Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says All-Australian captain James Sicily ‘isn’t kicking well’

There was a significant concession from Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell about his captain’s poor recent form in one area but it came with a caveat.

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell concedes his All-Australian captain James Sicily “isn’t kicking well”, with his ball use coming in for criticism, but he has no concerns whatsoever.

While the Hawks managed to stem the flow of back-to-back losses with a big win over West Coast last weekend, Sicily’s kicking efficiency has stood out as a talking point given the premiership aspirations of Mitchell’s team.

But ahead of a massive day on Sunday when the club will celebrate its 100th anniversary against Richmond at the MCG, Mitchell was happy to bat away any suggestions Sicily’s kicking was an ongoing concern, with so much going well for the Hawks.

“For the majority of the year he has been in All-Australian form I would say,” Mitchell said of Sicily, the club’s 2022 best and fairest.

“He’s a beautiful kick of the footy. He hasn’t kicked the ball well, but he’s still finding it, still defending well, he’s not having scores scored on him. He just hasn’t kicked the ball well.

Sam Mitchell has defended James Sicily. Picture: James Wiltshire/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“But he’s still a good kick. I’m far from concerned. He’s a pro. He’s out here working on his craft. He hasn’t lost his kicking skill.”

Mitchell also laughed off a poke from Eagles coach Andrew McQualter over his use of defender Tom Barass in last week’s game.

With the game in hand, Mitchell sent Barass forward, where he’d never been before, leading some to question whether it was disrespectful to the battling, winless Eagles.

Mitchell, however, said it was part of a season-long plan to expose people to different positions, trying to help them add strings to their bow, should important games demand a change.

“We’re looking for ways to score and different avenues forward,” Mitchell said.

“Josh Battle is another one who we’d like to explore in a couple of positions, we’ve done it with Josh Weddle at different stages.

“When we get the opportunity, we like to try and change a position to see if we can get a bit of development into our game.”

Originally published as Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says All-Australian captain James Sicily ‘isn’t kicking well’