AFL 2024: Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says captain James Sicily would have extra eyes on him after round 1 kick

After being cited 14 times in his career, Hawthorn captain James Sicily seems to be under more scrutiny than most AFL players.

Hawthorn captain James Sicily is familiar with the match review panel. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell wouldn’t bite when asked if there was a “Sicily tax” when it comes to his captain James Sicily and the AFL’s match review panel after he was cited for kicking in last week’s loss to Essendon.

It’s a reference to the “Toby tax” some pundits believe was often applied to GWS captain Toby Greene, a suggestion that he was treated more harshly than other players given he’s been charged 23 times with various offences.

Sicily had a one-game ban overturned on Tuesday night for the errant kick that Essendon vice-captain Andrew McGrath said he didn’t even feel, instead fined $2500.

It was the first time Sicily, who has been charged by the MRP 14 times, successfully defended himself.

Sicily has only played 135 games, meaning, on average, he cops a charge once every 10 matches, and while Mitchell didn’t want to suggest his captain was treated differently, he did say that “people would be looking” given his track record.

“I think we talk regularly about umpires, they do their scouting the same way the players do,” he said on Thursday.

“So if James is in a certain position, then you know that people are going to be looking for something, and whatever you are looking for, you’ll find.

“He knows that he needs to perform at his best and make sure he stays within the rules of the game, no different to anyone else.”

James Sicily is free to play this weekend after his one-match ban for this incident with Andrew McGrath was overturned at the Tribunal.

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Mitchell said he chatted with his the All-Australian defender every week and conceded there was a “focus” this week on how to best perform his role.

But the Hawthorn coach had full confidence Sicily wouldn’t be baited again after he was targeted by Essendon players at the MCG last Saturday trying to stir him up.

“I chat with him every week. The captain and coach relationship is pretty important,” Mitchell said.

“We chat about his on-field, his of-field, how he’s leading, how the rest of the group is feeling. This week it was a bit of focus on how he performed and his role.

“I am really confident he has all of the tools in his kit bag now to make sure he’s able to perform well both on the field himself as a player but also on the field himself as a leader.”

Mitchell said the Hawks wouldn’t “want to change everything” after the loss to the Bombers, confident their pre-season work had them headed in the right direction.

“We’ve done a lot of work through the pre-season and trying to put ourselves in winnable positions more often,” he said.

“We did that last week, we just didn’t capitalise.”

Originally published as AFL 2024: Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says captain James Sicily would have extra eyes on him after round 1 kick