Sicily fires up as Hawks claim historic finals victory
Combustible Hawthorn co-captain James Sicily has gone viral for a vicious post-siren outburst at Optus Stadium on Thursday night, aimed at Fremantle forward Patrick Voss.
Sicily, 31, had been one of Hawthorn’s best players in the upset qualifying final victory over Fremantle that has catapulted the Hawks into a home preliminary final.
But after the match the fiery defender let his emotions spill over, giving Voss a brutal earful as they crossed paths.
The sledge stopped Voss in his tracks, and he turned and glared at Sicily. However, it was noticeable that Voss didn’t retaliate, and he was also spotted offering his hand to Sicily … and the rivals did indeed shake hands after the game.
The outburst certainly caught the imagination of fans, and came as a surprise given Sicily had been hailed for his composure throughout the game.
“Lip readers, help me out here … what did he say?” asked Nick Voglis from backtothebenchtv, running vision after the incident.
“F*** you, c***? Had to … surprise Voss didn’t retaliate. That is crazy after the siren.”
It was also suggested Sicily said “cop that, c***”.
One self-proclaimed lip reader on X (formerly Twitter) even suggested Sicily may have said “racist c*** …” however, admitted that would be “weird”, and Voss has no history of racist behaviour.
It’s not the first time Sicily has been involved in post-siren controversy at the end of a final.
In 2024, when Hawthorn was eliminated by Port Adelaide in a semi-final, he was very verbal during the exchange between Port coach Ken Hinkley and Jack Ginnivan, which resulted in Hinkley’s $20,000 fine.
This time, however, Sicily quickly compartmentalised it all, and was suddenly calm again when he spoke to Channel 7 on the field.
“It’s probably the best win so far to come here. They haven’t lost here. Best team all year,” Sicily told Seven.
“We knew we were going to be up for it. And it’s a very mature performance. I just thought everyone contributed. And this is why you play footy, to play in big games and to get a good result.”
The victory marked a historic achievement, with Hawthorn becoming the only team this season to defeat the top side at their home ground.
Sicily praised his team’s defensive effort.
“I just thought our commitment to Team D, we tried to tinker a few things and commit better and try a bit harder in defence,” he said.
“And couldn’t have been prouder of how we attacked it today. That gives us so much confidence heading into September.”
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