Promise of a pie and ‘special sauce’ sees former Geelong great return to play at his grassroots club
Former Geelong great Tom Hawkins has returned to play at Finley for the first time since he was 16, with the hopes of inspiring other young players — and scoring a meat pie with special sauce.
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Former Geelong great Tom Hawkins has stepped back in time, returning to his childhood footy club of Finley for the promise of a pie slathered in hearty tomato sauce.
A nervous Hawkins, 36, pulled on his blue and white number 26 jumper and took to the field for the Finley Cats against the club’s fearsome rivals, the Deniliquin Rams in Finley on Friday night.
It was the first time since he was 16 that he had played for the club and his four goals helped the Cats to a 64 to 49 victory over the determined Rams.
Getting on board with Hawkins’ return to the grassroots game was MasterFoods which had plenty of tomato sauce on hand for the pies and sausage rolls consumed by the enthusiastic crowd – and the hungry big cat post match.
Hawkins’ water bottle brought out to him by a runner in the first quarter was even a MasterFoods sauce bottle.
“Back when I started you would get a pie and sauce and a can of coke for playing footy. Now that is my agreement for playing (on Friday),” he quipped.
“(I said) as long as I get a pie and sauce and a can of coke and maybe a Great Northern (beer) after the game I will come back and play.”
Hawkins said he hoped returning to his original club might inspire young players to follow their dreams, just as a similar experience had inspired him.
“When I last played for Finley as a 16-year-old, Marcus Baldwin was an ex AFL player coming back to Finley and we played in the same team together,” he said.
“That was a great opportunity for me to be able to play with someone who had been at AFL level.
“Finley have certainly supported me along my journey and it is great to come back and maybe there will be a 16-year-old playing for Finley or Deni who will remember it just like I did. It is amazing the impact you can have without even knowing it.”
Having called time on his 359 game AFL career at the end of last season he said he was enjoying life as a viewer rather than player.
“I miss the whole Geelong Football Club and AFL experience, but playing, I honestly have not thought too much about it,” he said.
“I am loving watching and consuming football. I feel like I am watching the game closer than ever.”
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Originally published as Promise of a pie and ‘special sauce’ sees former Geelong great return to play at his grassroots club
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