MORE protection from umpires will help fiery Hawthorn defender James Sicily curb the anger issues that saw him cop a one-week ban for a kneeing incident, Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says.

Sicily won't face Richmond on Sunday afternoon at the MCG after he was suspended for kneeing Geelong captain Joel Selwood in the head early in the last quarter of the two sides' Easter Monday clash.

However, Clarkson said on Friday that was a reaction to pent up emotions bubbling over after Sicily didn't receive a free kick for a push by Patrick Dangerfield at the end of the first term.

"It's a difficult one because he's become an influential player in our back end and he's started to be targeted, in terms of his run at the ball. Geelong obviously went in with a tactic last week. If you go to the vision and watch a mark that (Rhys) Stanley took, Dangerfield just clearly pushes him in the back and takes him out of the contest," Clarkson said.

"He's got to cope with that. That's going to be coming and yeah, he can get a little bit of protection from the umpires when that's going to happen, because it's an illegal tactic, but we and he need to get used to the fact that he's very, very good at reading the ball off an opposition (player's) boot and he needs to cope with it when he doesn't get a free kick in those situations.

"It builds up frustration that he's been unfairly treated. He's not unfairly treated by opposition players but unfairly treated in a manner that he can't just go and play his natural game.

"That's a huge learning curve for any young player and he's going through that. That's a good thing for him to go through, albeit it probably led to a frustration that by the end of the quarter, he's given away a 50m penalty to Selwood and then later in the game, he's got himself involved in an incident that's cost him a game of footy.

"He'll learn and he'll get better hopefully over the journey."

The four-time premiership coach spoke to Sicily about managing his temperament.

"As a coach, you're frustrated that he's not going to be playing this week. I spoke to him earlier in the week. There's no point in our players that are capable of playing because they're not injured, that they're sitting in the grandstand because they're out of the game suspended," Clarkson said.

"It's a big learning curve for him and he'll obviously get himself back into the side next week, but we're going to miss him this week."

Fellow backman James Frawley is no certainty to face the Tigers as he deals with a foot injury.

"He needs to get through the last part of training that we do today and tomorrow. If he gets through that OK, then he'll play," Clarkson said.

Forward Ryan Schoenmakers wasn't named for the clash due to an Achilles issue.

"He's had trouble with that before. It just grumbles along. Sometimes it's really good, which it has been for the best part of 18 months, but he missed a lot of footy with it in 2016," Clarkson said. 

"It just hasn't come up very well for this week's game. Hopefully it will settle and he'll be OK to play pretty soon."