Hawthorn captain James Sicily says his West Coast counterpart would be foolish not to assess the options for his future, and would do the same himself if he were off contract.
Oscar Allen, a restricted free agent, has sparked major debate about whether a captain should be dealing personally with rival clubs in-season after it emerged he had met with Hawks coach Sam Mitchell this week.
Amid the furore in Perth, Allen, who knows Mitchell from their days at the Eagles together, said on Thursday he was “embarrassed and ashamed” when forced to address teammates about the meeting, but the club has backed him to continue as co-captain in 2025.
Unbeaten: James Sicily and his Hawks have had a superb start to the season.Credit: Getty Images
Sicily, who joined teammates in touring the club’s soon-to-be new headquarters – the Kennedy Community Centre – in Dingley on Friday, said Allen had nothing to apologise for, describing the issue as “a storm in a teacup”.
“There is an existing relationship there, in this instance – ex-player, ex-teammate, ex-coach,” Sicily said.
“A restricted free agent, to my knowledge, [can] see what other people want to offer. If you want to accept that offer … there is no written thing: ‘Oh, because he is captain, he is not a restricted free agent’.
“I am talking more broadly, not in Oscar’s situation, but that is bad business for the individual, to not be seeing what’s out there, regardless of who you are.”
Allen, 26, said his preference was to stay at the Eagles on a long-term deal, but, as reported by this masthead, West Coast are being cautious due to his injury issues and the reshaping of their list and don’t want to budge on contract terms past five years.
The Brisbane Lions are also chasing the power forward.
“I personally don’t think it’s an issue, that’s just maybe the new-age opinion and view on things. I just think it is foolish not to see what’s out there, then get some understanding of how valuable you are,” Sicily, contracted until the end of 2027, said.
“Would I do the same thing? I think I would be comfortable doing the same thing, personally.”
Apology: Eagles football boss John Worsfold and co-captain Oscar Allen were forced to front the cameras this week.Credit: Nine News
The Hawks have been linked with several major off-contract stars, including another star Eagle, Harley Reid, who is contracted through 2026, and Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters.
The issue has sparked a wider debate about the now league-wide brazen pursuit of rival talent. AFL great Nick Riewoldt has even called for an anti-tampering rule through the season.
“I am not naive to think that this isn’t going to happen to us. We have a number of young players who are playing good footy, and they are going to be, we are going to be, in the same situation,” Sicily, who has had no role in the Allen talks, said.
“They are going to be offered deals that maybe are 25, 30 per cent more than what we can offer. Then it’s about self-reflection. What are we doing? How can we keep these guys here, so they don’t get lured away? That is where you need to start. Everything comes back to yourself.”
The Hawks will have to decide whether they want to retain midfielder James Worpel, who is a restricted free agent.
While the Hawks’ brass chase talent, there is already much to like on field this season. They are unbeaten after four games and are enjoying the bye before a grudge match against Port Adelaide in Adelaide next weekend in a rare Sunday night primetime clash.
Sicily and Power coach Ken Hinkley were involved in a post-match verbal altercation after the Hawks’ lost by three points in their semi-final at Adelaide Oval last year, Sicily having missed a crucial late shot at goal.
“That [missed shot] was one moment. It took me a bit of time to decompress after that one, about two or three days, but I have been able to move on,” Sicily said.
Sicily verbally stood up for teammate Jack Ginnivan as both teams left the field. Ginnivan had inflamed tensions at Port when, leading up to the match, he responded to an Instagram post by Brodie Grundy, his former Collingwood teammate but now Swan.
Ginnivan wrote “see u in 14 days”, referring to the following weekend’s preliminary finals, but the Hawks lost. Hinkley taunted Ginnivan after the final siren, sparking an AFL investigation, and a $20,000 fine for the veteran coach.
Sicily said “we’ll find out” this week whether Ginnivan had learnt from that incident.
“We’ll find out if he adds any theatre to the contest. He probably won’t, given the backlash from everything, but what is important is you go into a hostile environment together, and try and get out of there with a win unscathed,” Sicily said.
“Jack adds a bit of spice to the game. As a player, that makes you a bit accountable – I better do well now.”
Sicily said the recruiting of former Eagle Tom Barrass and former Saint Josh Battle had eased the “mental load” on him in defence.
