Isaac Smith has gone into bat for under-fire teammate James Sicily, as the young Hawk waits to see if he has a case to answer from an incident involving Joel Selwood.

UPDATE: Sicily offered one-match ban

It was the second heated on-field incident involving Sicily in as many rounds, after he engaged in a verbal stoush with Magpie Adam Treloar a week earlier.

The 23-year-old has established a reputation for his passionate on-field personality, which contrasts with his quiet nature off the ground, but Smith defended Sicily's style.

"'Sis plays with a lot of passion and probably arguably Hawthorn's best captain ever Hodgey (Luke Hodge) played with a fair bit of passion as well," Smith told reporters on Tuesday.

"It's a game that you've got to play close to the line and sometimes blokes will step over it and sometimes they won't.

"I think fans love seeing aggression and passion and spirit out on the field, so you give and take and we'll wait and see."