne Zorko, Geelong’s Tom Hawkins, Fremantle’s Tendai Mzundu, Gold Coast SUNS players Adam Saad and Tom Nicholls, Sydney Swan Aliir Aliir and Western Bulldogs player Jason Johannisen.

The new additions in 2016 join existing Australia Post AFL Multicultural Player Ambassadors David Zaharakis (Essendon), Stephen Coniglio (GWS GIANTS), Paul Puopolo (Hawthorn), Shem Tatupu (Hawthorn), Alipate Carlile (Port Adelaide), Jimmy Toumpas (Port Adelaide), Bachar Houli (Richmond), Nic Naitanui (West Coast) and Lin Jong (Western Bulldogs).

“The expanded list of 18 ambassadors, representing 13 AFL Clubs and two female Clubs, will play a crucial role in raising cultural understanding, inclusion and participation at all levels of Australian Football,” AFL General Manager Game and Market Development Simon Lethlean said.

Tom Nicholls hopes he and Zac Smith can shake off their recent run of injuries and become a dominant ruck duo for Gold Coast in 2015.

"It's a bit frustrating. You hear that word talent, but that's nothing until you perform," Nicholls said.

"So it is time this year to string a few games together and get that consistency on the field and hopefully myself and Zac and all the other boys can form some great ruck partnerships over the years."

Tom Nicholls says he is looking forward making his return to footy in 2015 after overcoming a posterior cruciate ligament injury.

"The expectation is I'll be able to do pretty much everything in the pre-season," Nicholls said.

"The knee's all good and the body's all good, so there's no reason to hold me back."

Nicholls says he hopes to model his game after West Coast's Dean Cox after watching hours of game footage.

"He showed me how much he runs and how much reward he gets for that running," Nicholls said about Cox.

"When you play you know when you're jogging and saving your tickets, but with him there's not too many opportunities where you get that with him.

"He's always on the move, running hard and never flat-footed, never walking. That's something I'll be looking to implement this year."

Tom Nicholls says he hopes to model his game after West Coast's Dean Cox after watching hours of game footage.

"He showed me how much he runs and how much reward he gets for that running," Nicholls said about Cox.

"When you play you know when you're jogging and saving your tickets, but with him there's not too many opportunities where you get that with him.

"He's always on the move, running hard and never flat-footed, never walking. That's something I'll be looking to implement this year."

Tom Nicholls is making a desperate bid to overcome a long-term knee injury to be available for the Suns' final two matches of the season.

"It's a good motivator in rehab; it can get pretty mundane. To train with the goal of being out there to play at the end of the year has been very helpful," Nicholls said.

"My running and strength work has improved a lot and it feels good. I'm pulling up well after each training session so that's given me the confidence."

Tom Nicholls re-signs with Gold Coast until the end of 2016.

"We have a really close group of players and we are all excited in the direction the club is heading," Nicholls said.

"I'm looking forward to getting over my injury and playing consistent football in the near future.

"As a team we know we still have plenty of improvement and hard work ahead of us and hopefully we'll reap the benefits of that in the coming years."

Gold oast has confirmed ruckman Tom Nicholls has strained a posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Nicholls had scans in Melbourne on Monday morning after being helped off in the third quarter of Sunday's 43-point win against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.

"The exact timeframe that Tom will be sidelined for is unknown and will become apparent as he works his way through the rehabilitation program," Suns general manager of football operations Marcus Ashcroft said.

Tom Nicholls says working on his strength and fitness will help him compete against the more experienced AFL ruckmen.

"Definitely fitness would be number one (thing I could improve)," Nicholls said.

"The other ruckmen I came up against were running all day; I found myself blowing up.

"The other one would be strength straight under that. They're a lot bigger than me. Those two will be able to help me compete out there."

Gold Coast ruckman Tom Nicholls is leaving no stone unturned in his rehabilitation from knee surgery, sleeping 12 hours a night in the club's altitude room.

"Although I would have much preferred to be training alongside the boys, it's been great to gain some of the benefits of altitude recovery," Nicholls said.

Gold Coast's ruck stocks take another hit when Tom Nicholls hobbles off the ground against Carlton after aggravating a knee injury.

Gold Coast ruckman Tom Nicholls, of Fijian heritage, is the Rising Star nominee for round 16, the AFL's Multicultural Round.

"It's been a journey the last three years but I was inconsistent with my form, injuries and training, so I probably wasn't ready in my first two years at the club," Nicholls said.

"There were a couple of opportunities last year that I thought might come my way but didn't, so they were hard pills to swallow.

"I'm now training harder and doing those little 'one percenters' off the field, so that's helping my performance on the field but I still know I've got a long way to go."

Star midfielder Marc Murphy has capped a stellar 2011 season, winning Carlton's best and fairest to take out the John Nicholls medal ahead of skipper Chris Judd.

Tom Nicholls makes his AFL debut for Gold Coast at Football Park with 11 disposals (2 kicks and 9 handballs), 2 marks, 2 tackles and 10 hitouts in a 57-point loss to Adelaide.