Mooney column: Time to rest tired Tom Hawkins

It’s crunch time for the winless Cats, but champion forward Tom Hawkins needs a rest, writes Cameron Mooney.

Tom Hawkins needs a rest from games to build his fitness. Picture: Matt Roberts/AFL Photos/Getty Images.

IS it time for Tom Hawkins to take a rest?

I must admit, it seems ridiculous to even consider benching Hawk, but I think the time has come.

He’s not at full fitness, far from it, and as a result, his form has been well below his brilliant best.

Tom Hawkins is struggling for form and fitness. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

It’s not all Tom’s fault, though, it must be said.

The delivery into the forward line has been average and Hawkins’ game has suffered.

Having said that, I feel Hawkins would benefit from a mini break.

He needs a break — starting with the Easter Monday blockbuster against Hawthorn — and to begin a pre-season.

Many clubs try to build the fitness of players in matches, but when you are not playing well, you can’t hide them.

And that’s where Tom sits right now. He’s not 100 per cent fit.

He’s still Geelong’s No.1 key forward and it’s very hard for him to take a few weeks to get going when they need him so badly.

In reality, a four-week lead-in to the season is not enough.

I have been there and I understand what he’s going through.

So can they give him a breather and allow him to start a mini pre-season? It’s a big risk to take.

The Cats are 0-3 going into a big clash against the Hawks and you could argue that Chris Scott needs to play him.

In hindsight, Scott should have given Hawkins more time to reach full fitness.

Now he’s under pressure to perform. And so is the team.

We can’t ignore the fact that the Cats have been down on personnel.

Mitch Duncan is closing in on a return for the Cats. Picture: Brad Fleet

Mitch Duncan hasn’t played a game and the backline has been decimated.

But it seems the hunger is sorely lacking as well.

It begs the question, have they taken the foot off the pedal just a little bit after winning a flag?

When you are close to the ultimate success for so many years, and you are constantly pushing and pushing, and then you finally climb the mountain, does complacency set in?

Subconsciously, did the older players breathe a huge sigh of relief?

Are the younger players just that little bit satisfied?

Did they work as hard as they did last pre-season?

Because from the outside looking in, it certainly seems like the Cats have lost a yard.

Are they fit? Can they finish off games like they did last season?

The overwhelming evidence suggests not.

We don’t want to keep harping on the fact that Joel Selwood is no longer there, but the Cats are clearly missing him.

At times, Joel channelled Australian cricket great Allan Border and became “Captain Grumpy”.

And now it seems they are lacking someone like Selwood to deliver a couple of home truths and say ‘that training session was shithouse?’

Tanner Bruhn has been serviceable in his first season at Geelong. Picture: by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.

So much was spoken about Geelong’s quality recruiting in the off-season, bringing in Tanner Bruhn, Ollie Henry and Jack Bowes.

And they were fantastic pick-ups.

But Bruhn and Henry, in particular, won’t hit their straps until 2024-2025 onwards.

They are still kids learning the game.

Bruhn wasn’t going to come in straight away and replace Joel.

Henry wasn’t going to kick 40 goals from half forward.

So when you look at things like that, we need to temper expectations a little.

I am still bullish that the Cats will make finals.

They have a really strong run home, they will have a stack of games at Kardinia Park in the back-half of the season and their fitness will only get better after starting behind the rest of the pack.

I have no doubt they will beat Hawthorn on Monday and that will start the ball rolling.

In 2004 I was at Geelong when we slipped to 1-4 and we still made a preliminary final, so it can happen.

The Cats just need to crunch out some wins and do what they can until some of their key players return.

Then they can make a run in the second half of the season, just like they did in 2022.

I’m not ready to write them off, but they need to get moving sooner rather than later otherwise their season will be over.

Originally published as Mooney column: Time to rest tired Tom Hawkins