He served as coach from 1962 until 1965, and later as president of the club following its admission to the Victorian Football Association[2] in two stints between 1971–1975 and 1977–1979.
[4] In 1981, Wickes challenged and defeated 27-year incumbent Alex Gillon for the presidency of the VFA.
[5][6] Wickes served as president for a difficult four season tenure, at a time when the popularity and profitability of the Association was declining rapidly, in part due to the loss of television coverage and the expansion of the VFL into the Sunday football market.
He oversaw restructure of the second division in 1982, the expansion of the Association into the outer suburbs (incorporating clubs including Springvale, Kilsyth and Berwick), and made an unsuccessful attempt to expand the VFA to thirty teams.
[7] Wickes stood down as president after the 1984 season, expressing frustration at poor quality of club-level administration in the VFA at the time.