Hawthorn young gun James Sicily has been a shining light for his side this year.

The 22-year old has been a symbol of the Hawks this year, with his second half of the season ranking amongst the competition’s elite. 

Like the Hawks, prior to the mid-season bye, Sicily was, by his own admission, not at his best.

Averaging 12.3 disposals, 4.4 marks and just over a goal a game, Sicily was indisputably having an impact but Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson thought he could get more out of the talented youngster. 

So, through a bye period that saw Clarkson rearrange many of his magnets on the team board, Sicily suddenly found himself in defence for the Round 14 clash with Adelaide.

What has ensued over the next seven games has been nothing short of brilliant.

Sicily is averaging 24.3 possessions, 9.7 marks (2.6 of which have been contested) and 4.6 rebound 50s. 

To put some of this in perspective, Carlton’s Levi Casboult is the game’s premier contested marker this year, averaging 2.5 a game.

And the 4.6 defensive 50 exits per game would have ranked Sicily inside the top ten of the league in the statistic had he been down back all year. 

Read: Clarkson committed to playing youth

The forward-cum-defender is also finding plenty of the footy, recording his top three career-best disposal tallies in the last three games and his top five best numbers in the last seven games.

The Hawks are building an exciting next generation of defence with the likes of Sicily, Ryan Burton, Kaiden Brand and Blake Hardwick set to lead the Hawks into what appears a promising future.