Tom Hawkins 350 games - What is his standing in the game?

[Schauermann]

Interesting case. Early in career he stood in the shadow of Buddy and others like Reiwoldt or Kennedy who also won multible Colemans during that tim. Even Cloke had a higher profile when he turned good at around the same time (but didn't last very long). But Hawkins keep it up and made a play late. Won his Coleman and 4 of his 5 AAs after he turned 31. And beat most others on consistency over that journey.

 

[RUNVS]

Interesting case. Early in career he stood in the shadow of Buddy and others like Reiwoldt or Kennedy who also won multible Colemans during that tim. Even Cloke had a higher profile when he turned good at around the same time (but didn't last very long). But Hawkins keep it up and made a play late. Won his Coleman and 4 of his 5 AAs after he turned 31. And beat most others on consistency over that journey.

I think it helps that his competition has retired/declined in the last few years. Still a great player though, but it makes getting AA's a bit easier when Buddy, Kennedy, Reiwoldt are no longer there.

 

[Schauermann]

I think it helps that his competition has retired/declined in the last few years. Still a great player though, but it makes getting AA's a bit easier when Buddy, Kennedy, Reiwoldt are no longer there.

He at least got one in 2012. That was a strong year. Got selected before J. Riewoldt who won the Coleman while Pavlich and T. Walker were in the mix as well. But you are still right.

 

[Lunchtime]

I think it helps that his competition has retired/declined in the last few years. Still a great player though, but it makes getting AA's a bit easier when Buddy, Kennedy, Reiwoldt are no longer there.

It's fair to say also that during that era/period when Franklin, Riewoldt, Kennedy and Hawkins were all up and going all at once....three of them won multiple Coleman medals: Franklin (4), Riewoldt (3) and Kennedy (2). Hawkins "only" has the one Coleman medal to his name, still good to win one, not easy to win.

All of these forwards (Hawkins included) were competing against each other, three of them won the Coleman medal more than once. The Coleman is probably the "Brownlow medal" for forwards, if that's one way to look at it.

I think if a player has won more than one Coleman medal in their career, then surely that adds weight to then being elevated when assessing "best forwards" etc etc. In my opinion, I regard the Coleman medal up there with All-Australian awards.

 

[Mr Meow]

Probably needs to be judged on his assists & goals rather than just his goals. His consistency over a long time now is just outstanding

He has been a selfless player who hands off many goals to players in better positions.

A much better field kick and creative handball player than 95% of full forwards this century.

He had high assist numbers for many years when our forward lines were poor.

 

[The Casey Cat]

My bad, for some reason I remembered an 18 yo Hawkins playing in the 07 granny.

Which is fair enough. He did play quite a few handy games that year before mixing his form until late 2011.

 

[Interdimensional Bigfoot]

I like calling him Porkins on the account of his fat arse.

He's a pretty good footballer I guess.

Brave

 

[The Blueseum]

Deserves to be AFL HOF and a legend in front of every other forward in the 21st century so far without a doubt.

The ultimate team player.

 

[TheRealComptroller]

It’s kind of quirky that IMO that he doesn’t have a “real” Coleman. He won it in the goofball 2020 season, so you know …

Garry Lyon on the May 10 2021 episode of On the Couch made the case that he was undeniably the best key forward in the last five years using this evidence -

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

A couple of points.

I'm amazed he even won a Coleman. I can't imagine any of the players on that list of 750+ actually cared less about the number of goals they kicked than Hawkins. Unselfish to a fault, always has been.

He's been on the right side of a couple of line-ball AA calls over the past five years, I think that balances out with the period between 2014-18, where he was pretty stiff not to make one.

He carried an unholy load in that forward line from the time that he established himself as a star in 2012 until Jeremy Cameron

5

Jeremy Cameron

Age

31

Ht

196cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.5

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

5.4

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

2.6

5star

D

10.0

3star

K

7.1

3star

HB

2.9

2star

M

4.6

4star

T

2.0

3star

G

1.9

5star

D

8.2

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.2

3star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.4

4star

G

2.0

5star

arrived and I think he was the most valuable player in the AFL over that time, we would have been utterly stuffed without him. As it stands, he goes into game 350 with only 100 losses. Not many in the 300 club have managed that, let alone the 350 club.

I only have him behind Buddy as far as 21st century forwards are concerned. Can argue with a few others like the Riewoldts, but I'm certainly not going to say they were better than Hawkins.

 

[Osho]

I remember him pre 2011 GF. He seemed to be at that time at line ball odds to survive or not as an AFL player. He lacked confidence and purpose.

It has been a stunning pathway since to his current peak place in the game.

I am still startled by how frequently he leads to the boundary's edge, marks, and goals. What traditionally was a low odds play, for Hawkins is nearly a gimme.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I remember him pre 2011 GF. He seemed to be at that time at line ball odds to survive or not as an AFL player. He lacked confidence and purpose.

