Dermott Brereton on how Geelong star Tom Hawkins’ ‘team first’ act can inspire Geelong

Geelong has flown out of the gates in 2019, its team-first mantra producing two wins from as many starts. But Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton says one selfless act from spearhead Tom Hawkins will have a profound affect.

Geelong rookie Jordan Clark will never forget the selfless act from teammate Tom Hawkins that led to his first career goal. Picture: Michael Klein

In the 2008 Grand Final, Geelong ruckman Brad Ottens ran into an open goal at the Punt Road end of the MCG.

He was 25m from goal, on a 45-degree angle, but had an unmanned teammate in a more central position.

Ottens was a beautiful and brilliant kick so he chose to ignore his teammate and took the shot — one that he would have kicked 99 times out of a hundred.

But he missed.

RISING STAR: CONSTABLE WORTH THE WAIT

TOO GOOD: PRESSURE-PACKED CATS BEAT DEES

Should Brad Ottens have given the ball off in this crucial moment of the 2008 Grand Final?

So many other things didn’t go quite right for the Cats that day. Ottens was not the Lone Ranger in making an error.

But that action, at that moment, signified a change.

I spoke to one of Geelong’s senior coaches after the game who didn’t think the Ottens miss was too drastic, but he was bewildered why the Cats ingrained mantra of “team first” was forgotten.

Especially on the one day of the year it should have been second nature.

Last week I saw something completely different.

Geelong rookie Jordan Clark will never forget the selfless act from teammate Tom Hawkins that led to his first career goal. Picture: Michael Klein

Tom Hawkins stopped while running into a certain open goal and handed the ball back to first-year player Jordan Clark. It was one of the best acts I have seen in football for a long time and was the epitome of “team first”.

Clark was playing his second game of AFL and had not kicked a goal.

Hawkins had played more than 230 games and kicked more than 500 goals.

But it was a moment Clark will never forget — his first goal in AFL. The goal brought so much pleasure to Clark, Hawkins and their 16 teammates.

The camaraderie that grows from a team-first an act like that cannot be manufactured.

CROW TROUBLE

Geelong faces a talented Adelaide Crows team on the back of their inspiring win against the Sydney Swans last week.

But the Crows are not without their issues.

They scored 55 points in their loss to Hawthorn in Round 1 and only 88 points in their win against a defensive Sydney team.

The Crows forward line is a concern. They have been one of the most devastating forward groups in recent years, but only when it is on their terms.

With Mitch McGovern gone, they seem to be imbalanced.

On pure footballing talent McGovern was ranked the fourth or fifth most potent in the Crows forward line.

But if the Crows midfield and running backline does not deliver the ball inside forward 50 as they like, the forwards do not have it on their terms.

Is Adelaide missing Crow-turned-Blue Mitch McGovern? Picture: AAP

They no longer have a natural overhead contested mark. Even last year they ranked in the bottom two teams for contested marks inside forward 50.

They have taken only three contested marks inside forward 50 in the past two games and rank equal last in the competition.

One of those contested marks was Eddie Betts on a lead. Another was Josh Jenkins outreaching a smaller opponent. The third was Sam Jacobs drifting forward and taking a pack mark.

Tom Lynch is a tireless but brilliant worker who hits up and leads up to the backline as a “connection” player.

Taylor Walker is a short lead-up player who only likes to mark above his head while using his body and keeping two feet firmly on the ground.

He has a habit of competing for the ball in an overhead marking contest with one hand raised.

Josh Jenkins is a tall forward who doesn’t use his size well enough.

He is an exceptional runner and can beat his opponents with fitness and guile. But he too often looks to “exit stage left” as a go-to player and run into an open goal.

Finally, we have Betts, who is essentially a goalsquare full-forward who has a variety of methods to win the ball and kick goals.

Eddie Betts is still a livewire, but is he showing the first signs of age? Picture: Getty Images

But as much as it pains me to write it, Betts is showing signs of age and rust.

Because he is so effervescent, it is easy to forget that he is 32 years old.

Logic would suggest that his physical powers have peaked and he might be headed down the other side.

On two the evidence of two games, which isn’t a lot, he seems to have lost a bit of zip.

What is noticeable is that he doesn’t have the same explosiveness in his jump.

Where he would normally jump on someone’s back and stay aloft for the microsecond it takes to mark the ball, he is now falling back down as the ball reaches his hands.

This could be a body that is a little sore, or that his timing might be out (I hope so).

But on all evidence and at 32, it appears that he is a smidgen past his best.