Hawthorn defender Denver Grainger-Barras says the club’s training scuffle that made headlines on Thursday is not the first time such has happened this pre-season, pointing to the Hawks’ intensity as a reason behind the biff.
7 News cameras picked up James Sicily and Sam Butler involved in a heated scuffle at the club’s training camp in Morwell, with teammates needing to break up the pair.
Grainger-Barras suggested that aggressive edge had been trained into Hawks, but the relationships amongst the group were as strong as ever.
“We like a bit of a biff every now and then, it keeps everyone on their toes,” he laughed on SEN WA’s The Run Home.
“There’s not much to it, there’s a great relationship between Sic (Sicily) and Sammy. We’ve had a few of those little biffs, the cameras haven’t always been there to see it.
“That’s something we're really trying to train at Hawthorn to have that aggressive nature, and it really shows with Sicily. He trains the way he plays, he brings that fiery edge on the field, so the fact he’s bringing it at training is no surprise.
“If anything it really lifts the group as a whole.”
Sicily is seen externally as the club’s next captain after Ben McEvoy’s retirement, although the Hawks are yet to formally appoint a leader for 2023.
The intercepting defender is set to play a key role in Hawthorn’s fortunes this coming season following a maiden best and fairest last year.
After losing more experience in the form of McEvoy, Jack Gunston, Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell following the club’s up-and-down season last year, the Hawks are among the favourites for the wooden spoon in 2023.
But that’s not a belief held inside the four walls, according to Grainger-Barrass.
“I think everyone has got their own individual goals… but I think as a collective we’ll probably recoup very, very soon now we’re getting into a different phase of training to try and make sure we have aligned goals going onto the season,” the 21-game Hawk said.
“But you can almost guarantee to make finals will be on there and to go deep into finals… Sam (Mitchell) said it a while ago, we’re not here to take part, we want to win, get as far in and get the experiences we can.”
Having the young Hawks believe that they can play finals is no mean feat given the club’s external perception, but it’s another feather in the cap of Mitchell.
With the big shoes of Alastair Clarkson to fill, Mitchell has put his own twist on the Hawks and has continued to build his team for the future, rather than the now.
“One thing you know about Sam is he’s one of the smartest football heads in the game,” Grainger-Barras explained.
“But he also has the ability to understand people to a degree that I wasn’t expecting when he came into the role.
“The way he explains things and articulates to the younger boys, older boys, how he can get on a level playing field with everyone in terms of understanding and making sure everyone knows what’s going on… he’s bringing a lot of his tricks and he's trying to instil them in all the boys.
“But it's individual, based on who he’s speaking to and the way he articulates that is heavily dependent on who he’s communicating to.”
Hawthorn won eight games in 2022 and will step out in Round 1 against Essendon in just over six weeks’ time.