James Sicily

James Sicily (born 6 January 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays as a forward and defender for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

James Sicily
Sicily playing for Hawthorn in June 2017
Personal information
Full name James Sicily
Date of birth (1995-01-06) 6 January 1995
Place of birth Keilor footy club
Original team(s) Keilor (edfl) Western Jets (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 56, 2013 national draft
Debut Round 2, 2015, Hawthorn
vs. Essendon, at MCG
Height 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Position(s) Defender / Forward
Club information
Current club Hawthorn
Number 6
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2014– Hawthorn 92 (58)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 11, 2020.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early career

Sicily's junior career was spent playing for the Keilor Football Club.[1] In 2013, Sicily kicked 26 goals from 16 games for the Western Jets and represented Vic Metro at the National Championships.[2]

AFL career

Sicily was drafted by the Hawthorn Football Club with the fifty-sixth pick in the 2013 AFL draft.[1] In 2014, he was widely considered Box Hill’s best player in the losing grand final, kicking a team-high three goals, and finishing with 15 disposals and five marks.[3]

He made his AFL debut against Essendon in round 2, 2015 starting as the sub. He came on replacing the injured James Frawley in the first quarter and later kicked a goal. He went on to play three games for the year.[4]

In the absence of the injured Jarryd Roughead, Sicily was named in Hawthorn's team for the opening round of the 2016 AFL season, kicking 4 goals against West Coast in round 2 and kicking the match winning goal in round 3 against the Western Bulldogs.[5][6] He was named as the round 13 nominee for the Rising Star after kicking a career high five goals and recording 13 disposals and 5 marks.[7] 2016 was regarded as Sicily's breakout season.[5]

During the 2017 season, Sicily, who had previously been a forward, was shifted to the backline, after being dropped from the team while playing as a forward.[8] He impressed in that position, but nonetheless at the end of the season was still the subject of some uncertainty around his position in the team.[9] On August 22, 2017, Sicily signed a three-year contract extension keeping him at the club until 2020.[10]

Sicily was suspended for one match in the early stages of the 2018 season for kneeing Geelong captain Joel Selwood.[11] Notwithstanding this, Sicily was widely tipped to be on track for a nomination to the All-Australian team of that year before breaking bones in his wrist in Round 17, only returning during the finals series.[12] Despite this injury, Sicily had a season widely perceived as excellent,[12] and was considered to have to have potential to become one of the league's best defenders.[13]

Sicily had another good season in 2019, being selected in the extended All-Australian squad for that year, the only Hawthorn player to do so.[14] He was considered especially important to Hawthorn's defense.[15] At the end of the season, he re-signed with the club till at least the year 2022.[16]

On-field temperament

Sicily is widely regarded and known for having a short temper, something he himself has acknowledged.[17]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of 2019.[18]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2014 Hawthorn 410——————————————
2015 Hawthorn 213411919381131.30.36.36.312.73.71.0
2016 Hawthorn 2122301816884252100431.40.87.63.811.54.62.0
2017 Hawthorn 2119139204148352131220.70.510.77.818.56.91.2
2018 Hawthorn 61661264109373114260.40.116.56.823.37.11.6
2019 Hawthorn 62232352112464158320.10.116.05.121.17.21.5
Career 825631100747214795141260.70.412.35.818.06.31.5

Honours and achievements

Individual

References
  1. D'Anello, Luke (22 November 2013). "Western Jets midfielder James Sicily drafted by Hawthorn". Herald Sun. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  2. "AFL draft: James Sicily living the dream at Hawthorn". Brimbank Star Weekly. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. "Sicily, Hanrahan impress in VFL decider". Hawthorn Football Club.
  4. Duxson, Nick (15 October 2015). "Season review: James Sicily". Hawthorn Football Club. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  5. Hill, Jeremy (15 October 2016). "Season Review: James Sicily". Hawthorn Football Club. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. Twomey, Callum (10 April 2016). "Match report: Hawks hang on in dramatic finish with Dogs". Australian Football Club. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  7. Guthrie, Ben (20 June 2016). "Match-winning Hawk nabs Rising Star nom". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  8. Paine, Jackson (26 September 2017). "Season review: James Sicily". Hawthorn Football Club. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  9. Buckland, Ryan (22 August 2017). "Hawthorn's off season won't be as interesting as you might think". The Roar. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  10. "Sis signs on". Hawthorn Football Club. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  11. 3AW Football (3 April 2018). "Hawk suspended over knee on Joel Selwood". 3AW News Talk. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  12. "Season snapshot: James Sicily". Hawthorn Football Club. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  13. Carey, Wayne (10 May 2018). "James Sicily can become one of the great defenders". The Age. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  14. "'19 Rewind: James Sicily". Hawthorn Football Club. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  15. "Who Are Your Club's Most Important Defenders?". Seven News. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  16. McKirdy, Lachlan (25 October 2019). "AFL 2019: James Sicily re-signs with Hawthorn on a long-term deal". Sporting News. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  17. Waterworth, Ben (14 February 2018). "James Sicily admits he needs to control and manage temper on the field in 2018 AFL season". Fox Sports. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  18. "James Sicily". AFL Tables. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
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