Hawkins not right for CHF

[carn_the_cattas]

l fell hawkins has to play CHF even it latter in the year or swap with moons every now again..moons its getting older l fell next year /year after moons might have to play more at FF and if sum luck nabs comes back hungry ready to tear the comp apart,with gamble.chappy johno,kel the lead up players

fall much?
haha

anyway, i believe hawkins shows enough to say he will be a star of the future.
he has played 18 games over his short career, key forwards dont start becoming consistently good till 3 or so years into their career.
i agree with what people have said about him being so unselfish.
i remember when he was playing u/18s, he'd have a shot whenever he was in range, unless someone was in a better position.
sometimes this would result in a 3 goals, 5 behind haul. other times he'd kick 6 straight.
but i'd much rather 3 goals 5 than 1 goal and several passed off shots.

get back to your old greedy ways, tommy!

 

[Cohzee]

I'm going to cop a whole lot of abuse from people on this board because of the Hawkins love fest here, but he's simply not good enough/not mature enough to play at CHF.

I said this a few weeks ago, and was told where to go, but Nathan Ablett offered a lot more at CHF and we desperately miss him. Hawkins is suited to full forward as the target, not the link man at CHF.

And when Hawkins is underperforming at the moment, Mooney is thrown to CHF where he can't take a mark, taking his confidence down a peg or two.

The midfield is still getting it out like they used to, but Hawkins just doesn't lead to the right position and when he does he struggles to take the mark on the run.

Ablett was perfect in the position because he was quicker off the mark than Hawkins and had better hands. The sooner we get him back the better. Ottens as well, because when the forward line was struggling last year we could throw him down there to shake the structure up. Blake, West and Mumford can't do that.

In conclusion, Hawkins needs a spell, Ablett is missed greatly, we need Ottens back in order to change the forward structure when needed and Mooney should never push up to CHF.

You sound exactly like my brother. I agree with you both.

I was tempted to make a thread similar to this, but struggled to word it properly.

 

[themuddy#3]

ffs people. what do you guys expect from a player who hasnt even put together 20 games yet? the fact of the matter is that we dont have a backup chf, nablett's gone walkabout and if lonergan comes into the team i think he should play chb (put taylor back in the magoos for a few rounds).

if your still not satisfied with our forward structure think back to the kingsley, playfair,gardiner set up.

 

[hamG]

Hawkins will end up being more of a non specific position forward, he should push off and run short leads using is bulk, strength, size and length to catch short-mid length flat passes, more like Pavlich's game inside 50. Our small forwards and mids are good enough to do it. He is not built to be a long leading CHF.

Its alright to say Hawkins is not right for something, but our other key forward isn't exactly leaps and bounds ahead of him this year. I dare say Mooney has dropped more uncontested marks on the lead than Hawkins has.

 

[ripitup27]

Hawkins will end up being more of a non specific position forward, he should push off and run short leads using is bulk, strength, size and length to catch short-mid length flat passes, more like Pavlich's game inside 50. Our small forwards and mids are good enough to do it. He is not built to be a long leading CHF.

Its alright to say Hawkins is not right for something, but our other key forward isn't exactly leaps and bounds ahead of him this year. I dare say Mooney has dropped more uncontested marks on the lead than Hawkins has.

That's why Mooney shouldn't have to go out to CHF either, he plays his best footy from the goal square. Both Hawkins and Mooney are best out the goal square.

This is where I think people have misinterpreted me from my original post. Hawkins will probably be a star. He has the big body and he's a good kick when he has a shot. But at the moment he's not right for CHF, nor is Mooney. Nathan Ablett was perfect for the position.

I guess my major emphasis is the importance of Nathan Ablett to the premiership side. I think people underrate how important Nathan was to the side and how much we miss him.

Not only could we link with him at CHF, but if the time came, we could swing a forward line that had Chapman, Johnson, Stokes and Varcoe into a forward line that had Hawkins, Ablett, Mooney and Ottens. It would completely stuff up the backline structure of the opposition and throw the game open for us.

Nathan Ablett is the missing link, of course along with Ottens.

 

[spanna050]

A couple of the wrestling-contested grabs against Freo demonstrated where Tommahawk's best position is.

 

[SJ]

A couple of the wrestling-contested grabs against Freo demonstrated where Tommahawk's best position is.

Combined with some towering pack marks against St Kilda - completely agree.

 

[geelong_boy]

A couple of the wrestling-contested grabs against Freo demonstrated where Tommahawk's best position is.

Dare I say it, 'Jonathan Brown-esque' !?

 

[Tay29]

Some of the talk in this thread has talked about Mooney and Hawkins being in each other's space. I thought I would remind you that the same thing was being said up until last weekend in regards to Brown and Bradshaw who between them have played 337 games. So take it a little easy on Hawkins. The kid is still learning the game.

I do agree that he seems to play his best football at full forward and especially looks dangerous 1-on-1 when the ball is kicked long. One of things I have noticed(rightly or wrongly) is that he seems to spectate if he's out of position. It happened a several times during the year, including last weekend. I am not expecting him to take a screamer but he's the big guy down forward and you have to try to create a contest and bring the ball to ground.

 

[Partridge]

Check out the game against Essendon last year when they went blow for blow with us until the last quarter. Ablett didn't play and we fell down across half forward. The only reason we won that one was because of superior fitness.
The week after we played Collingwood and had the same problem, just scraping home in the end.

True. But we also smashed Fremantle in Perth late in the season and Ablett barely had a touch. So it's not like he was always a vital link, because he wasn't.

