Sam Mitchell has defended his handling of James Sicily’s injury, saying he never misled the public or knowingly sent the Hawthorn captain into a compromised game.
This comes after the club confirmed Sicily would miss at least two matches due to a hip-abdominal concern, days after Mitchell told reporters his skipper was in the clear.
Mitchell had faced scrutiny for insisting Sicily’s groins were “fine” in the lead-up to their loss to Collingwood and for calling talk of poor kicking a “storm in a teacup”. Sicily ended up with just six touches in a flat performance before being sidelined.
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‘It didn’t age well’
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mitchell conceded his earlier comments hadn’t held up. “It didn’t age too well obviously,” he said. “But at no point has he ever been a chance to not play. That was my frustration last week.”
Mitchell rejected claims that the club was stuck in an “old school” mindset of hiding injuries: “That’s completely wrong. It hasn’t even been close to [not playing him]. There’s injuries where you wonder if a player will get to the line — this hasn’t been one of those.”
He clarified that Sicily’s issue wasn’t groin-related, but higher up. The injury, he said, flared up unexpectedly after the game and remains hard to predict.
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“You don’t see it often. We’ve had one like it before, it can settle quickly or take a bit longer,” Mitchell said, adding that the club hoped to have Sicily back after the bye.
Mitchell also addressed Sicily’s limited training load, saying it had likely affected his form, but praised his skipper’s dedication: “He’s such a proud sort of guy — he’s always trying to train, always trying to do a bit more.”
Hawthorn, currently on a three-game slide, face the Bulldogs on Thursday night without their captain.