CONSISTENCY builds confidence – and confidence builds consistency.
For emerging Hawk James Sicily, both have rung true in 2016.
A consistent run at senior level has helped the the third-year forward develop confidence at AFL level, and he’s used that confidence to try to string together consistent performances in the brown and gold.
It’s fair to say it’s been a promising start.
The 21-year-old made his AFL debut last year, playing three games, and he’s taken his game to another level in 2016 by playing all 11 so far.
“It’s good that I’ve been able to play continuously for the first 11 rounds,” Sicily told hawthornfc.com.au this week.
“Obviously that helps me continue to build confidence.”
It’s been a whirlwind first half of 2016 for Sicily.
He had 11 goals to his name after just five rounds – which included a bag of four in the Hawks’ grand final rematch against West Coast Eagles in Round 2, and the match-winner against Western Bulldogs the following week.
But far from being satisfied with his achievements to date, he’s searching to become better – more consistent – and is being challenged to continually improve his game.
“My last month’s probably been a bit quiet in a form sense, so now it’s trying to add to my game,” Sicily said.
“I played a bit of back on the weekend (against Melbourne) and I’m trying to learn that too.
“The coaching staff know that I can play forward, so it’s about adding another string to my bow. They’ve got a strong emphasis on being versatile and being able to play in other positions on the ground, so it’s good to be able to go down back and learn from a pretty strong back six.”
Sicily has 14 goals to his name for the season, and whether he plays back or forward this week against Essendon remains to be seen.
This week presents an opportunity for him to keep improving – and also the team.
“The team’s tracking well. We’re eight and three which is better than last year – we know our best is yet to come, but we’re in a good spot,” Sicily said.
The young Hawk made his debut against the Bombers last year – the Round 2, two-point loss – and says it would be nice to record a win against arguably Hawthorn’s biggest rivals.
But while the Bombers are missing a number of key players in 2016, Sicily says the Hawks cannot afford to underestimate them.
“I debuted last year against Essendon and they beat us, so personally I want to get the win over them,” he said.
“They’re playing some pretty high-risk footy and really taking the game on. We’ll need to be sharp defensively to defend those plays, because if they come off it’s most likely going to be a score – but we can also hurt them the other way.
“We’ll have to definitely be on our toes."
