Nicholls, who captained the Victorian schoolboys in interstate football, came to the VFL from East Geelong in 1956.
[6] In 1962 he suffered a broken collarbone and later a thigh injury, which restricted his appearances, but he did feature in Geelong's drawn preliminary final against Carlton, before missing the replay.
[6] In 1964, his first season as coach, Nicholls won a best and fairest and led Geelong West to the VFA 2nd Division premiership, with an upset 21 point win over Sunshine in the grand final.
[12] Promoted to the 1st Division for the 1965 VFA season, Nicholls was unable prevent Geelong West from finishing last.
[11][13] His son, Leigh Nicholls, played Under 19s for Geelong and was a Victorian Teal Cup representative.