I vividly remember wishing Hawkins could just be more like Chris Dawes and make a contest around that 2010/11 stage.

 

[Warhorse]

There abouts with Riewoldt/kennedy/Pavlich as a key forward. Will be in the HOF.

Would have been an all time great if not for his injuries. His back is beyond shot and lost his athleticism at a very young age. The guy cleared 2 meters the high jump and was one of the better athletes coming through the system at the time of his drafting.

 

[Franc de Borges]

It's fair to say also that during that era/period when Franklin, Riewoldt, Kennedy and Hawkins were all up and going all at once....three of them won multiple Coleman medals: Franklin (4), Riewoldt (3) and Kennedy (2). Hawkins "only" has the one Coleman medal to his name, still good to win one, not easy to win.

All of these forwards (Hawkins included) were competing against each other, three of them won the Coleman medal more than once. The Coleman is probably the "Brownlow medal" for forwards, if that's one way to look at it.

I think if a player has won more than one Coleman medal in their career, then surely that adds weight to then being elevated when assessing "best forwards" etc etc. In my opinion, I regard the Coleman medal up there with All-Australian awards.

The Coleman is arguably the best individual award in the game, as it’s the only one not based on opinion.

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

Not sure about Richardson as his goal accuracy hurt him, agree with the rest though.

Below Fev? Seriously?

 

[Warhorse]

It's fair to say also that during that era/period when Franklin, Riewoldt, Kennedy and Hawkins were all up and going all at once....three of them won multiple Coleman medals: Franklin (4), Riewoldt (3) and Kennedy (2). Hawkins "only" has the one Coleman medal to his name, still good to win one, not easy to win.

All of these forwards (Hawkins included) were competing against each other, three of them won the Coleman medal more than once. The Coleman is probably the "Brownlow medal" for forwards, if that's one way to look at it.

I think if a player has won more than one Coleman medal in their career, then surely that adds weight to then being elevated when assessing "best forwards" etc etc. In my opinion, I regard the Coleman medal up there with All-Australian awards.

I weigh AA much more than the Coleman. Goals are only one component to being a forward. It would be like measuring who is the best midfielder by the number of kicks they have each year.

 

[the harry]

Would love to know the number of goals he's kicked from I50 ruck contests.

Winning 70% of games for 17 years is pretty impressive. Can say the team has done that but he's been KPF and contributed significantly.

 

[dangerwood]

It's often forgotten but some of his best football started around mid 2010. He was playing as a ruck forward and had some great games. That was his original coming of age but then he got injured. At the time I think there was some thinking that whilst he played well in the ruck, it may have contributed to the stress fractures in his foot. Once he returned his confidence seemed shot until the backend of 2011.

 

[NetworkNerd]

I just don't get why Geelong supporters think the end is near. He has the size and strength to go around for another 3-5 years.

400 games and 950 goals should be a target with games record/1000 goals a stretch target

 

[revo333]

Below Fev? Seriously?

Fev gets overrated these days.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

An absolute gun and somehow still underrated by a majority.

 

[Footy_Fan2007]

I just don't get why Geelong supporters think the end is near. He has the size and strength to go around for another 3-5 years.

400 games and 950 goals should be a target with games record/1000 goals a stretch target

Surely he’s not playing for another 5 years (I’d love him to)
Maybe next year but that’s about it.

 

[Osho]

I vividly remember wishing Hawkins could just be more like Chris Dawes and make a contest around that 2010/11 stage.

An incredible metamorphosis.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I just don't get why Geelong supporters think the end is near. He has the size and strength to go around for another 3-5 years.

400 games and 950 goals should be a target with games record/1000 goals a stretch target

I was actually on board with him retiring last year. Not so much for him or because he'd become a liability, but with a view to 3-5 years from now. We can't afford to lose Hawkins and Cameron in the same year, or back-to-back years, considering another secondary marking target (Rohan) will also probably be done by the end of 2025, probably sooner with Dempsey's emergence.

Barring a major free agent signing, we need to hope that the next long-term key forward option is on our list (we'll use Shannon Neale as the likeliest example) and we need to phase the forward line between now and 2027/28 to be:

2024: Hawkins/Cameron (with Neale getting as much AFL exposure as possible, considering the ladder position)

2025-27(ish): Cameron/Neale

2027-onwards: Neale/???

It needs to be managed very precisely for the good of Geelong long-term. And if Hawkins is keen to continue and make a push to 900+, well I hope he finds another club for those next 2-3 years and I'll cheer every one he kicks, especially if it isn't against us.

For me, if he actually gave a tinker's cuss about 700+/800+/900+, he's had a funny way of showing it over the last 10-12 years.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

A monster of a player. Legend of his footy club and of the AFL. Nothing but respect.