AFL 2024: Geelong champion Tom Hawkins on his future, major challenges across his career and his longevity

Ahead of his 350th game, Geelong goalkicking supremo Tom Hawkins opens up on retirement, the major hurdles he has faced and how he has maintained his consistency.

Geelong champion Tom Hawkins said retirement is not currently on his mind as he expressed his pride in reaching a historic 350th game milestone.

Hawkins, 35, will become just the third Cat to play 350 games when he faces familiar foe Hawthorn on Easter Monday.

The seemingly ageless Hawkins highlighted his consistency during his twilight years with a four-goal haul in Geelong’s win over Adelaide in round two, making it 786 career goals – 14th on the all-time goalkicking list and one major behind retired Richmond goalkicker Jack Riewoldt.

Geelong coach Chris Scott, who has featured alongside Hawkins in 289 games — the equal second most by a coach and player, shared with Riewoldt and then Tigers coach Damien Hardwick – marvelled at his impact on the club both on and off the field.

The 11-time Geelong leading goalkicker is well aware he isn’t getting any youner, but said he will cherish every game from here.

The Coleman medallist thanked his wife Emma, his family and Scott for helping him stay in the game for so long.

Tom Hawkins with his wife Emma and children Arabella, Primrose and Henry. Picture: Alison Wynd

Tom Hawkins with Chris Scott. Picture: Alison Wynd

“I get the interest in my future. I’m a 35 turning 36 year old. I think what’s worked really well for me over the last few years is my ability to be able to enjoy myself knowing that the end is certainly closer than the start,” Hawkins said.

“I’ll continue to enjoy myself in here, enjoy the opportunity that I have. And then at some stage we’ll sit down and make that decision but it’s certainly not on my radar at the moment.

“There is lots of things that have allowed me to stay in the game and play so long but I think one of the biggest things is having a wonderful support network.

“But the home front support pillars in these guys in the front row, Emma and the kids, have been incredible.

“Probably more so Emma to be honest than the kids,” he added as the room erupted in laughter.

“My family, my mum and dad and siblings and then the footy club who have all been amazing to me, barracked for the Cats as a kid, so living out a childhood dream.”

Scott is ruing the moment when the three-time premiership spearhead calls time on his storeyed career.

“I think he’s been one of the great players in his position of a generation,” Scott said.

“He’s clearly not contracted for another four or five years but I’m not looking forward to the day that he says he’s had enough. We’re trying to keep an open mind to him playing, not just because of his influence on field, which is still obvious, even in the last game, but the influence that he has sort of off the field, and the way we want to go about things as a club.

“What I am going to commit to is just enjoying every moment because it’s been a real privilege and it’s easy to get hung up on the on-field accolades and sort of miss the impact that that he’s had around the place.”

Tom Hawkins takes a diving mark in his first season as a Cat in 2007.

MAJOR CHALLENGES

While it might not seem like it from the outside, Hawkins faced numerous challenges across his career.

The biggest of those he had to overcome was the death of his mother, Jennifer, in 2015.

“Losing my mum was the toughest part of my career,” Hawkins said.

“That support network at that period of time in my life was invaluable, both from a work point of view, but also a home point of view too. There have been some challenging periods that I’ve had to work through that have given me a little bit of loss of sleep.”

On a pure football level, he also found it tough to find consistency early on in his career — a struggle for most young key forwards,

One of the moments that sticks with Scott is Hawkins’ coming of age performance in the 2011 grand final against Collingwood, where he kicked 3.3 as a 23-year-old.

A first-year coach at the time, Scott faced a similar feeling to Hawkins that season.

“I remember being a little intimidated by the quality of the squad and the senior players that the Cats had, but I was also so enthused by some of the younger guys coming through. And I guess I could kind of relate to Tom a little bit when I first got here. Clearly a highly talented player but hadn’t quite sort of cracked it for sure,” Scott said.

“And the 2011 Grand Final probably about halfway through when he really took the game by the scruff of the neck was a bit of a sense for me that we had a lot to look forward to.

“There’s been so many good times after that, but that was the one that will probably be strongest in my memory long into the future.”

Another major challenge in his football career was his persistent back injury more than a decade ago, which was compounded by the changing role of key forwards in the modern game.

“While Tom was having back issues at the same time that kind of made a bit of sense that the game might get harder for him, not easier. And he just completely defied those expectations,” Scott said.

“And it’s not through luck and or circumstance, it’s that the adjustments that he made in the way he prepared himself and he’s evolved with the game.”

Tom Hawkins back in the 2011 grand final.

Hawkins now. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

SUSTAINED SUCCESS

Hawkins may not have the speed, aerobic capacity or athleticism of other spearheads at the top level.

But one of the keys to the five-time all-Australian’s has been backing in his strengths, rather than trying to re-invent the wheel.

“There’s been some adjustments made on the way but I think I’ve never lost sight of the fact that my strengths are my strengths, and they’ve been able to keep me in the game for a long period of time,” Hawkins said.

“I’m not very fast, I run last in our time trial just about every year so I focus on those things that make me a good player and that’s my ability to be able to read the game and teammates, and move my feet and win one-on-one contests.

“So I think I’ve doubled down and really understood what is makes me a good player from week to week.

“For the most part I just had didn’t get too caught up in the fact that I can’t do some things on the footy field, and narrowed into what makes me a good player.”

Arabella Hawkins shows off footskills. Picture: Alison Wynd

NEXT GENERATION

The sons of Geelong greats Cameron Mooney, David Wojcinski, Peter Riccardi and Steven King are currently part of the Cats’ father-son academy.

Could we see a third generation of Hawkins enter the bigtime?

Hawkins noted that his three children Arabella, Primrose and Henry didn’t appear too interested while sitting in on his celebratory press conference.

“They show more interest than they look at the moment. They sort of look like Mark Blicavs in a team meeting or Jeremy Cameron,” Hawkins said with a laugh.

“Look they that they have grown up around the footy club, so I think that they love the environment, they love the people. Even just being out there kicking the ball in the warm up area, everyone came up and say g’day, or mostly did for the most part. So I think they love being around whether or not they play when they’re older, that’s completely up to them.”

Originally published as AFL 2024: Geelong champion Tom Hawkins on his future, major challenges across his career and his longevity