Hawthorn star James Sicily says there is a lot of belief in the system that coach Sam Mitchell is trying to implement heading into the 2022 season.

Speaking on Triple M’s Rush Hour on Wednesday the 27-year-old said things are going “really well” under the new coach.

“It has been quite refreshing as an older player,” Sicily said.

“I had Clarko (former coach Alastair Clarkson) for nine years and some of the other guys still at the club had him for longer.

“It has been fun to learn a new game style again, and learn some different ways of thinking under Sam.

“He’s definitely not the same as what he was as a player – he’s all about love and connection.”

Sicily hasn’t played a home-and-away game since damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in the final minutes against West Coast in Round 12, 2020.

He had just been named in the All-Australian squad and was entering his prime before he tore his ACL.

“The boys were away (in the hub) and I was detached from footy for about two months,” he said.

“I wasn’t at the club the whole time, which was nice – I felt like it went relatively quickly.

“Then once I was back in the club full-swing I did a bit of recruiting, list management, learnt some skills that I need to start thinking about post-footy.”

Sicily also spent time on development during his time away from the game. 

“I do have ambitions to be a leader amongst the group, I’ve put in a fair bit of work into doing some things around the club when I wasn’t playing,” he said.

“I’m pretty invested in the group we’ve got and what Sam’s vision is.”

Now having returned to some match play in recent practice matches, Sicily can’t wait to commence the 2022 home-and-away season, exclaiming he feels "100 per cent".

“I feel relatively fit,” he said.

“I did my own little pre-season (last year) while the guys were playing, then had an uninterrupted preseason – I feel good.”