Liam Shiels says Hawthorn, James Sicily, primed for sellout MCG clash with Richmond

A REFRESHED Liam Shiels says he is excited for the return of star defender James Sicily as the Hawks plot the demise of the top-of-the-table Tigers in Thursday night’s sellout AFL finals opener.

Hawthorn co-vice captain Liam Shiels is excited for the return of gun defender James Sicily.

A REFRESHED Liam Shiels says he is excited for the return of star defender James Sicily as the Hawks plot the demise of the top-of-the-table Tigers in Thursday night’s AFL finals opener.

Sicily was in All Australian form before he broke his wrist against the Brisbane Lions in Round 17 and missed the rest of the regular season.

But the gun interceptor has been passed fit by the Hawks.

“It’s exciting, he’s (Sicily) obviously a great player and does a lot of good work for us down back,” Shiels said.

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Hawthorn defender James Sicily is set to play his first game since breaking his wrist in Round 17. Picture: Michael Klein

“He’s available to play so I’ll leave that up to Clarko (coach Alastair Clarkson) and hopefully he’s out there on Thursday night.”

Hawthorn will also recall fellow defender James Frawley — who is set to have the unenviable task of containing star Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt — while Jonathan Ceglar could join fellow ruckman Ben McEvoy in the side, giving the Hawks a twin tower setup to throw at one-out Tiger Toby Nankervis.

Shiels said there was excitement among the Hawthorn group, which boasts a number of battle-hardened finals campaigners to help prepare the club’s young guns for battle in front of what is expected to be 95,000 fans at the MCG.

“Guys like Shaun Burgoyne, Poppy (Paul Puopolo), Chip (Frawley), we’ve got a number of players that have played finals that aren’t in the leadership group, so just trying to pass on that experience to the younger guys,” the Hawks’ joint vice-captain said.

Liam Shiels says his side is excited by the prospect of a finals clash in front of 95,000 people. Picture: AAP

“We’re just telling them to embrace the week as much as possible, don’t play the game in your head before Thursday night.

“It’s going to be sold out, so hopefully 95,000+ are there on Thursday night and it’s going to be a huge game and huge atmosphere, so just telling those young boys to enjoy the moment as much as possible.”

The hard man revealed the Hawks, who had a getaway to Cape Schank last week, “haven’t delved too much into Richmond yet” and Clarkson was yet to reveal how they might tackle Tigers’ matchwinner Dustin Martin.

“We’ll probably do that over the next couple of days, and then a light day on Wednesday leading into the game,” he said.

What are the Hawks going to do to try to stop Dusty? If you believe Liam Shiels, not even he knows yet. Picture: AAP

“(Dusty) hasn’t been spoken about — another one the coaches will probably speak about for a couple of hours in match committee, whether we tag him or not and who goes to him.

“We’ll prob find out a little bit about how we’re going to go about it in the next couple of days.”

Shiels said the week off had helped him recuperate after a taxing season in which he played 21 games and finished 11th in the competition in tackles (132).

“I was glad we had the week off, I needed it,” he said.

“My body was a little bit sore, but (I’ve) come back really refreshed so really looking forward to it.”

Originally published as Liam Shiels says Hawthorn, James Sicily, primed for sellout MCG clash with Richmond