James Sicily endured a rollercoaster of emotions before kicking Hawthorn to a thrilling 14.14 (98) to 14.7 (91) win over the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
The 29-year-old dislocated his shoulder in a heavy fall but returned to play, only to later suffer another blow when he rolled his ankle.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Hawks captain caught out in furious outburst at own player.
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He was subsequently moved into the forward line and kicked a crucial goal late to seal the victory — just the tonic given what went down minutes earlier.
Sicily had broken free and was all alone inside forward 50 when the ball was slashed in his direction, with the Hawks holding a five-point lead with seven and a half minutes left.
He gained possession with a bobble but, facing the wrong way, opted to use young gun Nick Watson’s run for a clearer shot at goal.
A rough handball followed and Watson could only dribble it through for a behind.
The Sherrin had barely crossed the line and Sicily was jumping up and down in frustration, the skipper sending some choice words towards his teammate.
But it wasn’t long before Sicily realised the error of his ways and sought out Watson to apologise.
“I was pretty flat when he missed the goal but then I tried to make sure that I had a smile on my face,” the captain told Fox Sports after the win.
“You don’t want young guys to be down on confidence for too long. I was just making sure ‘hey it’s alright, sorry about the way I reacted’.
“He said he got a bit scared so I’ll have to follow up with him.”
Sicily settled the contest when he used his one good arm to fend off Buku Khamis and mark deep inside 50.
His first goal since Round 7, 2023 — coincidentally against the Bulldogs — followed and so, too, did a powerful celebration.
Sicily later said he was fortunate to even be out there after the shoulder injury.
“It was uncomfortable but I reckon I’m pretty lucky. It could’ve been a lot worse, I wasn’t in much pain to be honest,” he said.
“I don’t know if that’s because of the panadeines or the adrenaline but pretty lucky that it wasn’t anything worse.”
The ankle roll ripped through tape that the physio had to convince him to wear.
“I’m rapt that he taped it,” Sicily said.
“I couldn’t really jump so I thought why not, instead of being a liability down back with (Aaron) Naughton and Jamarra (Ugle-Hagan) and Sam Darcy, sit deep and hopefully snag a goal.”
The narrow win pushes Hawthorn further away from the bottom of the ladder while the Bulldogs’ finals hopes have take another blow, heaping more pressure on coach Luke Beveridge.
The Dogs are now two wins out of the top eight ahead of a clash with Richmond next week.