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Tom Hickey has described his skipper Gary Ablett as a freak after his 53 possession performance against Collingwood but the young ruckman's efforts in his second game of the year also caught the eye.

Hickey won special reviews from the SUNS coaching panel after a 19 possession effort in which his marking was a feature.

The 21-year-old said he had worked hard on making himself more valuable to the team around the ground and felt it had paid of in his first game at the top level since round two.

"I just tried to get out there and take a few marks,'' he said.

"It is something I have been working on, I've been down in the ressies (reserves) the past eight weeks and I have tried to work on things I knew would help me in the seniors.

"I was lucky enough to catch a few and get a few touches.''

The SUNS are probably more stocked with ruckmen than any other part of the ground and opportunities for senior selection are hard earned.

But Hickey said having to fight for a senior game would prove beneficial to the side's ruck division in the long run.

"I think that is good, I think you need competition,'' he said.

"I don't think anyone would ever get complacent at our club, everyone pushes and they know if they play well in the ressies they will get an opportunity.

"It is more of a blessing than a curse, because if you are playing well you get a game, you don't get gifted any games.''

Hickey got a first hand view of Ablett's 53 possession performance at the home of football on Sunday and was still shaking his head 24 hours later at the SUNS recovery session.

"He's just a freak, I saw him getting plenty of it out there but it wasn't till after the game that someone told me he had it 53 times,'' he said.

"He is unbelievable, he was just everywhere.''

He said the positive to be taken out of the loss against competition heavyweights was the young side's willingness to take the game on and be bold with their ball movement.

It is an area they intend to make a priority against this weekend against St Kilda at Metricon Stadium where they feel their pace can be an advantage.

"We know we are a pretty quick team so we just want to use the ball as quick as we can and get out in space where we can use our pace,'' he said.

"If we do that and we execute our sills we will start to perform a lot better.''