James Sicily looms as the person almost definitely to take over as captain at Hawthorn however coach Sam Mitchell is adamant the large exit of skilled gamers hasn’t left the membership void of management.
A call on the captain is about to be fleshed out throughout an upcoming four-day camp in Morwell and whereas there gained’t be a management vote, Mitchell’s teaching philosophy will guarantee prolonged discussions between gamers and coaches.
Hawthorn is seeking to appoint a fourth captain in seven years after the retirement of Ben McEvoy and Sicily stands out amongst a enjoying group which additionally misplaced senior gamers Jack Gunston, Tom Mitchell and Jaegar O’Meara to rival golf equipment.
Mitchell mentioned these senior exits mirrored a time in Mitchell’s personal enjoying profession when famous person Shane Crawford retired after the 2008 premiership. Like the Hawks did then, Mitchell is adamant the outlet these gamers left within the membership an be crammed.
“I go back to my early days and I remember when Shane Crawford retired and it was like ‘how is this club going to run without Shane Crawford?’,” Mitchell mentioned on Tuesday.
“It was quite amazing that losing someone of such significance as him, but every club they find their equilibrium when they come back.
“We lost some experienced players and some good players, of course, but the group came together and there is 40-odd players and they just find this groove and equilibrium and energy.
“We spent a lot of time last year energising the group and flattening the leadership. We go on camp next week where we‘ll start to knuckle down on what the process and what the structure of our leadership program will look like for the year.”
Mitchell conceded Sicily, the reigning membership finest and fairest, was the “big, obvious one” to be named captain, however wasn’t a lock to interchange McEvoy.
“I‘m pretty confident we’ve got a few options,” he mentioned.
“I mean it’s obvious on the external that James Sicily is the big, obvious one. But certainly there’s a lot of players who I wouldn’t underestimate their influence on our group
“I’ll probably keep exactly what we are looking for internal … but you want leaders to be people who inspire other people to be like them.”
Mitchell praised the membership’s prime two draft picks, Cameron McKenzie and Josh Weddle for the pre-season work and declared each “don’t look out of place in our match sim” at coaching.
Despite the younger group, Mitchell mentioned there was no motive his squad, with all bar three gamers in full coaching. might progress sooner than most anticipate in 2023.
“We’re not talking about where we want to finish or how many games we want to win, I don’t imagine I’ll ever be that type,” he mentioned.
“What we’ve said to this green is there is no speed limit on where we are going. Our playing group are really clear on the direction and desire we have to go to the top and stay there.
“There’s not a quick easy fix to get there. There’s also nothing that says we can’t do it straight away. It’s up to us to go as fast as we can in that process.”
Originally revealed as Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell adamant membership has succesful leaders after mass exodus in 2022
