Tom Hawkins’ alongside greats after booting 700
Tom Hawkins is pinching himself after joining his idols in a select group of players to kick 700 goals. Here’s what he said of the milestone.
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A young Cats fan who ran around Finley pretending to be Gary Ablett Sr, sitting alongside the greatest goalkickers in Geelong’s history is a “pretty cool” honour for Tom Hawkins.
Given his father Jack played 182 games for the Cats, Hawkins was always destined to barrack for the side, even as he grew up in country New South Wales.
Like many Geelong fans of that time, he wore Ablett Sr’s No. 5 on his back, imitating the great goalkicker.
Now Hawkins sits alongside Ablett and full-forward legend Doug Wade as the only players to boot 700 goals for the club.
Hawkins enjoyed a moment with Jack and his brother Charlie in Perth after beating West Coast on Saturday, mulling over the milestone that was brought up with a casual right-foot snap.
“Certainly Gary Ablett Sr was my childhood idol, I am 34 next month and I have been at the footy club for 16 years, which is just about half (of my life),” Hawkins said.
“I came to the footy club as a boy and I have grown as a man in the last 16 years and it has been a wonderful journey so there is the element of actually playing but there is also the 18 years before that in my life.
“Gary Ablett Sr was my favourite player growing up and I obviously knew about Doug Wade through family and older generations that have told me about them. It has been pretty cool to sit alongside those guys and obviously the footy club has a rich history with success so it is nice to be alongside them.
“I have a few more to go to catch up to them but it is cool.”
Hawkins is still well behind Ablett (1021 goals for Geelong) and Wade (834) but has mostly likely soared past them in terms of handing out goals.
The goal assist statistic wasn’t kept during Ablett and Wade’s careers but Ablett was famously willing to pepper the goals and Wade played a traditional full-forward role out of the goalsquare.
Hawkins by contrast has registered 260 goal assists in 315 games and will soon move into second on the leaderboard since the stat has been taken when he goes past Gary Ablett Jr (261).
Only Eddie Betts (318) will then be above the big Cat.
Just like on the field, Hawkins was happy to dish out the compliments after he passed the 700 goal barrier against West Coast on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of people that have helped me personally get the football and be able to kick them (the goals),” he said.
“There has been a lot of help along the way.”
MOST GOALS FOR GEELONG
Gary Ablett Sr – 1021
Doug Wade – 834
Tom Hawkins – 701
MOST GOAL ASSISTS ON RECORD
Eddie Betts – 318
Gary Ablett Jr – 261
Tom Hawkins – 260
TOP FIVE: TOM HAWKINS’ BEST EVER GOALS
Barring a calamitous injury, Geelong full-forward metronome Tom Hawkins will join the two greatest goalkickers in his club’s history when he crosses the 700-goal barrier.
Highly touted from the start, the father-son recruit kicked his first goal in round 2, 2007 – a trademark long-rage set shot that swung from left to right to soar through the goals.
It was a sign of things to come and after taking control of the 2011 grand final, he became arguably the most reliable goalkicker of the last decade.
His 698 still stands well in arrears to goalkicking legends Doug Wade (834 Geelong goals) and Gary Ablett Sr (1021).
He may not have the sheer highlight tape of peers like Lance Franklin or Jeremy Cameron but Hawkins has delivered time and time again with memorable goals.
Here are the top five of the 698 he has booted so far:
1. Round 19, 2012 v Hawthorn
Even after Hawkins won premierships in 2009 and 2011, this goal remains his No.1 highlight.
The set shot from outside 50 after the siren to sink the Hawks and continue the Kennett Curse may not have the highest degree of difficulty, but the pressure was immense.
In front of 65,287 fans, Hawkins flushed his sixth goal of the night to win the game in an instant classic against an arch rival.
Only minutes before, he had put home a remarkable right foot snap to keep the Cats within striking distance.
2. 2009 grand final v St Kilda
It wasn’t a day for key forwards in the 2009 classic decider, as rain spoiled the day but not the contest.
Hawkins only had eight disposals and infamously was paid a goal when he clearly hit the post in the second quarter.
But he delivered when it mattered, icing a long-range set shot at the two minute mark of the final term to bring Geelong within a point of St Kilda.
It was one of only three goals in the final quarter, all of which were kicked by the Cats.
3. Round 2, 2016 v GWS Giants
An old school forward in some ways, so many of Hawkins’ goals come from the set shot.
His soccer goal from beyond the 50m arc against GWS Giants however, was just freakish.
Likely hoping to move the ball forward with ruck Zac Smith in an attacking position, Hawkins thumped the ball off the deck from about 55m out in Canberra, only for it to travel almost 40m in the air before rolling through the goals.
4. Round 11, 2014 v Sydney
There wasn’t much worth remembering for Cats fans about their trip to Sydney in mid-2014, as Hawkins kicked three of his team’s five goals in a 110-point drubbing.
The big man showed off all of his dexterity in the final term though, collecting the ball on the boundary and shrugging off Swan Ted Richards, baulking around Jeremy Laidler and just snapping over Nick Malceski’s hands to kick a pearler.
5. Round 4, 2015 v North Melbourne
Far from the spectacular, this set shot from about 50m out was all heart.
Playing days after his mother Jennifer passed away, Hawkins made a heart-shaped tribute with his hands after putting the goal through and was swamped by teammates.
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