Geelong champion Tom Hawkins says he is optimistic on his injury as he awaits a diagnosis as Cats to challenge Patrick Dangerfield suspension

Tom Hawkins and his captain have spoken after the ageing star’s foot injury in their loss to Carlton. Plus, the Cats have made a tribunal call on Patrick Dangerfield’s one-week ban.

Geelong champion Tom Hawkins says he is feeling “optimistic” despite his concerning foot injury he sustained against Carlton.

Hawkins arrived at club in a moon boot and on crutches on Monday morning after the innocuous blow in Geelong’s disappointing loss to to the Blues.

It comes as the Cats will challenge captain Patrick Dangerfield’s one-match suspension for a dangerous tackle at the AFL tribunal.

The 35-year-old underwent scans over the weekend and was hopeful he would get answers on his diagnosis soon.

Hawkins, who has kicked 796 goals from his 359-game career, wasn’t worried by what the injury means for his future.

He said his focus would be on drawing up a plan once the severity is known.

Tom Hawkins is optimistic about his injury. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“I’ve actually been fine. I’m always pretty optimistic about life in general. Once I find out the information, I’ll sort of put together a little bit of a plan,” Hawkins said.

“I can respect that there’s interest of with age and current form, but that’s (my future) far from my mind at the moment. I’m worried about finding out the information, putting together a plan and working towards that.

“I’m pretty optimistic on what lies ahead.”

Hawkins said he sustained the injury performing the same movement he had done countless times before, with his children more concerned about his on-field frustration.

“It’s one of the things kids picked up on actually, they’re not too worried about the foot,” he chuckled.

“But look, it was just a movement that I that I do every day and training and playing.

“Just put my foot under a bit of load, I don’t know. I don’t think there was necessarily much in the actual incident other than to say I do it all the time and it’s not something that’s new. Just maybe a twist or turn or an uneven part of the surface, I’m not sure.”

Dangerfield was reluctant to speculate on Hawkins’ injury but said there was some “complexity” given the champion goalkicker had suffered an injury to the same foot ahead of the 2023 season.

“We were able to get scans over the weekend, there was a bit of complexity about it so I dare say it is a question for our medicos and really experienced people in that industry and we haven’t got those opinions yet,” Dangerfield said.

“There is a fair bit to work through, obviously Tom has had a bit of history with that foot so that adds the complication and the challenge with understanding scans where there is a fair bit happening.

“He is in good spirits, spoke to him (on Sunday). But you’ve got to be conscious as a player, the last thing you actually want when you injure yourself is every single player asking you, ‘how are ya’, how are ya, how are ya’.

“It is a fine balance there to provide the support as we do for all of our players and we just have to be patient on where it is all sitting. I am not going to speculate on what it means longer-term, what it means in the short-term. We wait for the absolute best in the field to provide the best information.”

Geelong has decided to challenge Dangerfield’s one-match ban after the ageing superstar met with football boss Andrew Mackie and lawyers this morning.

Dangerfield, 34, was tight-lipped on the incident itself but said there a more intense focus on concussions in the modern game.

Patrick Dangerfield was offered a one-match suspension for this tackle on Sam Walsh. Picture: Michael Klein

“It is probably one more for the interpretation of how lawyers see these things, I’m not going to get into a slanging match over how things are adjudicated at the moment,” Dangerfield said on Monday morning before a challenge call had been made.

“I am not going to comment on it right now simply because we haven’t gone through that conversation with our lawyers and if we are to challenge it then quite clearly it is important to have our view of things and how we want to put forward that case should it happen.

“It is a tough game to play, it is a tough game to adjudicate. Quite clearly there has been a change over the last few years of understanding where concussion is at and the importance of it and how we treat it.”

Originally published as Geelong champion Tom Hawkins says he is optimistic on his injury as he awaits a diagnosis as Cats to challenge Patrick Dangerfield suspension