AFL: tom Hawkins joins the AFl 360 panel to discuss his longevity in the AFL.
It is the boozy address that helped transform Tom Hawkins from a boy into a man and provided the confidence boost that has elevated him to the company of Geelong’s all-time greats.
“Your workload is about to increase. Get to as many contests as you can. Move. Start presenting. Don’t wait for it to be kicked on your head,” Mooney told Hawkins. “I have said from then on that Geelong would not have won that premiership if I had played. Hawk was the difference. He really was. I mean, Jimmy Bartel won the Norm Smith , but Hawk was the difference and there is no way in the world I would have been able to do what Hawk did that day.
He seized the lead again later in the same quarter when marking a long kick in from Paul Chapman. Shortly before three-quarter time in wet conditions, Hawkins had the poise to soccer another goal through on his left foot to give the Cats a seven-point lead. A son of former Geelong defender John “Jumping Jack” Hawkins, as a boy he dashed around the family farm in Finley pretending to be Cats legend Gary Ablett Snr.
It was a message he passed on to former Australian Test cricketer Paul Sheahan, who at the time was the vice-principal of Melbourne Grammar, when he left the farm for boarding school. And the dream was understandable for the big boy from the bush. He had to drop some weight but debuted with such distinction in Rd 2 of 2007 against Carlton when kicking three goals that Blues coach Denis Pagan predicted he would become a great.
But some self-doubt remained and in the winter of 2011 Hawkins was languishing in the reserves, pondering whether he would fulfil the potential he showed as a teenager. He and Ablett Snr are the only players aged 30 or older to make four All Australian teams, but Hawkins actually has an edge on his boyhood idol when it comes to some career honours including premierships and leading goalkicker awards at Geelong.
“There was a time … that Tom was struggling a little bit physically but it also occurred through a period of time where I think there was a sense that … maybe the days of the big strong key forward were numbered,” Scott said. It is no surprise the occasional suspensions he incurred through a five-year occurred during a period he described as the “toughest part of my career”, with Hawkins acknowledging the death of his mum had an impact on how he handled his emotions on and off the field.
Perversely, the arrival of COVID-19 may have also enabled Hawkins to find the best form his career and extend it. “I’ve adapted … as all players do when they’re in the game for periods of time, they adapt mentally where they can handle the workload a bit more. MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 24: Joel Selwood and Tom Hawkins of the Cats celebrate during the 2022 Toyota AFL Grand Final match between the Geelong Cats and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 24, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. Hawkins has kicked 786 goals from 350 games and will join Ablett Snr and Doug Wade as the only Geelong players to kick more than 800 goals should his fitness hold this season.
A statistical breakdown of his last five seasons demonstrates this. Hawkins has ranked in the top 10 in goal assists, total goals and overall score involvements every year since 2018, holding the top rank at the end of the season at different stages in each category. He was on the sidelines when a Hawthorn team featuring his old school mate Xavier Ellis upset Geelong in the 2008 grand final, prompting former Cat Paul Chapman to share a vow with senior Geelong players that they would never lose to their rivals again.
Former Hawk Brad Sewell said in a recent chat that his failure to spoil Joel Selwood on the wing during the desperate final passage in which Geelong moved the ball from deep in defence to Hawkins still stings.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Don’t pretend it’s not’: Cats coach hits out at AFL’s Opening Round claimAFL: Chris Scott joins the AFL 360 panel, labeling Opening Round as a 'compromise'.
Read more »
‘Looks like a bump’: Stars split on ‘really hard’ Wright decision amid memory loss concerns for SwanAFL: Tom Hawkins and Patrick Cripps discuss the Wright tribunal decision on the AFL 360 panel.
Read more »
Tassie guernsey reality emerges after criticism as whopping 75k members locked in alreadyAFL: The Tasmania Devils have been officially unveiled as the 19th team to enter the AFL.
Read more »
‘Betrayal of footy public’: Calls for AFL drugs policy revamp amid shock ‘100 players’ claimsAFL: The journalists on The Midweek Tackle discuss the AFL's drug policy including the revelation some 100 players are inside the so-called medical model.
Read more »
Problem with Tigers rebuild talk; shock flop flying under radar?: The BlowtorchAFL: The journalists on The Midweek Tackle discuss the AFL's drug policy including the revelation some 100 players are inside the so-called medical model.
Read more »
‘Enough is enough’: AFL’s controversial drugs policy set for overhaul after bombshell claimsAFL: The journalists on The Midweek Tackle discuss the AFL's drug policy including the revelation some 100 players are inside the so-called medical model.
Read more »