Hawkins - Am I missing something ?

[Prodigal Sons]

Been trying to get my head around what's going on with Hawkins over the last few weeks.

Timing was right when he was dropped - freshen him up a bit and release some pressure - let him enjoy the VFL for a few weeks. It seems though that since being dropped he's hardly had an opportunity to get some match fitness.

Correct me if I'm wrong but;

1/ Did'nt play a full game and was on and off the ground Vs Box Hill Hawks ?
2/ Was taken from the ground 5 minutes into the following weeks VFL game and did'nt re-appear ?
3/ Had a week off last week because of VFL State of Origin ?

Can anyone shed light on this ? I thought match fitness was the area Bomber said he was lacking - hardly a big 3 weeks for the Tomahawk from what I can see.

 

[thehoff]

Been trying to get my head around what's going on with Hawkins over the last few weeks.

Timing was right when he was dropped - freshen him up a bit and release some pressure - let him enjoy the VFL for a few weeks. It seems though that since being dropped he's hardly had an opportunity to get some match fitness.

Correct me if I'm wrong but;

1/ Did'nt play a full game and was on and off the ground Vs Box Hill Hawks ?
2/ Was taken from the ground 5 minutes into the following weeks VFL game and did'nt re-appear ?
3/ Had a week off last week because of VFL State of Origin ?

Can anyone shed light on this ? I thought match fitness was the area Bomber said he was lacking - hardly a big 3 weeks for the Tomahawk from what I can see.

Last week i was under the assumption that there was a cloud over Mooney, therefore Hawkins was a ready replacement. Maybe the same can be said this week. Who knows?

I dont beleive he his form since being dropped has warranted selection as he has not been given a chance. Maybe he's been killing it on the training track and really working on his ensurance over the break or maybe the Geelong selection committee beleive he may strecth the Crows defense.

There will be logic!

 

[Prodigal Sons]

Yes perhaps ...

More likely they have a plan with him and the bigger picture in mind.

I'd say all eyes (hopefully) are on what sort of shape the club can get itself in for an assault at the end of the year. Dry grounds and a fitter stronger Tomahawk in the side sounds like a very exciting prospect to me.

Just think at the minute he's wrapped in cotton wool - surprised the media have'nt picked up on it after all the initial hype. Hopefully the club knows what it's doing - they do have a good record of managing younger players in the early days.

 

[Brasil2007]

I thought they might have played him against the Saints given their backline is out. His role would have been a decoy to allow the main forwards to do their bit. Glad they didn't though, team selection was perfect.

Wet conditions in Adelaide - not conducive to a guy like Tomahawk, you would think. I'd be surprised if he played, but as I've said before I'd name him every week anyway just to give the opposition something extra to think about when planning their defenders roles. And if a big forward does get injured and pull out they can always drop him in and hope like hell he comes up.

 

[worthogs]

You are missing something

Its called a work in progress. He is to develop and it just happened that he was dropped at a time that the snrs and 2nds dont line up properly. You will probably see that he plays a 1/2 again this week then Flies to Adelaide as an insurance policy.

It wasnt fitness that dropped him it was a learning process. He was not playing well so take the stress off the kid. Anyway where will he fit in at the minute. Dont play him because we think he may be good. Earn the spot.

 

[bigdroppunt]

i would name him every week just to let him know he's in the mix young players can loose there heads mabey this has all come about from geelong players in the past who didnt get droped on bad form mabey its a new Keep 'em Keen Campain ???

 

[JUBJUB]

Correct me if I'm wrong but;

1/ Did'nt play a full game and was on and off the ground Vs Box Hill Hawks ?
2/ Was taken from the ground 5 minutes into the following weeks VFL game and did'nt re-appear ?
3/ Had a week off last week because of VFL State of Origin ?

1/ I think he played a full game against Box Hill.He was even given a run in ruck around the ground.

2/ I thought those that were there said he never actually played a second in that VFL game.He went to the bench and then was never seen after 5 minutes.He was probably on standby for Mooney [injury or rugrat]

3/ The VFL state game was 2 weeks ago [after the Box Hill game]

 

[Brasil2007]

Glad they're giving him time out of the forward line, esp in the ruck. I'd even play him in defence a couple of games if the opportunity came along. I would never expect him to play there later on but it wouldn't hurt him to gain a bit of an appreciation of what the life of a defender is like.

 

[DanA]

It is possible they want Hawkins to be eligible for the VFL finals. I heard someone else suggest that and it seemed like a good reason to name him.

 

[Brasil2007]

It is possible they want Hawkins to be eligible for the VFL finals. I heard someone else suggest that and it seemed like a good reason to name him.

I'll display my ignorance of the criteria here (it's hardly the most embarassing thing I've said on here today!) can you explain?

 

[year of the cat]

My take is that he is not a major part of our plans this year. The coaching and fitness staff would be wary of overdoing it with Tommy, although his load over the last few weeks has been pretty light. He didn't have a full pre-season remember - you would think that like Varcoe this year that he will be a much improved player next year.

