Hawkins lives up to serious hype

THERE was a certain hype that came with the arrival of Tom Hawkins at Geelong at the end of 2006.

Even when another fatherson had come to the Cats five years earlier – a bloke by the name of Gary Ablett – there was not the same sense of anticipation as there was with the young hulk of a lad from country New South Wales.

Hawkins had dominated junior football and if not for the fact his dad, Jack, had played at Geelong, he would have been a top five pick in the draft, and, in the eyes of many judges, probably the first selection overall.

He took little time in establishing himself on the AFL world, when in his first two games, he kicked seven goals. But getting to the heights has taken time.

Former Geelong defender and close mate Tom Lonergan saw up close Hawkins’ work ethic, as well as his love of a good time.

“For Hawk it was finding that balance … A lot of people say the penny dropped in 2011 after the grand final but I actually think it was before then, and if you look back to the 2009 grand final I vividly remember him having a real impact in that game as a young man and then obviously in 2011 what he was able to do in that grand final was just incredible.”

For teammate Patrick Dangerfield (pictured with Hawkins), Hawkins stands out for two main reasons – his unselfishness and his professionalism. “He is one of the most unselfish forwards I think to ever play the game,” he said. “He has dominated big games and he got better as he has got older.”