The Hawthorn assistant “ready” for potential Carlton gig

SEN • May 24th, 2026 2:35 pm

As Carlton continues to flaunt its talent, the vacant senior role continues to appear far more appealing as time goes on.

And one former Blue and current high level AFL assistant is ready to put his hand up.

After spending a decade with the Eagles as a premiership winning assistant coach, Adrian Hickmott made the move to Hawthorn at the end of 2021, where he currently serves as the club’s forwards coach.

The 184-game forward played 134 of his career games with Carlton, vice-captaining the club through the early 2000’s after joining from Geelong in 1996.

Now, with nearly 20 years of coaching experience at AFL level, Hickmott feels as though his time to step into a senior role is right around the corner.

“It’s coming, I feel,” Hickmott told AFL Nation.

“I’m 54, starting to mature even more now as I get on! The next few years, I will start heading towards that area, and if I’m good enough to do it and qualified, I’ll have a crack.

“If I’m not, well then I’m very happy just where I am at the moment, getting this job done and making sure we get wins on the board and help our young players improve.”

When asked about the vacant Carlton job, Hickmott feels as though he is ready and willing to take on the task.

“I think I’m ready, yeah,” he said.

“I think I’m ready at the moment. We will see what happens with that sort of stuff.”

The Blues are 2-0 under interim coach Josh Fraser, who already ruled himself out of contention for the role on a permanent basis.