James Sicily defends Oscar Allen after his apology for meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell

James Sicily says he would be prepared to meet with rival clubs when his contract is due to expire and has defended Hawthorn’s clandestine approach to West Coast skipper Oscar Allen.

Hawthorn captain James Sicily said it would have been “bad business” for Oscar Allen to not consider his free agency options, insisting his West Coast counterpart had every right to meet with Hawks coach Sam Mitchell last weekend.

An “ashamed and embarrassed” Allen issued a public apology on Thursday for meeting with Mitchell amid the start of another difficult season for the Eagles.

Sicily said the new-age of player movement allowed out of contract players to explore their worth elsewhere.

“I think it’s a bit of a storm in a teacup, if I am honest, but that’s the nature of the business right now,” Sicily said as he and the rest of the playing group toured the club’s Kennedy Community Centre at Dingley.

Sicily is contracted until the end of 2027 and said he would have no problem doing the same as Allen, even though he is captain.

“A restricted free agent to my knowledge … if the offer is there they can choose to accept it, there’s no written rule because he’s the captain, he’s not a restricted free agent,” he said.

“I am talking broadly – not in Oscar’s situation – that is bad business for the individual to not be seeing what is out there.

“I personally don’t think it’s an issue, that’s maybe the new age opinion and view on things, I think it’s foolish to not see what’s out there.

“Would I do the same thing? I personally would do the same thing.”

The Hawks are vying with several clubs to land Allen.

Sicily made no apologies for Hawthorn trying to add to its talent and expected rival clubs to make pitches at the young and potentially underpaid Hawks.

“Would I love Oscar to come? Would I love any other player who is going to help us win? Of course,” he said.

“Good players mean a better chance of winning and I am not naive to think this isn’t going to happen to us.

“We have a number of young players who are playing good footy and they’re going to be – we’re going to be – in the same situation.

“They’re going to be getting offered deals that are maybe 25 to 30 per cent more than what we can offer.

“But then it’s about some reflection, ‘OK what are we doing? How can we keep these guys here?’”

ASHAMED ALLEN PROBED ON SECRET HAWKS MEETING

— Eliza Reilly

A remorseful Oscar Allen has broken his silence about his coffee catch-up with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell, admitting he felt “embarrassed and ashamed” addressing his West Coast teammates on Thursday.

The Eagles called an unscheduled press conference before training, during which Allen and head of football John Worsfold faced the music following a turbulent week for the football club.

As revealed by this masthead on Wednesday, Allen will continue as co-captain alongside Liam Duggan. The situation has clearly taken its toll on the 26-year-old who shared details of an emotional meeting with players earlier on Thursday.

“It was quite difficult,” Allen said. ”I felt quite embarrassed and ashamed in front of the boys.

“Everyone here is working as hard as we can to achieve success and get better every day. Clearly, my actions have become a distraction this week which is clearly what I don’t want.

“Clearly I wouldn’t hold it against them if there was some anger or frustration towards me.”

After conversations with staff and players, Allen said he had the club’s full support to continue as skipper. He didn’t once consider standing down as captain despite calls for him to do so.

Oscar Allen is out of contract at the end of the season.

“After conversations with people at the football club, it feels like the right thing to do,” he said. “I’m still really confident I’m the right man, alongside Duggo, to take this club forward.

“They’re incredibly supportive of me. In all of the conversations we’ve had, they’ve said I’m the man for the job alongside Duggo.

“They appreciate what I bring to the locker room while we’re at the club but on game day, I’m somewhat of a calming presence for the young team we’ve got at the moment.”

The free agent also has interest from Brisbane. The main sticking point is currently the length and size of the deal Allen is being offered by the Eagles compared to what he could attract on the open market.

When asked if Allen wants to play for West Coast long-term, he responded “I do.” But he didn’t reveal what it would take for him to sign on the dotted line at the Eagles, only saying he’d remove himself from any further talks with opposition clubs.

“I’m not going to go into specifics,” Allen said. “That’s to do with my club and management.

“Everything will be run through my management and I won’t be involved in any of the processes heading forward.”

Allen revealed he had turned off his phone and removed himself from social media to avoid external scrutiny.

“I just want to address my sincere apology and sincere embarrassment for what’s happened over the last few days and weeks,” he said. “Clearly the public nature and the timing of what’s come out isn’t in the best interest of myself and the football club.

“For me, I mostly feel remorseful towards our fans, our playing members, supporters, and staff, I can imagine how you guys are feeling.”

Allen is set to stay as Eagles captain after calls for him to stand down.

Allen’s main focus from hereon in is to find form on the football field after an underwhelming start to the season. He had just one disposal in three quarters against Fremantle before spending the final term in defence when Jeremy McGovern suffered a groin injury.

“I own this, I’m out of form at the moment along with some other members of our side,” he said. “For me as a leader, the best thing I can do is lead the boys by example. I clearly haven’t been doing that.

“I want to play some good footy for this great footy club that I’ve loved growing up and still do love.”

The Eagles won’t take any further action against Allen and conceded players meeting with rival clubs is part of the modern player movement landscape. Worsfold added West Coast has “no gripe” with Mitchell despite him deploying a similar approach last year in the Hawks’ pursuit of Tom Barrass.

“At any given time, there’s hundreds of players out of contract across the competition,” Worsfold said. “This is not a unique situation.

“But the public nature of it we’ve acknowledged isn’t great timing when the team is struggling on-field.”