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Live sport on SN this weekendSelfies, winning and walking a fine line: Sicily on the evolution of HokBall and 2025 expectations
Lachlan Geleit • February 25th, 2025 7:30 pm
After it came to life in 2024, season two of HokBall kicks off in just 10 days’ time.
Having surged from 16th to a Semi-Final last season, many expect Hawthorn to continue that rise in 2025 and genuinely compete for a premiership in Sam Mitchell’s fourth season in charge.
Plenty of that hype around the Hawks surrounds their HokBall style of play, and while captain James Sicily can’t exactly pin down what the term truly means, if it means his teammates continue enjoying their footy, he’s more than happy to keep it alive in 2025.
“Mate, I don’t even know what HokBall is,” Sicily laughed on SEN The Run Home.
“I think it's just a forward thing, kick it in there and let the boys do their work, kick some goals and make it look enjoyable.
“I think at the end of the day, it's a game. It's serious, yes, but we want to enjoy it.
“We want to earn the right to have some fun out there, and it’s growing legs.”
While HokBall focused on Hawthorn’s energetic style of play with small forwards Jack Ginnivan and Nick Watson in particular the poster boys of the movement, Sicily admits the side walked a fine line in 2024 with how they celebrated wins and treated their opposition.
“I don’t get involved in any of the selfies, you won't catch me in one of those selfies (laughs),” Sicily said.
“But I think we're learning on the way. There were a couple of moments during the year that were like, ‘Oh, I probably didn’t want to do that’.
“I think someone was firing up the crowd in Adelaide one day, and we probably don't want to be that sort of team.
“But a lot of it's light-hearted.”
Even though Hawthorn’s antics caught the ire of some opponents in 2024, one thing that winning and added media exposure has brought to the club in 2025 is a suite of primetime fixtures.
Sicily is excited about being ‘back on Broadway’ and he has the confidence that the side can beat anyone on their day this season.
“We’re all pretty excited about being back on Broadway and the pressures and the expectations that come with that,” Sicily said.
“We're ready to go and get the season started, it’s only two weeks away. We've trained hard and trained against each other, so we’re pretty keen to get into the real stuff.
“I think one thing that's grown a lot is just the trust in one another, and we’ve got two new guys down back (Tom Barrass and Josh Battle) that are incredible players to add to what we already have.
“It does feel like the team is very well rounded, and we all believe that we're very well coached, well prepared, and we believe if we play our best footy, we're a good chance to win on that day.”
Hawthorn begin their season with an Opening Round clash against Sydney at the SCG on March 8.
