hawkins round 3 rising star

[Big Nasty]

maybe bomber took hawkins off to hose him down. surely if he was in the square all game he would've kicked six or seven. exciting talent.

brent prismall is all quality as well.

dont be surprised if varcoe and selwood sneak in for a mention.
i dont think we have a player that can win the rising star though.
you think it would be someone like gibbs who is likely to play all year. there's more competition at geelong for a the young blokes' spots.

You're a Carlton supporter aren't ya.

 

[Copernicus]

Good article in the Age this morning.



Couldn't agree more.

Good article, but unfortunately it ignores the realities of sport these days - the transcendent qualities of the game are beholden to the more practical. It's a balance that is tipping further towards the practical as the game becomes more and more professional. All we can do is watch and hope we get to see more of our young guns.

 

[grantyc77]

Congrats tomahawk, your a star son.

 

[DanA]

Yeah, it could be an exciting year
Hawkins - rd3
Prismall - rd5
Varcoe - rd9
Selwood - rd11
Djerrkura - rd16

Any one else eligible??

Add Gamble and that is it. (there are others but they are unlikely).

I'd put money on Prismall & Selwood getting one. The others are long shots as I can't see them getting a lot of games.

 

[Big_Tazz]

im proud of the tommahawk.. on ya big fella... if you guys were wondering y he has such big thighs, its coz he used to be a rower dont at geelong, got that from an excellent source. and is it just me, or is there something wrong with toms nose?

 

[Goedy]

I just hope your coach decides to play this superstar for more than 12 games. if u don't then your coach is a ****er. If he was playing for any other team he would play all 22 games.

 

[CF]

Tom lifts season goals
18 April 2007 Herald-Sun
Scott Gullan

GIVEN the hype and excitement which followed his drafting, Tom Hawkins had remarkably low expectations of his first season in the AFL.

Hawkins had aimed to play one game in his debut year. After doubling that by Round 3 and claiming the NAB Rising Star Award nomination in the process, the teenage superstar is looking to re-assess his goals.

He now thinks five games will be a good result but coach Mark Thompson is confident he'll play a lot more as long as his mind and body holds up to the rigours of AFL football.

"We can't say we want him to play eight or 10, if he played them all that would be great," Thompson said. "The monitoring systems now in clubs are really technical, detailed and individual. We will just keep an eye on him, if he is pulling up well and worthy of a game then we will play him."

After kicking three goals on debut against Carlton, Hawkins kicked four first-half goals against Melbourne on Sunday with Thompson admitting the Cats' father-son draftee was exceeding expectations.

"I didn't think he would be doing what he is doing," Thompson said. "He was pretty sensational early in the game against Melbourne."

He defended his decision to drag Hawkins after his fourth goal with some commentators suggesting he did it to help keep the lid on the hype surrounding his full-forward.

"That is just ridiculous, I would love him to kick eight goals," he said. "We took him off because we noticed he was getting tired."

The 18-year-old admitted he blew up in the second half against the Demons and had a long way to go to be physically ready to run out games.

"On the weekend I was struggling a bit," Hawkins said. "In the last quarter I was absolutely buggered, I couldn't run. The pace and strength of the players is something completely different.

"The pace of the game is so much different from what I am used to and probably having that little setback (when he started developing a stress fracture in his leg) at the start of the year didn't help. I am just trying to get back into at the moment, get a bit match fit and play some more games hopefully."

While Carlton coach Denis Pagan has labelled him the next Tony Lockett, Hawkins is determined to stay level headed.

"I have only played two games so I think they are getting a bit ahead of themselves," he said. "He is a great player and I don't know if I can be compared to him yet."

Looks like Bomber is conceding that if Tom is up to it he will get played more this season than originally planned maybe? But I love this quote:

"I have only played two games so I think they are getting a bit ahead of themselves," he said. "He is a great player and I don't know if I can be compared to him yet."

Tom says you can't compare me to Lockett...yet! I love that little bit of self belief and confidence he has just in that one statement.

 

[Rockford]

I just hope your coach decides to play this superstar for more than 12 games. if u don't then your coach is a ****er. If he was playing for any other team he would play all 22 games.

If his form warrants I'd want to see him playing. He is an exciting talent but his fitness was definitely lacking towards the end of the Melbourne game, he could hardly run.

 

[Rosella]

I just hope your coach decides to play this superstar for more than 12 games. if u don't then your coach is a ****er. If he was playing for any other team he would play all 22 games.

You didn't learn from Koschitzke, did you?

 

[carn_the_cattas]

You can watch Hawkins interview here.
If it comes up as a different video just click "AFL", "AFL News" then "Tom Hawkins".

 

[Copernicus]

It's good to hear that they'll play him as much as they can. It seems a little silly to play a new bloke for 10-12 games like they were saying if they are ready to do more than that. That said, I can't see him playing every game. I would say closer to 16 or 18, though, and if we make the finals it might be sensible to rest him closer to the finals to keep him fresh for them. But that's a fair way off so we'll see.