Tom Hawkins

[FAIRANDBALANCED]

For me, the only way the Cats can back up and be a top 2 side once more is if Tom Hawkins lives up to the potential that he has.

I know we have seen some of his limits, but for me, it's going to click one day for this kid the question is only when.

I would have liked Cam Mooney to move on so it kind of gave Hawkins the forward 50. It is time that he took ownership of that forward line and was given more responsibility. JPod also just delays his progress. Maybe Hawkins isn't the best kick in the world, and maybe he shows a lack of agility, but he can take a big mark and he is/can be a strong target inside 50.

He just seems like the kind of player, that when we all write him off as nothing more than a bit player, he will explode. And I'm predicting it is in 2011.

Thoughts from Cats fans? Do you still hold hope for him to become a top 2-3 big forward in the game?

 

[year of the cat]

1. Needs a solid uninterrupted year from injury - his foot issues have no doubt held back his development. It appears that when he is just showing consistent form his feet play up and he is back at square one again.

2. Needs to be settled in a key forward spot. He is not a ruckman and will never be one.

Tom has a lot of talent. He is very much though a player whose confidence appears to easily slide which affects his form. He can still be the player we all want him to be if he believes this himself and his body doesn't let him down.

 

[bulletproof]

Thoughts from Cats fans? Do you still hold hope for him to become a top 2-3 big forward in the game?

I doubt it now. I think he will be a very handy player but top 2-3? No. He would had to have shown more by now.

 

[CHIEF SMACKAHOE]

i've pretty much given up on him at this point

 

[hamG]

Needs his ass kicked. Needs to play VFL.

I rate him about the same as West & Ben Johnson as a forward option.

 

[David the Cat]

This guy could be special, but simply hasnt done enough..at least not yet.

I hope Scott runs him in defence in the pre-season..might do him good....

 

[Biggy_Boy]

Seems like every time he has started to show promise, something has stood in his way.

He was starting to get there at the end of '09 with a great prelim performance and I was hoping he would carry into 2010 and become even better. Of course, Pods took his spot (a good thing for us, not Hawkins).

He actually was playing very well in the ruck early in the year and seemed to benefit greatly from being able to get a hold of the ball and run forward to kick goals, rather than sitting in the forward 50. However, the foot injury struck again and he was never able to regain that form.

I think it should be between him and Mooney for a spot in the forward line, with one playing in the VFL next year.

 

[BIGANT]

Seems like every time he has started to show promise, something has stood in his way.

He was starting to get there at the end of '09 with a great prelim performance and I was hoping he would carry into 2010 and become even better. Of course, Pods took his spot (a good thing for us, not Hawkins).

He actually was playing very well in the ruck early in the year and seemed to benefit greatly from being able to get a hold of the ball and run forward to kick goals, rather than sitting in the forward 50. However, the foot injury struck again and he was never able to regain that form.

I think it should be between him and Mooney for a spot in the forward line, with one playing in the VFL next year.

You'd be guaranteed that if Moons was playing two's majority of twenty11, he'll retire.

 

[Ninty]

Awesome, another bagging Hawkins thread.

 

[goodoldcats]

needs to harden the *** up. very soft probably his last year to show something. but the talent is there just mentally weak

 

[geelong_boy]

Seems like every time he has started to show promise, something has stood in his way.

He was starting to get there at the end of '09 with a great prelim performance and I was hoping he would carry into 2010 and become even better. Of course, Pods took his spot (a good thing for us, not Hawkins).

He actually was playing very well in the ruck early in the year and seemed to benefit greatly from being able to get a hold of the ball and run forward to kick goals, rather than sitting in the forward 50. However, the foot injury struck again and he was never able to regain that form.

I think it should be between him and Mooney for a spot in the forward line, with one playing in the VFL next year.

From one 'boy' to another, well said Biggy.

To this I'll add that Tom has to feel he belongs and take charge. If he didn't have so many senior team mates in the side telling him what to do then this may have happened already, as it has with other KPF who have had to learn by themselves, eg. Jack Riewoldt and Lachie Hansen. He has showed great signs in the past two years, he now needs a solid pre-season and no injuries to put it all together. Have no doubt that if injuries don't stand in his way then he'll be a gun.

 

[krisholio14]

He'll be alright.

Just keep the faith

 

[Turkey Tom]

This guy could be special, but simply hasnt done enough..at least not yet.

I hope Scott runs him in defence in the pre-season..might do him good....

Agree with this. Needs to play CHB in the pre-season and give Harry a go at CHF, just to see how it plays out.

Don't think Harry has the bulk to play CHF on a regular basis, but he is a great kick...something our present tall forwards are not.

If he does turn out to be a better CHB than a forward then we may have a partial solution for when we start losing defenders to retirement.

One of the criticisms I had of Thompson is that he didn't experiment enough.

Another experiment I want to see is Josh Hunt on the wing or half forward.

 

[SriLankanCat]

I think Tommahawk needs another chance. He had a hot spot in his foot and that really affected his confidence. Remember when he was playing in the ruck earlier in the year he was looking great. But after his injury he really lost a lot. Hipefuilly with a good pre season he will be fine.

I honestly reckon Mooney should play part time in the forward line and be rotated around the ruck and backline more giving Hawkins a more permanent forward spot.

