By Andrew Wu
Geelong champion Tom Hawkins’ hopes of a fairytale finish to his storied career are fading, as his premiership teammate Gary Rohan suffered another concussion on Saturday.
Defender-turned-ruckman Sam De Koning and veteran midfielder Cam Guthrie both got through the Cats’ semi-final loss to Southport in the VFL, a result which means Hawkins may well have played his last game in the hoops.
Tom Hawkins celebrates a goal with teammates in Geelong’s VFL clash against Southport on Saturday.Credit: AFL Photos
De Koning appears to have the strongest case to present to coach Chris Scott, who is in the enviable position of having plenty of options heading into Geelong’s preliminary final in a fortnight’s time. Five-time All-Australian Tom Stewart is likely to return after missing Thursday night’s rout of Port Adelaide in the qualifying final due to illness and a hamstring injury.
About 1000 diehard Cats fans were at GMHBA Stadium hoping to see Hawkins turn the clock back, but had to be content with a middling performance from the club great, who kicked 1.3 from 10 disposals and two marks.
Playing his first competitive game since a serious foot injury 11 weeks ago, Hawkins appeared in need of the run but showed glimpses of his best. His only major was a trademark goal from a boundary throw-in during the first quarter, and he had shots at goal in each quarter.
The positive for Hawkins was he played out the game without injury, though his hopes of a senior call-up likely hinge on an injury to one of the Cats’ incumbent forwards.
His replacement in the senior side, Shannon Neale, more than paid his way against Port with two goals and nine marks, including a team-high three contested grabs, to go with 12 goals from his previous eight games since Hawkins injured his foot.
Rohan was subbed out of the VFL game with concussion after copping a glancing blow to the head in the first quarter against Southport. It is the second time in six weeks the speedster has been concussed.
The AFL’s 12-day concussion protocols mean he can still play in the AFL preliminary final, though his recent history with head knocks is a concern.
De Koning moved well in his second game returning from a knee injury, collecting 16 possessions and 15 hitouts playing in the ruck. He was no match at times at ball-ups against the Sharks’ man-mountain, Brayden Crossley (who was formerly on Gold Coast’s AFL list), but impressed with his work around the ground.
Geelong took the conservative path by leaving De Koning out of their qualifying final side, wary he would have gone into that game off a five-day break since his return from injury in the VFL.
Guthrie, a joint winner of the Cats’ best and fairest in their 2022 premiership year, had 19 disposals, eight tackles, four clearances and booted a goal in his first game since an injury to his Achilles in round 10.
At his best, Guthrie, 31, is an automatic inclusion in the Geelong midfield, but Scott warned last week that the veteran’s record – and that of Hawkins – would need to be considered alongside their lack of match practice.
After his side thrashed Port, Scott said the Cats considered the bigger picture of the whole finals campaign when discussing the selection of their injured stars, knowing his side had the double chance up its sleeve.
Is this the end? Tom Hawkins waves to fans after Geelong beat Hawthorn in round three in April.Credit: Getty Images
“In the end I describe it as stay optimistic, think about all the ways it can work, but always have a bias towards the longer term,” Scott said.
“It gets to the point with some of those guys where the longer term is gone, you’ve only got a couple of weeks to go, so you need to be a bit more aggressive. But we’re not there yet. That was why we made the decisions we did.”
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