Hawthorn captain James Sicily has called on the media to “relax” and let star midfielder Will Day fly under the radar after the Hawks defeated the Giants by 14 points in a bruising clash on Friday night.
Match Summary
The Hawks opened up a 30-point lead at half-time and were always in control, but were made to work right until the end by a gallant Giants side that lost Brent Daniels and Max Gruzewski to injuries in the second term.
Will Day's Performance
Day, who was playing his fourth game of the season, continued his strong form with another 27 possessions and eight clearances. The classy midfielder has endured a nightmare run on the injury front, playing just six games last year before missing the first half of this campaign. Day is always a hot topic in the media, such is his importance to the side and the multitude of injuries he has overcome.
Sicily's Message
Speaking to Seven’s Abbey Holmes after the match, Sicily talked up the performance of the midfield before delivering a message about Day. “They are like hardest working line group I’ve come across in my time in the Hawks. So they’re always in there working on just getting better,” he told Channel 7. “And obviously Will’s a great player. Makes us so much better. But you just guys need to just relax on him. Just let him do his thing and maybe try and let him go under the radar.”
Day's Response
Day said he doesn’t feel the pressure at all and is just happy to be playing again. “I’ve come into coming back into these games with a lot of expectation off my shoulders, and I probably want to usually was really hard on myself, whereas now I’m just want to come back and have fun,” he told Channel 7. “And I know that if I’m healthy, that’s all that matters. So yeah, it’s a bit of a mindset change.”