And I agree, Ablett was more valuable last year than people thought. The difference was, the side as a whole was playing good consistent football. This year they haven't been.

It's not like Hawkins hasn't shown anything. He took 8 marks in the first half versus Sydney at CHF and looked sensational. Barry didn't have a clue what to do with him. So the talent is there. But of course after 18 games he's nowhere near the finished product.

They should continue to rotate Mooney and Hawkins between the key forward posts, just as they did with Mooney and Ablett last season. If the rest of the team improve, and Mooney starts performing as well, I wouldn't mind betting Hawkins' output will get better also.

 

[geelong_boy]

And I agree, Ablett was more valuable last year than people thought. The difference was, the side as a whole was playing good consistent football. This year they haven't been.

Good post Partridge, the key bit being the bolded bit above.

Interestingly, I thought our forward line looked especially dangerous a few times last year when all three of Mooney, Hawkins, and NAblett were played. Too bad we're not gonna get to see that again.

 

[cats2rise]

Bring back Ben Graham.

Dont no why, but itd be cool.

 

[candiehappy]

Bring back Ben Graham.

Dont no why, but itd be cool.

My worry about Hawkins is that he is too much like Ben - too gentle. He needs to use that big body agressively.

 

[Geelong_Sicko]

Hawkins needs a license to shoot. For me he's too unselfish. A big guy like that needs to be able to mark from anywhere inside 50 and line it up. Everytime he marks he swings around looking for a quick handball or a deft little chip. Most of the time it ends up in either a turnover or another Geelong player under pressure. The cute little team game doesn't work for him. He's a power forward and needs to be able to develop into a big marking long kicking player.

I could fill the next hour repeating these thumbs-up things, but I can't be arsed. Hopefully you get the point...

 

[iameviljez]

My worry about Hawkins is that he is too much like Ben - too gentle. He needs to use that big body agressively.

You must live somewhere out of the boonies in Eastern Victoria, he crashes about as many packs as he's legally allowed!

 

[My5t3r10u5]

For goodness sake... how short are some of your memories? For a less-than-20 game player, Tom has been sensational this year, except for the last 2 games. I reckon a highlight reel of his first 7 games this year would have as much footage as Nathan's highlights from last year. Now, I reckon Nathan played his role well, but anyone who can't see that Tom is going to be an absolute gun forward needs to go back and watch the first 20 games that Lockett played. I see far more upside in Tom than in Nathan - he imposes himself on the game far more than Nathan ever did (again, I'm not putting Nathan down, but just think Tom is going to be something special (call me Bruce)).

Absolutely Hawkins is right for CHF... or FF... or forward pocket......

 

[ripitup27]

For goodness sake... how short are some of your memories? For a less-than-20 game player, Tom has been sensational this year, except for the last 2 games. I reckon a highlight reel of his first 7 games this year would have as much footage as Nathan's highlights from last year. Now, I reckon Nathan played his role well, but anyone who can't see that Tom is going to be an absolute gun forward needs to go back and watch the first 20 games that Lockett played. I see far more upside in Tom than in Nathan - he imposes himself on the game far more than Nathan ever did (again, I'm not putting Nathan down, but just think Tom is going to be something special (call me Bruce)).

Absolutely Hawkins is right for CHF... or FF... or forward pocket......

He's not right for CHF. He's a goalkicker, not a link man. He looks uncomfortable when he has to pass off and he struggles with the space he has across the middle when he's up the ground.

From the goalsquare, yes, he'll be a great player, but at the moment he's not right for CHF. Maybe in the future when he learns the game more, but not now.

 

[sarah.13]

Right or not the fact is we only have 2 KPF of AFL standard at the moment.

 

[The Casey Cat]

Right or not the fact is we only have 2 KPF of AFL standard at the moment.

Indeed so the carry on about Hawkins may as well stop. Nathan is gone (for now anyway)! Is unfortunate and yes he offered more than it seemed last year but that's how it is. Hawkins is in and doing all a player of his limited experience can. He does still have much to learn about the game but still, the main reason our forward line has struggled has been the poor form of Mooney and SJ.

As for CHF, it should be Mooney in this position just like last year. More often Mooney is playing deep and Hawkins is leading up. Mooney was really good at wheeling around right after he marked last year and keeping the quick movement (our theme) going. His passing and long kicks to advantage were excellent. Hawkins with his inexperience is obvious not able to do this so our movement is breaking down while Mooney struggles to get into the game whilst camping in the F50.

I'm not sure if this is supposed to be happening or not but the roles need to be reversed. Mooney leads up and Hawkins stays deep.

 

[ripitup27]

Personally I think Mooney played better out of the goalsquare last year. But sarah is right, we only have two AFL standard KP forwards. Would like to see how Lonners went, and Simpson when he gets back from injury.

 

[Turkey Tom]

Insteresting stats on Hawkins...

Avg Kicks, Marks, Handball and goals per game (rounded).
2007 9g 6k 4m 3h 1 goal
2008 9g 8k 6m 5h 1.4 goal

Jonathan Browns first two years:-
2000 13g 6k 4m 3h <1 goal
2001 25g 9k 6m 5h 1.5 goal

 

[winty]

Insteresting stats on Hawkins...

Avg Kicks, Marks, Handball and goals per game (rounded).
2007 9g 6k 4m 3h 1 goal
2008 9g 8k 6m 5h 1.4 goal

Jonathan Browns first two years:-
2000 13g 6k 4m 3h <1 goal
2001 25g 9k 6m 5h 1.5 goal

Hope he keeps emulating Brown's career.

 

[crosby123]

Hope he keeps emulating Brown's career.

Apart from the OP.