THE FORM of Hawthorn skipper James Sicily is giving coach Sam Mitchell "the biggest challenge" in his time at the helm – but don't expect the Hawks to drop their captain.

That's the verdict of AFL.com.au expert Kane Cornes after Hawthorn lost a crucial clash against Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.

The Hawks were overrun in the second half against the Dockers, with Sicily continuing his middling form of the past two months.

The 30-year-old has been been hampered by a hip injury that forced him to the sidelines for a month, but his output either side of that layoff has been well below his best.

James Sicily (centre) contests a mark during Hawthorn's loss to Fremantle in round 18, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

According to Champion Data, Sicily averaged almost 97 ranking points per game across his first eight matches, ranking him fifth among all Hawks players in that time, before slumping to just 70.3 points per game from R10-18.

He has averaged more than 100 ranking points per game for the past five seasons.

"I think it's Sam Mitchell's biggest challenge since he's been coaching… [Sicily's] dropped off a cliff," Cornes said on First Up on Sunday night.

"It is the biggest elephant in the Hawthorn change rooms that Sam Mitchell's had in some time, just because of the flow-on effect it has when your captain and your leader is really worried about his own performance."

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Despite the skipper's form issues, Cornes said "clearly" the Hawks wouldn't send him to the VFL in a bid to regain form – a statement that co-host Sarah Olle was quick to challenge.

"Why can't you drop him, Kane? I mean, we have seen captains in the past dropped," Olle said, referring to former Giants skipper Stephen Coniglio's surprise axing in the final round of the 2020 home and away season.

"We have, we have, but I think that's probably from lower teams," Cornes said.

"I think to make that sort of statement now with the challenges [Sicily's] had with his body would be too big a story. So I think Sam is smarter than that, but they're gonna have to get him back into form.

"He's clearly still hampered. His ball use is a real issue and I don't love the stuff where he's throwing his weight around like trying to be the tough guy, which he can do when he's at his best and maybe that gets him up.

"But right now it's about being the best leader that you can and making sure that your bed is made and you're doing everything right from your on-field point of view, rather than going in the face of the opposition and trying to get under their skin."

The seventh-ranked Hawks face a must-win clash against Port Adelaide at UTAS Stadium in Launceston on Saturday, with fixtures against fellow finals contenders Adelaide (away) Collingwood (home) and Brisbane (away) also to come.

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