Hawthorn Coach Sam Mitchell says he is excited to provide star defender James Sicily the opportunity to captain the club for the next month.  

Sicily is set to take over as the Hawks stand-in captain for the first time while Ben McEvoy remains sidelined due to injury.

The 27-year-old will be handed the reins from Jaeger O’Meara who has handled the captaincy up to this point.  

With McEvoy facing an extended period on the sidelines, Mitchell said he discussed with the skipper who would be the most likely candidates to step up in his absence.

“We thought it would be better to give a lot of different players some exposure,” Mitchell said.

“And after Round 4 we met with O’Meara and Sicily, and we got those two to discuss how it would best work up until Round 10.

“We wanted those two, we thought they were outstanding candidates, and had both shown very strong promise and readiness to captain the Hawthorn Football Club.”

Sicily and O’Meara then decided that they would each captain the club for a four-week block.

At the end of Sicily’s captaincy stint in Round 10, Hawthorn will again review its leadership structure.

It’s an exciting week for Sicily who also plays his 100th game for the club this weekend against Melbourne.  

Mitchell said Sicily has brought something fresh to the table with his leadership.

“I think Sicily is one of those polarising figures in the game,” Mitchell said.

“He’s matured significantly – his passion for the game, his understanding of the game and his ability to read what’s happening live (is outstanding).

“His passion for not just his own performance, but the team’s collective performance and the direction that where going has been significant.

“I’m sure he’ll stand up this week.”

Hear more from Mitchell at his press conference today.