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Why footy great believes James Sicily should be in top 5 player conversations
Andrew Slevison • March 11th, 2025 12:52 pm
Is Hawthorn captain James Sicily rated highly enough across the AFL?
That’s what Tim Watson wanted to put on the agenda after watching Sicily star for the Hawks in their 20-point Opening Round win over Sydney on Friday night.
Starting in his customary defensive role, Sicily was one of the very best players on the ground before being thrown forward and having an impact in the final quarter, including a crucial goal.
Watson loved what he saw and believes the 30-year-old should be in the top five conversation when it comes to the league’s elite.
The Essendon great asked on SEN Breakfast: “Why isn’t James Sicily considered one of the best players in the competition?
“His name never ever appears when we talk about the top five players in the competition.
“James Sicily should be up there as one of the top five players in the competition. He’s one of the best players in the competition.”
Watson feels that what Sicily is capable of as a key defender doubled with his pinch-hitting ability forward of the ball makes him a rare commodity.
“We always talk about the midfielders because they catch our eye all the time Is there a more important player than somebody that can do what James Sicily does?,” he continued.
“He disrupts your (opposition) forward line because of the way he plays and you can now send him forward with great reliability and confidence. That great mark he took in the pack in wet conditions (late in the first quarter) with the game on the line, that is just an extraordinary bit of play.
“All of a sudden they went from a forward line that looked dangerous when the ball went on the ground to a forward line that then started to look dangerous with the ball in the air as well.
“He draws the ball wherever he plays.”
An All-Australian defender in 2023, Sicily has moved forward on the odd occasion mostly with great success.
It prompted the question: When should Sam Mitchell throw him forward?
“It’s horses for courses,” Watson said further.
“I think they play that anyway, Hawthorn.
“You could start him forward if you wanted to, it just depends on what their defensive makeup is going to be based on the team they’re playing against and the cattle they have available to play in the front half.”
Referencing Sicily’s 20-disposal, eight-mark game against the Swans, Garry Lyon suggested that the Hawks skipper was able to impact forward due to the fact that he got his eye in earlier in defence.
“In this instance he was, if not the best player on the ground in the first half, close enough to it,” Lyon said.
“He was in rare nick, he found the ball, he got his timing, he was marking everything from an intercept point of view.
“Then he goes there (forward) chock-full of confidence and with a nothing-to-lose attitude. When you start from scratch you’ve got to get to that stage again as a key forward, and I think that’s harder than being swung forward.
“He’s good enough to be able to play as a key forward but I think there’s a fundamental difference.”
Sicily was recently named at 36 in Kane Cornes’ top 50 players, while ranking at 25 in SEN.com.au’s consensus top 50.
He and his Hawks will look to make it two on the trot in season 2025 when they meet Essendon at the MCG on Friday night.
