Tom Hawkins

[gocats88]

Hawkins played his first final on the weekend and no he didn't set the world on fire. We can't all get the Lauchie Hansens, Scott Gumbletons and James Stellars or even Cloke who is now dominating games for collingwood like everyone expected he would because of he's great 07 season.

Hawkins is a young forward and with this finals expreince its a postitive thing, for him and the future for the club his still only 21 and finals football is different to the 22 round season physically, skill wise and your obvisouly playing better teams. This is a leaning process for him he can get the taste of this pressure and know what it's like and how to overcome it.

who knows prelim he could kick 3 goals take 5 uncontested marks 3 contested. but just because he does that don't think he could do it Grand final like i said he's still young and developing. Last two weeks before this final no-one can stay he hasn't devoloped he was good againgst freo and the bulldogs so he has proven that he can be a good kpp which is exciting for the club coz really how many exciting young kpf prospects that you knew that was going to stay and give it his all for geelong "not looking at Nathan Ablett" i can't remember any.

and if you really think about it is he our main go to guy in the forward fifty i usally see him lead out of the fifty and leave space for the more expreince forwards like mooney,johnson ablett and chapman look at his game he doesn't really occupy the forwrd fifty as often as he should. i think bomber should just leave him in the sqaure for the whole day and let mooney and johnson lead up to the wings, hff and chf then leave space for hawkins in the forward fifty then i think he would be more of a dangerous forward than he is now.

like i said thiuhg he is still young and these is great expreince for the young lad escpecially pressure wise so go tomahawk be the great player for this club for the next 10 years as we all hope you would and get expreice and learn how to cope with the pressure of football.

 

[witsend]

I'm exhausted after reading that...

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

Can't really pass judgement on what you have uttered as gibberish isn't my first language... aint dyslexia a bitch.

My intuition tells me it was something about Tommy Hawkins.

Tommy hasn't shown enough development to give me a good feeling about his future.

Still plays like an over-grown boy struggling to come to terms with his size.

Doesn't keep his feet very well and the timing and direction of his leads are predictable and hence is rarely able to find much space.

Kicking is erratic and needs plenty of work.

Hopefully Tommy can "develop" quickly... we need him to fire for the finals.

 

[Vegas.]

Tommy hasn't shown enough development to give me a good feeling about his future.

Thought you said you couldn't speak gibberish?

Hawkins has shown plenty to get excited about. As is kind of mentioned in the OP, name me another young KPP that's shown more than him? There are none. The things I see from him are a great set of hands, composure under pressure, and a booming kick when he is willing to use it. Sure, there is plenty to be worked on, but he has shown an awful lot.

 

[alfy!]

ugh i dont want to read that block of writing, someone summarise please

 

[True Blue Cat]

Not meaning to criticize but i don't see a point in this thread. There is no real discussion value as all you have said really is that Hawkins has potential and that getting experience is doing him good. Which i believe that all goes without saying.

 

[gocats88]

Not meaning to criticize but i don't see a point in this thread. There is no real discussion value as all you have said really is that Hawkins has potential and that getting experience is doing him good. Which i believe that all goes without saying.

Not everyone does.

Hawkins played absolutely woefully yesterday. Why can't he just be half-good or at least kick the thing straight. Do we dare bring back Lonergan? at least he can kick OK, but is worse in the contested situation. Mooney still can't kick, our forwardline really worries me still.

it seems some people just forget Tom played two great games beforehand and yes his final wasn't that great but it is a new learning expreince for him which is good and the future of the gfc.

 

[True Blue Cat]

Not everyone does.

Hawkins played absolutely woefully yesterday. Why can't he just be half-good or at least kick the thing straight. Do we dare bring back Lonergan? at least he can kick OK, but is worse in the contested situation. Mooney still can't kick, our forwardline really worries me still.

it seems some people just forget Tom played two great games beforehand and yes his final wasn't that great but it is a new learning expreince for him which is good and the future of the gfc.

Well everyone would agree on the latter anyways about the experience doing him good. Dare i just say that any level headed Geelong supporter can see that Hawkins has potential?

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

Thought you said you couldn't speak gibberish?

Hawkins has shown plenty to get excited about. As is kind of mentioned in the OP, name me another young KPP that's shown more than him? There are none. The things I see from him are a great set of hands, composure under pressure, and a booming kick when he is willing to use it. Sure, there is plenty to be worked on, but he has shown an awful lot.

You're obviously a half-cup full type of guy and the proud owner of a lovely pair of rose-tinted glasses. I'm a bit more of a pragmatist.

Kurt Tippett (Adelaide) and Mitch Clarke (Brisbane) are talls around the same age. They have shown a consistancy in their development to give respective supporters a reason to feel confident in their futures.

Tommy doesn't appear to be doing anything significantly better than when he arrived at the club. I am concerned with the lack of development.

 

[maximus steel]

no way can hawkins be dropped, lonergan didnt exactly fire last september if i remember right, mooney missed crucial shots but he got the ball enough for you to be happy with him on that note. hawkins takes a experienced defender unlike alot of forwards his age because of his strength and presance, and to be honest i dont mind him vacating the 50 for mooney, chapman and ablett it takes a quality defender out of the 50, he just needs to learn to judge when to a bit better. example stokes was left to contest in f50 one out numerous times, he cant be there 24/7 but no doubt the coaches will be in his ear for next 2 weeks.