Lets not give up on him just yet. Remember he is only 21 or so

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

I'm sick to death of people jumping up and down on the big fellas back. He hasn't had a decent preseason in his short career and he's shown he has got an enormous amount of talent and upside. Compare Hawkins, riewoldt and j. Brown at the same stage of their careers. It takes longer for the bigger guys to develop as it did with the other two superstars. I have no doubt that in 2 or 3 years he will become a super player and I'm expecting Scott to give the half forward line to him and expecting big Tom to have a breakout year next year.

 

[True Blue Cat]

He seems to really show something and everyone thinks he has finally got there but then he falls back to below average. He is capable of playing good footy his problem is consistency. However i suppose being consistent is difficult with injuries and being moved around to make way for others.

 

[Beth]

Leave him in the forward line, then leave him in the forward line some more. He is such a sweet boy. I wish he wasn't such a sweet boy.

 

[you pick one]

Don't see him as the next Barry Stoneham or Billy Brownless for us,more your David Mench is where I see him.Just has to develop some aggression to reach the next level.

 

[Sttew]

Yes. Its a pity that each time Tomahwak has hit a purple patch of form he has been struck by injury. The kid is 21, and Geelong should persevere with him. The problem is that he arrived with such hype that he was always going to be on a hiding for nothing. Being compared to Tony Lockett, for example, never helped.

 

[4thGenCat]

Came straight out of school boy football and has never served a proper apprenticeship in the VFL. What appeared to be a blessing (Nathan Ablett leaving) was probably the worst thing for him. Needed to spend several seasons honing his craft before he even thought about playing seniors. Podsiadly spent far too long in the VFL, Hawkins not nearly long enough.

 

[InnocentBystandr]

If we came up against StK in the NAB cup, I'd like to see him on Riewoldt for a quarter or two. He'd get smashed, but he see first hand what a champion forward's work rate needs to be.

 

[Belisarius]

I am just not convinced by Hawkins yet - and I would love to be wrong.

Not only is he missing some mongrel but he just does not take enough marks for such a tall and solidly built player. If he could his body better in marking contests he would be a greater asset IMO.

 

[Vdubs]

Agree with this. Needs to play CHB in the pre-season and give Harry a go at CHF, just to see how it plays out.

Don't think Harry has the bulk to play CHF on a regular basis, but he is a great kick...something our present tall forwards are not.

If he does turn out to be a better CHB than a forward then we may have a partial solution for when we start losing defenders to retirement.

One of the criticisms I had of Thompson is that he didn't experiment enough.

Another experiment I want to see is Josh Hunt on the wing or half forward.

Tom, you're no turkey. I agree with all that. In fact, I think I said it somewhere. Would like Hawkins at CHB, and Harry on the ball in a Goddard like role-great mark and could be a dangerous left foot kick. Yes Bomber felt we were that good that nothing had to change, but this year we were too predictable and not fit enough for our talent levels to compensate.

Hawk at CHB could let him off the lease and really show his wares. Did wonders for Tarrant, who is a different player, but well worth cosidering

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Hawkins is close to where I expected him to be at his age, having said that it's frustrating that through injuries, form, confidence etc, he doesn't seem to be really progressing, and does show signs of good footy, but only fleetingly. I think a lot of people expected him to be the next big thing and those expectations were always too high. I am hopeful that with an injury free pre season he can have a big year.

However his greatest challenge is our depth, and while Bomber protected him by making clear he would never drop him, Scott may bring a policy of selecting the best 22 on form every week, and if so then Hawkins is on thin ice, because there's probably only room for one of him and Mooney, and even if he pushes Mooney out, Ben Johnson is playing fantastically well in the two's, West is starting to show something, and Mitch Brown did before injury, so over the next 12-18 months, Hawkins may well find himself in the VFL.

I agree with the calls that some others have made about putting him in a different poisition, maybe the backline, to see if it works. One of the things I notice when I watch Pods play is how natural a forward he is, knows when to lead, when not to lead, reads the play, goal sense etc...and while Hawkins can take a grab and is very good below the knees for a big guy, he doesn't seem to be as natural a forward, so it may well actually not be the position for him.

One thing he must do though, no matter where he plays is impose himself more on the contest. Pods, and Mooney too, despite him slowing a bit with age, whenever the ball is in their area, they just throw themselves at it, create spillages, and don't care who they crash into in the process (be it teammate or foe), whereas while Hawkins has the size of the other two, he doesn't do that, and hence he doesn't use his size to the greatest effect.

 

[Belisarius]

I have been calling for a year to play him at CHB - or on the tallest, slowest opposition forward. He needs to be led to the ball - and just spoil. This will take the pressure of marking and this will help his confidence.

Sure he is not fit enough yet - but he is the same height as Lonergan - and I think has more talent and potential than Lonergan - who plays in the backline. So I cannot see why Hawkins cannot have a go at this position - and be as effective, if not more so, than Lonergan.

I am still a believer that we cannot afford to play Lonergan and Hawkins in the same side. Both are not yet really good enough in a KP - and so we can only experiment with one at a time.

Perhaps both will come on in the next season - and then, and only then, can we afford to have both in the team at the same time.