Toast Is Tom Hawkins the Best All-Round Forward in the AFL Right Now?

Is Tom Hawkins the Best All-Round Forward in the AFL Right Now?


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  • Poll closed .

Duskfire

Norm Smith Medallist
Jun 30, 2007
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Even though they are physically quite different Hawkins reminds me a bit of Jack Gunston. Both great goal kickers (Gunston has an excellent finals record) but their performances ebb and flow with their team rather than being the driving force.

Carey is the ultimate benchmark for a key forward because even though we could match North across the ground and had the best 1 on 1 match up for him he was still never out of the game.

I get what you are saying but that is a bit unfair to Hawkins (and Gunston really.) there have been plenty of games where Hawkins has taken the game by the scruff of the neck and went nuts. Yes he isn’t a huge driving influence like Carey, but very few players are.
 
May 5, 2006
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I get what you are saying but that is a bit unfair to Hawkins (and Gunston really.) there have been plenty of games where Hawkins has taken the game by the scruff of the neck and went nuts. Yes he isn’t a huge driving influence like Carey, but very few players are.

Jack Darling is/was similar. Prior to 2018 I reckon I could count his BOGs on one hand. He was having a putrid GF then came out in the 3rd quarter and pushed up the ground and took contested marks at centre wing, half back etc. to impose himself on the game.

Not everyone can be Carey, but the thread is 'Is Tom Hawkins the Best All-Round Forward in the AFL Right Now?'. I think most people recognise he's a bloody good player.
 
For some reason I didn't realise Riewoldt was that tall! I guess that makes hes pressure and ground ball gets even better.

Yet Hawkins is taller than Riewoldt, and has had more ground ball gets than any other key forward in the competition this year.
 
Well, there's an asterisk to that given Geelong have played two extra games.

That aside, kicking the most goals means you should, as a general rule, be picked in the side. Not necessarily at FF.

Lance Franklin, for example, won the Coleman in 2017 and was picked at CHF.
Hawkins also averages the most goals per game though, who would you have as the AA FF?
 

Captain_Bender

Premiership Player
May 21, 2015
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the all australian in 2018 was a joke. It should of been hawkins instead who was better then riewoldt in almost every statistic. Hawkins and franklin were so far ahead of every other forward that year it wasnt funny.

and what tall support has hawkins had since he was a kid? pods for a year. he has had no support for 7 years. And lets face it we are only even comparing the two because hawkins stuffed his back in 2013 which impacted him greatly for 5 years.
Dude Riewoldt was miles better than Hawkins in 2018
 
It's funny that the question asked was 'Is Hawkins the best all around forward in the AFL right now' and it triggered a few Richmond fans to start sooking about J Reiwoldt for some reason. Richmond fans are like clockwork on BigFooty.

For the record Hawkins has a 71% win rate compared to Jacks 52% so he is clearly better at winning games of football. Colemans don't mean much when you're in the bottom 4
 
Apr 25, 2012
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I've seen this more than once on here from West Coast supporters. This was also known as the night the umpires went full... with the deliberate out of bounds rule. The night J. Selwood was laughably reported for some backyard tomfoolery with his brother.

And if by 'Eagles run on', you're referring to the Eagles kicking the first two of the match, then one of the next five, before Hawkins went down and the Cats kicked another before the end of the first quarter (making it five goals out of six to the Cats and five goals to three at quarter time), then yes, that's the run on that the Cats were desperate to stop at any cost. You can look it up if you want.

Obviously vivid memories of what went on that night.

Edit: should have added that Geelong also kicked the goal before Hawkins was concussed. Some run on by West Coast. I really don't get it. The Eagles won that night fair and square. Why their supporters feel the need to flat out invent stuff is beyond me.

Lel ,,we were set to smash that game and they took fifteen minutes to get him off the ground omg !
The AFL learnt not to schedule Eagles home games at night so late after that .Very messy very pissy night you probably remember better than me
 
Jun 23, 2008
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Not if someone is making the specific argument that he's kicked the most goals.

By emphasising averages instead, you would be making a different argument to that.

Well, other people may be sending the argument in different directions, but I've been mostly comparing averages.
 

Grrr

Brownlow Medallist
Aug 16, 2009
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mildura
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Goals as a simple statistic do not prove entirely the worth of a forward. This is why Tom is so underrated.
In the graph that Predator supplied, Riewoldt lead Hawkins in every category, so stats do tell some sort of story.

Interesting thing about Hawkins is that he seems to be getting better with age. Riewoldt has lost a bit of his spring and zip/agility, which is his bread and butter, whereas Hawkins relies on strength and and his speed hasn't dropped. For a 32 year old he looks nowhere near retirement. Best forward going round at the moment, no back's would look forward to playing him right now. Mind you those King boys look the goods.
 
Jun 23, 2008
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At this stage, Kennedy.

Dixon did himself no favours against Geelong.

Score involvements: Dixon 5.5, Kennedy 4.8
Goal assists: Dixon 0.5, Kennedy 0.1

Dixon's big selling point (and it's a big selling point) is contested marks. He has a dozen more than anyone in the comp. Hands like a vice.

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Even though their most recent performances are trending in different directions, I wouldn't say Kennedy just yet.
 
Aug 17, 2006
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Lel ,,we were set to smash that game and they took fifteen minutes to get him off the ground omg !
The AFL learnt not to schedule Eagles home games at night so late after that .Very messy very pissy night you probably remember better than me

More power to you. Huge game that night, Geelong would have finished top 4 if we'd won. Kept up a cooda, wooda, shooda patern for Geelong away to the Eagles which now feels like an annual event.

Nothing wrong with making a night of it after a win like that.
 
Last edited:
Jun 23, 2008
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If we're picking a FF, Kennedy's edge in goals is decisive.

IMO, Dixon's outstanding contested marking (more than double the amount of contested marks per game than Kennedy), along with leading nearly every other category in comparison, cancels out Kennedy (on average) getting an extra goal every second game.
 
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