35 Players on Standby: Sicily’s Risk Amidst Key Omissions for Hawks

‘He’s a little bit like Sam Mitchell’ | 01:00

They were last season’s surprise packets, and while everyone will see the Hawks coming this time around, with a star pair of recruits now in tow it is “going to be hard” to stop this train.

Watch every match of the 2025 AAMI Community Series Live & ad-break free during play, exclusive to FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.

After 15 combined wins across his first two years in charge, Sam Mitchell steered Hawthorn to not only its first finals campaign since 2018, but its first finals victory since the club’s 2015 premiership triumph.

The Hawks, who dropped six of their first seven games in 2024, won 11 of their final 13 with a wet sail to finish in seventh spot and book an unexpected finals berth.

Hawthorn surged over the Western Bulldogs in an elimination final before falling agonisingly short against Port Adelaide.

But following the additions of Josh Battle and Tom Barrass in free agency and the trade period respectively — and a natural adjustment in expectation — big things are anticipated in 2025 of these Hawks.

Hawthorn is on the league’s radar now, but its players continue to preach togetherness and the importance of embracing individuality, further fuelling its on-field charge.

Asked why there is no stopping this Hawthorn train, fan-favourite forward Jack Ginnivan told foxfooty.com.au flexibility at selection will hold the club in good stead.

“The fact we’ve probably got 35 players that are ready to play Round 1,” Ginnivan confidently said.

“It’s hard to pick our best 22 at the moment, and the coaches are going to have a tough time figuring out who’s going to play midfield, who’s going to play forward, back.

“We’re bringing in our star recruits, (Josh) Battle and (Tom) Barrass, who will really help us lock down the defence, and those really big boys up forward will be able to nullify and be able to free up ‘Sic’ (James Sicily) and ‘Scrim’ (Jack Scrimshaw) and these sorts of guys.

“I think we’ve just got so much versatility in the group that it’s going to be hard to stop us.”

In addition to headliners Battle and Barrass, Hawthorn added key defender Noah Mraz and hard-nosed midfielder Cody Anderson at last November’s draft, as well as Category B rookies Matt Hill and Jaime Uhr-Henry to a list teeming with talent.

One of the intriguing storylines to follow at Waverley this year will be whether skipper James Sicily is shifted into attack more frequently due to the added flexibility provided by the arrival of Battle and Barrass, and also because of current personnel absences.

With quick-riser Calsher Dear and 70-gamer Mitch Lewis sidelined to start the season, the Hawks’ forward stocks aren’t at their very strongest.

Sicily played a game-winning role in the forward third in a Round 18 win over Fremantle last season, booting three goals in the second half alone in a masterstroke magnet move by Mitchell, who explained he pulled the trigger because Sicily wasn’t having his typical influence behind the ball.

Given Hawthorn’s further bolstered defensive depth, and with the likes of Scrimshaw, Josh Weddle, Sam Frost and Jai Serong already in the fold, Sicily could shift into attack on any given day if his side finds itself in need of a scoring spark.

Ten-year veteran Blake Hardwick is another anticipated to spend time up forward this upcoming season, adding a hard edge to the Hawks’ attacking unit after spending fleeting time ahead of the ball in 2024.

The absences of Lewis and Dear front-of-mind, Max Ramsden, a five-gamer, has put his best foot forward this pre-season in an attempt to earn a Round 1 nod.

“He’s been training the house down and his presence up forward has been really good,” Will Day recently said of the Sandringham Dragons product.

The midfield unit remains a position group of utmost strength for the Hawks, and one that could see one or two breakouts.

Jai Newcombe polled a career-best 24 Brownlow votes last season to lead all Hawks for the third year running, while Day ascended as a lethal forward-of-centre weapon, and James Worpel and Conor Nash continued to elevate their levels of play.

Third-year midfielder Cam Mackenzie is a name to watch closely if his peers’ comments are anything to go by, while 21-year-old Josh Ward showed his wares as an inside ball-winner in the club’s elimination final win, and Finn Maginness will continue to press his case from the fringes.

The club has plenty of speed coming off the half-backline, with Jarman Impey, Weddle and Massimo D’Ambrosio providing the Hawks run and dash to kickstart rampaging offensive chains.

Another key watch is Changkuoth Jiath; an electrifying rebounder when fit and firing, but a player that has been hampered by soft-tissue injuries in seasons gone by.

Hawthorn will also host Carlton, Collingwood and reigning premiers Brisbane at the ‘G, and will even play under lights twice in Launceston against GWS and Adelaide in addition to its marquee Easter Monday meeting with Geelong.

The league is evidently banking on Hawthorn remaining one of the most watchable sides in the competition in 2025, and it seems a wise bet to make.

STRENGTH

Forward-half profile and transition balance. Simply, playing a forward-half game is a staple for premiership sides. Forcing opposition turnovers in the front half and capitalising on the cough-up is a proven premiership trait, and the Hawks were a top-six unit in this category last season. They averaged 44.8 points scored from the forward half; a figure in the same conversation but marginally fewer than grand finalists Brisbane and Sydney and fellow finalists the Western Bulldogs and Carlton. Hawthorn can also hang its hat on defensive-half-scoring differential. Mitchell’s men topped the competition in allowing the least opposition points scored from the back half per game. They also owned the third-best overall defensive-half scoring differential.

WEAKNESS

It’s difficult to find one, but key-forward firepower seems as though it will be lacking in the early going. The Hawks are well-equipped at ground level with All-Australian Dylan Moore and excitement machines Ginnivan and Nick Watson, however, injuries have meant it is a different discussion regarding the taller timber. Promising youngster Dear is out for an indefinite period due to a back stress injury, while Lewis continues in his ACL recovery, leaving Mabior Chol to shoulder the key-position load. And while Ramsden has this pre-season been pressing for a senior opportunity to start the season, the Hawks won’t be relying on the 21-year-old to break out right away with just five AFL games under his belt. It could mean Mitchell feels compelled to make a gutsy Sicily call early in the year.

PREMIERSHIP CLOCK

6pm: Nobody expected Hawthorn to qualify for September last year, let alone start the campaign 1-6, finish seventh and then get within a goal of a preliminary final berth. Now, the consensus forecast is they replicate that effort, if not go a step further. It looms as quite the burden of expectation for a young brigade, but its influx of established talent to an already-strong collection means Hawthorn certainly can contend for a top-four berth.

PREDICTED LADDER RANGE

4th-7th.

PREDICTED OPENING ROUND TEAM

B: J. Battle, T. Barrass, J. Scrimshaw

HB: J. Impey, J. Sicily, J. Weddle

C: K. Amon, W. Day, M. D’Ambrosio

HF: D. Moore, M. Chol, N. Watson

F: B. Hardwick, M. Ramsden, J. Ginnivan

FOLL: L. Meek, J. Newcombe, J. Worpel

I/C: C. Macdonald, C. Mackenzie, J. Gunston, C. Nash, C. Jiath

EMG: L. Breust, F. Maginness, H. Morrison