A host of Hawks took over the airwaves of SEN on Tuesday for Hawthorn Membership Day.
Co-Captain James Sicily kicked off the day, joining Garry Lyon and Tim Watson on Breakfast.

On the co-captaincy

“We’ve always been, under Mitch’s (Sam Mitchell) reign, pretty open and transparent with how we want the leadership to look at the club and just because we’ve done something for three years doesn’t mean we continue to roll out the same thing, so we had a great chat and we landed on becoming co-captains with Newk (Jai Newcombe) for the first time ever in the footy club. To be honest it’s going to release a bit of bandwidth for myself and there’s going to be room to focus on myself a little bit more, rather than the whole footy club. We do feel like the role of the captain in the AFL right now is becoming bigger and bigger, so being able to share responsibility and have someone to lean on like Jai, who’s been a really consistent player for us and pretty consistent as a bloke as well, he’s  a pretty professional bloke and really straight.”

On what’s exciting him about the group

“To be honest, it’s a bit of the boys becoming men, the third to fifth year players. A lot of us were boys until the last three years, but I feel as though they’re really becoming men, they’re a lot stronger, what they’re already good at they’re becoming better at. I’m talking about guys like Weds (Josh Weddle), Wardy (Josh Ward), CMac (Connor Macdonald), Cam Mackenzie, Massimo D’Ambrosio, all these guys are taking their weapons and things that they’re good at to another level. The sounds on the track are a bit different, it’s definitely a lot more physical and they’re a lot faster and I feel like the group is really maturing which is going to be really important… And I think we’re going to be generally better because of the facilities we’ve got now at Dingley, it’s amazing. You get to the end of the day and it’s four or five o’clock and you don’t feel like you want to leave yet, because there’s so many things readily available for us to get better and to use, so we’re very fortunate that we’ve got this wonderful facility.”

On who’s going to the next level

“They’re already pretty exciting but Nick Watson and Jack Ginnivan have been I think the real highlights of the summer so far for us. Wiz’s ability to kick goals out of nowhere and he’s really lifted his work rate and his pressure to another level. And Ginni’s been someone that last year was good at getting the ball but didn’t use it as great or as well as he would’ve liked to, not so much around the goals he’s really clever around the goals, but his ball use in general play. This summer he’s been so amazing at his ball use, finding the ball and other ways other than kicking goals, really getting involved in score involvements. So I’ve been really impressed with Ginni and his attitude and his work rate and his general skill, he’s already pretty skilful but he’s looking like he’s going to have a really good year and I hope he does.”

Defender Tom Barrass then featured on Mornings w Adam White.

On pre-season at KCC

“I’ve absolutely loved it, I’m not a huge fan of pre-season I’ll go on the record and say, but what the Hawthorn footy club has managed to achieve at KCC is just incredible, it’s a world class facility and you’d be silly to complain about it, so really grateful that we can go and train there each day… I think what the facility offers not just to value add to the players but the staff, the footy department, the whole club. Getting around a new buffet feed, Pilates, weights and just making the club a more enjoyable place to be. Some of the benefits are obvious like the new training shed, new gym and aquatic facility but a lot of its intangible stuff, driven by how the people around you feel and I think KCC provides a platform for everyone to go in there and feel like an athlete and feel like they’re getting better and pursue excellence. I think it’s a great initiative by the footy club and I tip my hat to the board and the execs for getting it done.”

On what’s impressed him this preseason

“To be honest, I think every player on the list I've seen has improved in the preseason, which is a really good sign. And the training program's been very fundamental based there's nothing new under the sun, it's all very much about the contest being clean and what you would expect when you're going from trying to make a prelim to trying to make a granny. The sort of core elements of our game plan and our club are in place, and then I've watched some lads just continue to improve. Couple of the young mids have looked really nice, like (Cam) Mackenzie and Henry Hustwaite, Josh Ward have been performing fantastic, Jack Ginnivan and The Wiz (Nick Watson) have gone to another level again, probably off the back of feeling comfortable themselves and acceptance and relation to the group. We've got a few keys in Max Ramsden and Noah Mraz, who are starting to really knock the door down in terms of selection. There's been a few people that I’ve been impressed with, it's a lot of the young players that put in work and are really developing in the contest.”

On if he believes the team is a premiership contender

“Yeah of course I do really, truly believe that, I think everyone in the footy club does. We have belief in our abilities, but like you said, there's a lot that needs to go right, and sometimes there's just a little sprinkle of luck too. And so I think that if everyone can just get themselves in the mindset of strapping their boots up and having a good old crack for the next five to seven years. We’ll just have to see what happens, because they're certainly not easy to win, like you said, you need a lot to go right, and you certainly don't take them for granted. So, I think that's definitely our mindset, we're just keen to have a crack and keep improving and see what happens.”

Midfielder Conor Nash then joined Dwayne Russell on Afternoons.