 

[Sinner]

I disagree RNS. He has added a defensive side to his game and he generally plays a good first 20 minutes then is MIA for the rest of the game. He seems to be involved for longer spurts now and I would say that the last 3 games have been the best in his career.

 

[True Blue Cat]

I disagree RNS. He has added a defensive side to his game and he generally plays a good first 20 minutes then is MIA for the rest of the game. He seems to be involved for longer spurts now and I would say that the last 3 games have been the best in his career.

He hits a major brickwall when it comes to defensive pressure. Due to his size he uses a lot of energy trying to apply pressure and his endurance is his biggest hurdle at this current time. He just needs to use his size more and be a bit more confident taking contested marks although that has improved a hell of a lot recently.

 

[Poetic Justice]

This thread is poo. Two weeks ago he resumed to potential god status, one game and he's back in the trashcan.

Meh. Cats supporters.

 

[jim boy]

There has always been a heap of expectation on him. I found a pile of old footy records a week ago and flicked through one from 1993. He even got a mention in that!

 

[HulkHawkins]

Someone said Lonergan

GET A CLUE FFS!!!!

 

[vinum coupe]

One thing I like about Tom is that he rarely gets out pointed in contests.
But he does get smashed if the ball hits the ground.

They need to make sure that 50% of the time he is offered the ball with a byrnes or similar front and centre.

He is tracking ok.

But f*^k me my 2 year old kicks better than him when close. What on earth is going on? I'd really love to spend 30 minutes with him at the local park.

I always had an issue kicking from close range in my early days. It's bloody easy to fix.

 

[DBAH0]

He needs to work his arse off in the pre-season to become an elite runner.

The way our forward set-up is, the only way he is going to improve is by working to more contests is the Riewoldt mould.

He's had foot issues in the past, so hopefully he can have a full pre - season for once.

 

[doodl]

"Tommy doesn't appear to be doing anything significantly better than when he arrived at the club. I am concerned with the lack of development."

you must be freakin blind RNS. at the start of this year hawkins was giving us nothing. at this point he is starting to run well and lead up through the half forward area and help us to link up into our forward 50. He is also getting better at tackles where he's laying 3-4 a game and when he does you can watch him dish a few nasty words into his opponents ear for good measure. He has gained some aggro which is a good thing for his game and he has gained more fitness by playing through the half forward space. Next year with another preseason under his belt he will be in pretty good shape.

He has to work on his skills granted. He sometimes seems to have hard hands and some games it seems like he can't manage to grab any marks. I think perhaps he is prone to dropping his head when he goes of for contested marks or something. Kicking wise he's shown he can make good distance, it's just confidence that needs to increase.

To the OP the crap about Nath Ablett was uncalled for. Yes most woulda been dissappointed when he left but noone really knows the full story on that and it isn't fair to comment without all the facts. I would love to have the kid back but I doubt it will happen so build a bridge and get over it.

 

[goodoldcats]

quick trade him. got beaten by some bloke called lake (who kept buddy to 0 goals) more questions must be asked in regards to mooney seeing he wasnt playing on the best defender

 

[Turbocat]

I think he struggles with Lake but he is not alone. Perhaps we should be a little more proactive if he is getting closed down , swing him on the ball for 5 minutes etc.

Generally , a problem for him is when he takes a mark on the lead , he ends up to far out and he is not capable running around like a mid , he is an old fashioned Power Forward and will always be at his most dangerous within kicking range (if he can nail down his setshot kicking.)

With his setshots , I'd like to see him relax and be more natural. His technique seems to encourage him to become ridged , totally different to how he kicks in general play. If he manages to kick one or two , he seems to maintain his initial confidence , however if he misses it appears he becomes even more tense and doesn't really demand the ball.This sis why I think he seems to go missing a lot.
Demanding the ball is a must for him if he is to become the player we want. Do you think Locket would watch the ball getting kicked to someone else in his area? He would rip a team mate that didn't pass it to him or got in his way. When Tom has this sort of confidence , he will be a standout forward and start kicking bags of 4-6 rather than 1-3

 

[Pollywaffle]

At least he seems to be holding his grabs
Poor old Lonno just couldnt seem to cut it in contested situations. I got tired of seeing the ball slip through his hands. I think Tommo will deliver but not for a season or two Those looking for a big finals series this year will be disappointed ( I hope he can prove me wrong ) but the experience will do him good and he has the potential and the skill to be a gun
He is useful in that the opposition still have to respect him on account of his sporadic bursts and this does account for a key defender in many contests.

 

[Jacky Too]

At least he seems to be holding his grabs

Have his hands always been this safe? Just recently, when watching him in marking contests, I have a deep sense of confidence that he is going to stick his grabs when in a reasonable position to do so. Maybe it is just my lack of exposure to him, but wow, if he can get his positioning right, "Tommy" could blow apart a big final.

 

[True Blue Cat]

Have his hands always been this safe? Just recently, when watching him in marking contests, I have a deep sense of confidence that he is going to stick his grabs when in a reasonable position to do so. Maybe it is just my lack of exposure to him, but wow, if he can get his positioning right, "Tommy" could blow apart a big final.

Sadly it is only recently that he has been this efficient when marking the ball. He was capable in the past but he still dropped way to many. Although saying that on the weekend he dropped a few i believe but i have confidence in his ability to take a mark when it counts.

 

[SmothOperRaider]

We need another thread on this for what reason exactly?

I think I might start up a new Mark Blake one just to keep it company.

 

[Tomozaurus]

name me another young KPP that's shown more than him? There are none.

Jack Anthony? Michael Hurley?