Young Hawk James Sicily has been compared to premiership heroes Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis by teammate Liam Shiels as someone who is at their best when playing ‘on the edge’.

Sicily returned to the side for the Hawks’ 23-point win over Essendon, after serving his second one-week suspension for the year, playing a starring role in defence with 29 disposals, 14 marks and a goal as he continued his ascent to A-grade status.

While Sicily’s impressive form highlights just how important he is to the Hawks, teammate Shiels says he’s seen similar traits in two former champion Hawks.

“I’ve played with the likes of Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis, two superstar players that play on the edge similar to James Sicily, and every now and again they cross the line,” the midfielder told 3AW on Monday.

“I think all the boys, and especially the leadership group, were pretty disappointed with him missing two games for two pretty silly brain-fades.

“(But) we want him playing on edge.”

Shiels said that Sicily would only get better with the more time he spent out on the ground and the more games he played, with some in the media already touting the 23-year-old as a potential All-Australian selection in 2018.

“We saw what he’s capable of doing on the weekend, he’s a very important player to us and we need him out on the park,” Shiels said.

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