AFL greats Matthew Lloyd and Kane Cornes have questioned whether James Sicily is the right man to lead the rebuilding Hawks back into finals contention.
Sicily has come under fire for his on field outbursts across his career, headlined by a kick to Essendon's Andrew McGrath in round one of the 2024 season.
He avoided suspension, but again succumbed to tactics from the opposition that were meant to get under his skin.
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Now Lloyd says it is time for Hawthorn to alleviate the pressure from the 29-year-old defender, who is currently the best on their list.
"I think the hard part for James Sicily and Hawthorn is he's the first player you go to," Lloyd said on Nine's Footy Classified on Monday night.
"I don't think there's a midfielder at Hawthorn that you go 'let's try and shut him down or lock him down'.
"The first thing you do every week is say 'let's shut down James Sicily, let's get under his skin'.
"What other weapon do they have?"
Lloyd says it's time for coach Sam Mitchell to look at moving Sicily to another position on the ground to allow him to better absorb the pressure and have a greater impact on their goal scoring abilities.
"I just wonder if every now and then they start him (Sicily) forward of the ball," he said.
"I think that Sam Mitchell felt they were so poor behind the ball."
Kane Cornes echoed Lloyd's thoughts, but called upon Sicily to be the one to carry Hawthorn through their dark period.
He compared Sicily's lack of effort to some of the game's modern greats, who have stuck by their sides and built them for finals contention.
"I watched Zach Merrett (Essendon) in a poor side, unconditional effort. I watched Caleb Serong, not that he's captain, unconditional effort. I watched Patrick Cripps (Carlton skipper) for 10 years in a poor side, unconditional effort," Cornes said.
"So, if you're the leader of that football club (Hawthorn), your effort cannot be under question.
"But he's been really poor."
Hawthorn has started their season 1-6, recording their only win so far against the floundering North Melbourne in round six.
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