On how the team’s enjoying KCC

“Yeah, this place is pretty special. It's given us a real boost, a real lift. Being able to walk into a joint here the way it is, having everything at hand, everything's brand new. It really does lift the emotion of the group and people coming in and it’s lifted our standards to be honest. So we were so blessed, so excited, and it's thanks to so many of the fans that we have that we've been able to produce something like this, they're the ones that make it all happen.”

On becoming an Australian citizen

“She’s a long process but it was great. It was pretty special to finally get that ticked off. Was a bit well documented, couple issues in the past with the Border Force. But yeah, it was great to get there, it just makes things a bit easier. And it's something I've always kind of wanted to happen, I've been here a number of years now, my fiancé Grace is from here, longer term my life is more than set up here, so I'm very much happy to be a part of it and be a citizen now. It's a big honour, and it's not something that's lost on me at all.”

On a return of an Australia v Ireland match

“100%, 100% see if we can get that going. I think there's been stuff happening in the background, Andrew Dillon has mentioned before in passing that it's something that he would like to get going, I think it's more from the Irish side that has been a bit of pushback, and trying to find that right space in their calendar too. They obviously have over there, you’re kind of eligible for a few different teams, so you're kind of going all year. So finding that kind of downtime for their players is important too. But I think just for both sides, speaking to people on both sides of the world, it needs to happen. And I think good for the game, and then just part of the game and growing the game. I mean, you look back, that's how I got to know Aussie rules back now it was seeing the Aussie teams coming over and beating us up, quite frankly, but if we could get back on it'll be brilliant to be a real honour to be able to play in that game.”

CEO Ash Klein was in studio for Then Run Home with Andy Maher and Andrew Gaze.  

On encouraging players to be themselves

“Yeah, I think each club clearly does things differently, but when Sam's come on board as our coach, you've seen a bit of the flair come back into our into our environment. So you see little Nick Watson running around, and Jack Ginnivan and co and the flair is there, to your point, they certainly still fall within the framework and the guidelines of what our football club's all about. But you want to be the character, you want a bit of flair. And I think that's what brings people to the game. You see that with our members and our fans loving it. And you know, it's working.”

On player apparel arriving at games

“Yeah, look, it's a common practice that, you know there's club apparel, there's commercial obligations with your sponsors etc. So that's certainly been the case for a long period of time and, you know, there's a uniform approach to that. There'll be definitely the creative flair and we like that, we talked about that on the field and off it. So there's going to be a bit of a balance between the two, but it'll be interesting where the landscape changes and that's what, that's what's obviously happened with global sport. But there’s definitely some commerciality that has to be factored into the decision making going forward.”

On the Kennedy Community Centre

“Yeah we moved in in November. Big operation, because we obviously had the AFLW still going on at that stage. The men had just finished their finals and then obviously the administration, so it was pretty orchestrated move across. It went well, the AFLW were the last club to train it at Waverley Park, and then the first club to train it at the Kennedy Community Centre, so it was a good milestone moment. And then the boys came in, for the first day of their preseason with everything pretty much ready to go, there's obviously tweaks that you need to make along the way. But of course yeah, an amazing complex. With the two the two ovals, the big High Performance Centre, swimming pool, the gym, half the players can't believe the size of it compared to what we had at Waverley. We want to play as many games there as possible, it’s purpose built for it. We've got the broadcast facilities, the change rooms, big grandstand. We've got a hill now on the other side, it's a Marvel sized oval, so it's, it's cherry ripe.”

With defender Karl Amon closing out the day on Sportsday with Sam Edmund and Ken Hinkley.

On hosting the Cats at KCC

“We're hosting the Cats, so it's a nice chance not go down the Cattery for the preseason. But yes, we had our first trial match on the weekend, which went well, and yeah, looking forward to facing some opposition on Monday… We're thrilled to host them up at Dingley. Obviously, the move this year has been exceptional. It’s a world class facility, and the boys love turning up to train each day, and we're excited to hit the track on Monday.”

On who fans can look forward to seeing

“Yeah you speak of the new kids who have obviously just been drafted. I think Aiden Schubert has been one who showed, really good glimpses, he only turned 18 in December, I'm pretty sure. And we've got three of them (South Australian players) from Central, so it's good to have them all together. But he's a really tall figure, and he's taken some really good marks, you know, obviously he'll need to put on some size, but he's really exciting. And then Ollie Greaves had a really good, strong showing in the trial match on Saturday. So they're a few ones, they're exciting prospects, and they'll be good, looking to see them, in the future.”

On what makes a successful practice match  

“I think obviously, you go out and perform against opposition, you still want to win. But it's all about sort of trade and transfer, and what we're trying the last, you know, eight weeks before Christmas and post-Christmas, you know what we want to see them on game day as well. You know, we want to see a good Hawthorn brand of footy, which is what we want to play. And it also gives some young kids some opportunity. I know definitely in the backline, we've got Blake Hardwick, Tom Barrass and Josh battle not playing, so it's going to give some kids like Noah Mraz, I'd assume, to give them some opportunity to play some senior footy. So, you sort out the training transfer and it also gives young kids some opportunity, which is going to be exciting to see as well.”