Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says James Sicily and Nick Watson have learnt from their actions in the team’s stinging pre-bye loss and are now focused on the game he’s billing as a must-win match against the struggling Gold Coast Suns on Friday night.
The Hawks and Suns clash at People First Stadium at a time when each has not resembled the premiership threat the football world thought they would be.
The ninth-placed Suns have lost their past three games, leaving coach Damien Hardwick to fend off questions on Wednesday about disharmony among players and the coaches, while the Hawks have three defeats and a draw from their past six games, including a mystifying fade-out before their mid-season bye to the Western Bulldogs.
It was in that game where a distracted Sicily traded barbs in a fiery match-up on Bulldog Will Lewis, while Watson verbally challenged opponent Michael Sellwood to “walk the walk” in an interview on Fox Footy at half-time when the Hawks led by 27 points.
Watson had next to no impact after the main break, while Lewis and Sellwood responded by being two of the Bulldogs’ better players in a come-from-behind win.
Mitchell said Sicily had been “playing quite good footy”, but could have handled the situation better.
“He just, obviously, had a bit of attention and didn’t handle it as well as he might have on other days … he’s been pretty solid across the year,” Mitchell said.
Since assuming the captaincy, Sicily has been a far more sedate figure on field than he was in his younger years.
Mitchell, a four-time premiership player known for his lip during his playing days, said Watson enjoyed the theatrics.
“There’s a part of me that, I watched ‘Wizard’ at half-time after the game, and you’re thinking: ‘Oh man, there’s a lesson learned’, but there’s a part of me that loves his confidence and how he goes about it. So, would he have learnt a lesson out of that? Of course. Would he do it again? Maybe,” Mitchell said.
“I don’t think it’s something I’m saying: ‘Hey, you should never do something like that’.
“You know, Nick, what makes him such a wonderful player is that attitude … I suspect we’re going to see more fun things from Nick and ‘Sis’.”
The Hawks will again be without veteran forward Jack Gunston, who continues to manage a mid-foot sprain, but key defender Tom Barrass (hamstring) will return.
Having slipped to fifth on the ladder, two points outside the top four, Mitchell said Friday night was a significant test.
“Our form line hasn’t been great, either. So this is a really important phase of the year,” Mitchell said.
“To be where we want to be come the later part of the season, we have to beat teams like the Suns. This is massive game for us, and we’ll see how quickly we can bounce out of what has not been our best form.”
Hardwick, meanwhile, played down the tension building within his club, insisting it’s just a normal part of life in a high-performance environment where “big boy” conversations need to happen.
Reports have emerged of a strained relationship between the coaches and players – and even among players – on the back of the Suns’three-match losing run.
“The fact of the matter is we’re in an AFL environment. There’s going to be tension within footy clubs, especially when you’re not performing,” Hardwick said.
“I’d probably argue or challenge anyone that hasn’t got tension in their club – they’re not a high-performance environment. We have big boy conversations, no doubt about that, and we’re on the same page.
“The fact of the matter is in team meetings, in reviews, you sort of sit there and provide clarity for the players and you walk out aligned. There’s no issue. From our point of view, it’s a non-event.”
Suns players have become visibly frustrated with each other on the field, an issue Hardwick conceded could sometimes be handled better, but as a whole, the coach insisted he was not concerned.
“Great leadership demands that players take action on field,” Hardwick said.
“That’s the art of leadership, and sometimes accepting feedback and giving feedback is challenging at times, especially in a high-pressure environment, such as an AFL game. They can all get better, I can get better, we can all move through it.
“What the players and what people have got to understand is the players are trying to get an immediate response or a certain situation rectified quickly, and sometimes it might look demonstrative. But I guarantee you, if you look at every game at the AFL on the weekend, you’ll see those sort of signals from every side.”
Midfielder Beau Addinsall, pick No.18 in last year’s national draft, will become the third player from the Suns’ academy to make his debut in 2026 when he runs out against the Hawks.
with AAP
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.
