James Sicily wasn’t convinced Hawthorn were serious AFL finals contenders until deep into the season.
The Hawks’ skipper had carried optimism into the new year, only for it to be rocked by a horror 0-5 start to the campaign.
And while Sam Mitchell’s men had gradually clawed their way back to a respectable position by July, they still lacked genuine conviction.
One day down in Launceston, that mindset changed.
“We won but we didn’t win playing our best footy,” Sicily said of a gritty triumph over Fremantle in round 18.
“It was a bit ugly and you need to win that way during the season.
“You get a lot of belief out of that, when you’re not firing on all cylinders but you get the job done.
“It was one of those games where we thought if we get our game up and running we can be really, really potent and get some good results.”
The outlook wasn’t always so positive.
Rewind three months and a 53-point thrashing from Gold Coast in round five forced Mitchell’s playing group to look deep within themselves.
“We’ve spoken a bit about after the Gold Coast loss and the conversations we had with each other,” Sicily said.
“We asked ourselves some serious questions about is this how we want our season to be and is this the team we want to be.
“There was a bit of soul-searching after that game.”
There were mouthguards at training, too, and the wheel gradually started to turn.
An underperforming midfield unit found the right gear, energised by a fit-again Will Day alongside Jai Newcombe, James Worpel, Conor Nash and ruck recruit Lloyd Meek.
Massimo D’Ambrosio grew legs on the wing, repaying Hawthorn’s faith in luring him from Essendon, and eventually earned a nomination in the All-Australian squad alongside Sicily and Dylan Moore.
The forward line clicked as off-season recruit Mabior Chol and first-year player Calsher Dear shone as cover for injured tall Mitch Lewis.
Jack Scrimshaw and Sam Frost stood up in support of defensive mainstay Sicily, while Jarman Impey and Karl Amon provided important drive off half-back.
Most notably, and to the delight of Hawthorn’s social media team, a new ‘rascal pack’ was born – featuring energetic youngsters Jack Ginnivan, Nick Watson and Connor Macdonald.
The Hawks had always enjoyed themselves on the field, as their attacking brand and choreographed goal celebrations showed, but were now getting rewards for their effort.
Wins kept coming and confidence snowballed.
A speed bump against GWS in round 21 was one of just two Hawthorn defeats over the final three months of the home-and-away season.
A thrashing of injury-hit Carlton got the finals bid back on track before strong victories over bottom-two sides Richmond and North Melbourne confirmed the remarkable resurrection of the Hawks’ season.
All the while, they were fighting week-by-week to keep the finals dream alive.
The result is an elimination final against a red-hot Western Bulldogs outfit at the MCG on September 6, and the prospect of a run deep into September.
“I hope that we can find some comfort in the fact that we’ve played in maybe five or six ‘elimination finals’ but we’ll see after the game what it is,” Sicily said.
“We could be thinking of it as maybe they were burnt out because they’ve been dealing with all this pressure, but I think it’s a good thing.
“We’ll lean into it and we’re excited to go.”
Allowing himself a brief moment for reflection, Sicily is “pretty proud” of what his team has achieved so far under third-year coach Mitchell, who has steered Hawthorn back to relevance after a rocky handover from four-time premiership mastermind Alastair Clarkson.
But the 29-year-old, who is still searching for his first finals win after more than a decade in the AFL system, has no doubt the Hawks can dare to dream of a much bigger prize.
They are entering what many onlookers believe to be the most open premiership race in memory.
“The ladder reflects that,” Sicily said.
“There was a game or two between (third) and ninth, so it is wide open and that’s exciting.
“We’re full of belief right now and our game’s in a good spot.
“We’re full of confidence and we’ve beaten some pretty good teams by significant margins.
“It’s a whole new ball game, though, and a whole new pressure.”