 

[DanA]

I'll display my ignorance of the criteria here (it's hardly the most embarassing thing I've said on here today!) can you explain?

You have to play more than 10 VFL games and less than 7 AFL games I think to qualify for the VFL finals

 

[Brasil2007]

My take is that he is not a major part of our plans this year. The coaching and fitness staff would be wary of overdoing it with Tommy, although his load over the last few weeks has been pretty light. He didn't have a full pre-season remember - you would think that like Varcoe this year that he will be a much improved player next year.

Spot on. I was a bit surprised they played him in the seniors at all in his first year, at least before about round 16 (but less so once I saw him on the ground). Given Moon's good news I wonder if he'll get a go. Doesn't deserve one on form but that isn't the only criteria match committee would use.

 

[Tonycam*]

Spot on. I was a bit surprised they played him in the seniors at all in his first year, at least before about round 16 (but less so once I saw him on the ground). Given Moon's good news I wonder if he'll get a go. Doesn't deserve one on form but that isn't the only criteria match committee would use.

Mooney will play , thats why they brought the baby on early

 

[MmkMrMackie]

For anyone who has ever had shin splints, as Hawkins had earlier in the seaseon, will tell you, a few weeks 'light training' won't make them go away. My guess is they are still troubling him somewhat. You can play with shin splints, but they're quite painful, and theres always the chance they will turn into stress fractures. If we dont have to play him (and we don't) why risk it? If we rest him up a bit, he will be good to come on and demolish opposition backlines in the finals. If he's not up to it, he will no doubt be eligible for the VFL finals. Although he was touted as a ready made forward, and has come on strongly, he is not central to Geelong's premiership aspirations for 2007.

 

[Hawkamania!]

Give Tomahawk some time to develop. You guys have a dominant forward in the making with him. He will be causing headaches for other teams in a couple of years time.

 

[thegerman]

Give Tomahawk some time to develop. You guys have a dominant forward in the making with him. He will be causing headaches for other teams in a couple of years time.

Spot on there Hawkamania, and your Hawk lads are a good representation of taking it easy on boom recruits. Don't bring them on fast, it will only crush them later, perhaps why J. Brown struggled with soft tissue injuries early in his career.

Also as some others have pointed out (MmrMackie I think), shin splints simply don't go away in a couple of weeks, he must still have a little worry there.

Did he play in the two's last week ?? Couldn't see him listed in the Inside Footy as playing. Anyone know ?

 

[Big Nasty]

Spot on there Hawkamania, and your Hawk lads are a good representation of taking it easy on boom recruits. Don't bring them on fast, it will only crush them later, perhaps why J. Brown struggled with soft tissue injuries early in his career.

Also as some others have pointed out (MmrMackie I think), shin splints simply don't go away in a couple of weeks, he must still have a little worry there.

Did he play in the two's last week ?? Couldn't see him listed in the Inside Footy as playing. Anyone know ?

nah he didn't play.

 

[finrod]

i would name him every week just to let him know he's in the mix young players can loose there heads mabey this has all come about from geelong players in the past who didnt get droped on bad form mabey its a new Keep 'em Keen Campain ???

Hawkins doesn't deserve to be named even as an emergency. He hasn't shown any form at all in the last month and I don't care if he's the next big white hope - it sends a bad message to the rest of the players that some are favoured even when they are not playing well.

 

[JUBJUB]

Hawkins doesn't deserve to be named even as an emergency. He hasn't shown any form at all in the last month and I don't care if he's the next big white hope - it sends a bad message to the rest of the players that some are favoured even when they are not playing well.

Tell us which tall player you'd name as emergency

 

[MmkMrMackie]

Hawkins doesn't deserve to be named even as an emergency. He hasn't shown any form at all in the last month and I don't care if he's the next big white hope - it sends a bad message to the rest of the players that some are favoured even when they are not playing well.

Where did that term come from? I'm guessing it's taken from US basketball, but considering the majority of AFL players are big and white, I'd say it's not all that relevant.

 

[JUBJUB]

Where did that term come from? I'm guessing it's taken from US basketball, but considering the majority of AFL players are big and white, I'd say it's not all that relevant.

Isn't the saying "Great white hope" ?

 

[MmkMrMackie]

Isn't the saying "Great white hope" ?

Yeh, that's the one. But where did it come from, and is it really all that relevant in AFL? I think the term was also used for a young Greg Norman, but once again... Golf is played primarily by rich middle aged caucasions... Just a stupid term full stop in my books.

 

[DanA]

Yeh, that's the one. But where did it come from, and is it really all that relevant in AFL? I think the term was also used for a young Greg Norman, but once again... Golf is played primarily by rich middle aged caucasions... Just a stupid term full stop in my books.

Nah, It's a boxing term. The nickname of James Jefferey (HW champ) who came out of retirement after black americans started to dominate boxing.

 

[MmkMrMackie]

Nah, It's a boxing term. The nickname of James Jefferey (HW champ) who came out of retirement after black americans started to dominate boxing.

Well there you go.