Merv Hicks was an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er who played with Collingwood

Collingwood Football Club

The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...

 in the Victorian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

 (VFL).

Hicks was from Numurkah, but was playing with Mooroopna

Mooroopna Football Club

The Mooroopna Football Club are an Australian rules football club which compete in the Goulburn Valley Football League.-External links:*...

 when signed by Collingwood. He played twice for Collingwood in the 1956 VFL season

1956 VFL season

Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1956.-1956 Summer Olympics:From 22 November to 8 December, the 1956 Summer Olympics were to be held in Melbourne, with a re-configured Melbourne Cricket Ground as its Main Stadium....

 but was unable to get a game over the next two years. On his return, against Footscray

Western Bulldogs

The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...

 in round six of the 1959 season, Hicks was used as a full-forward

Full-forward

Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals.Leading full-forwards of the Australian Football League are usually among those awarded with the Coleman Medal for the most goals in an AFL season....

 and kicked five goals. It would however be one of only four games he played that season and he opted to continue his career at Northcote

Northcote Football Club

Northcote Football Club, nicknamed The Dragons, was an Australian rules football club which played in the VFA from 1908 until 1987. The club's colours were green and yellow and it was based in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote...

.

He applied for the vacant senior coaching position at South Bendigo

South Bendigo Football Club

The South Bendigo Football Club are an Australian rules football club which compete in the Bendigo Football League .Since South Bendigo entered the league in 1894, no club have won more premierships...

 for the 1961 season but lost out to Alan McDonald

Alan McDonald (Australian rules footballer)

Alan McDonald is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL between 1939 and 1941 and then again in 1943 for the Richmond Football Club. He was senior coach of Richmond from 1957 to 1960.- References :...

. Instead he was signed by another Bendigo Football League

Bendigo Football League

The Bendigo Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Bendigo region of Victoria, Australia.Formed in 1880, it is one of the oldest football leagues in Australia, and among its members are some of the oldest football clubs in Australia, including the Castlemaine...

 club, Eaglehawk

Eaglehawk Football Club

The Eaglehawk Football Club are an Australian rules football club which compete in the Bendigo Football League .They are based in the town of Eaglehawk, Victoria and have competed in every BFL season since the league began in 1880, with the exception of 1904.Eaglehawk drew level with Sandhurst in...

, as their first choice, Geelong's Les Borrack had been unable to get a transfer from his employers. In his first season at Eaglehawk he topped the league's goal-kicking with 64 goals.