Ahem, Hawkins dismisses concerns about his sniffles

ALL the speculation about Tom Hawkins’s health has left the Geelong forward bemused, but he has declared he is ready to go for the grand final.

The most talked about illness in the football world was put to bed on Wednesday night when Hawkins (left) trained with his teammates.

He said he never had any fears he had contracted coronavirus.

Hawkins said the sniffle was not unusual and he went through a similar thing in the lead up to the game’s restart.

“It was probably taken a little bit out of context, but that is the kind of year and situation we are in,” he said.

“If anybody feels a little bit under the weather we take precautionary measures and isolate away from the group.

“I’ve been through this before, it is nothing that is new, so it hasn’t affected me.”

Although he did train in the Cats main session on Wednesday, Hawkins spent some time looking on.

He said it was a precaution to not push his health and he would ramp up his preparation as the week closed.

To cop a cold in the week of the grand final did leave Hawkins mystified.

“We have been away for 100 or so days and I have felt fine, it’s just funny how it works,” he said. “I had a bit of a sniffle actually before the season restart and I was thinking, ‘how is this for timing’.

“I knew that what I had was under control and I would be fine. I’m not trying to bluff you here at all, I’m feeling 100 per cent and good to go.”

H said he felt the build up to Saturday night had mirrored preparations for matches inside the Geelong hub.

“I got to enjoy it with some supporters who live up here in Queensland last night and it’s totally different (from a normal grand final) but I have enjoyed it,” Hawkins said.

“It’s been a really enjoyable week, knowing that our time within the season is coming to an end and we get that little bit of freedom at the other end.”

Richmond has said it will travel to Brisbane on Friday to prepare for the game but Hawkins said his team would take a bus from the Gold Coast on game day as it had throughout this season.