Clarkson urges Sicily to learn lessons

DO AS I say, not as I notoriously did.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson can see a bit of himself in James Sicily as the young defender tries to work some poor on-field discipline out of his game.

The 23-year-old will return from a one-game ban in today’s clash against arch-rival Essendon at the MCG.

It is already the second onematch suspension that Sicily has served this season. Clarkson was fiery during his career and still is well-known for his temper.

The Hawks coach says Sicily has great talent, but is no use to his team when he is sitting in the grandstand.

“He just needs to learn how to cope,” Clarkson said.

“But he has a coach who wasn’t too much different at that age. It just takes a little bit of time to work yourself out and mature as a person and as a teammate and a clubman.

“Hopefully this has been a really good learning curve for him.”

He laughed when asked how it would have panned out if Clarkson the player was matched on Sicily.

“He’d have me covered — a bit taller, a bit quicker, a bit stronger, a bit more skilled,” Clarkson said.

“I can’t think of any facet of the game actually where I could compete with him.”

Liam Shiels will also return from injury for today’s match and the Hawks will start warm favourites against the struggling Bombers.

The Hawks are coming off a solid win over St Kilda and are also travelling well off the field, with a record membership of 77,607 announced.

But Clarkson is wary of their fierce rivals, noting Essendon is stacked with talent.

“We’re preparing for their best because against us, they’ve been able to bring that on a pretty frequent basis,” he said.

Clarkson noted the two sides have not clashed for more than a year and he does not see their rivalry as a major factor leading up to today’s match.

That has not always been the case.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve never used it before — different circumstances warrant different measures,” he said.