Tomahawk eager for an ‘epic’ Easter clash
TOM Hawkins knows playing Hawthorn sits “above any other” opposition as he prepares to launch into another Easter Monday epic.
The Geelong power forward said the clash is always highly anticipated by the topof-the-table Cats, with the Hawks jostling for a top-eight position.
“It’s a bit of a long wait,” Hawkins said on the SuperFooty Podcast.
“It’s always a bit of a weird weekend being Easter and people in Geelong tend to get out of town, so it becomes quite quiet when we’re working away. it’s a great game to play in. I’ll be honest — I reckon they’re clearly above any other, I feel.
“There’s a lot that got talked about with the Kennett curse and the pact that was made inside the football club. I don’t remember that, but what I do know is we’ve played in some unbelievable games. A few in particular have been as close to finals-like games that I can relate to in-season, because finals are a different beast.”
Hawkins, 30, discussed family, farming and football in the wide-ranging chat ahead of the clash.
The Addy yesterday revealed the ‘ Wolfpack’ in the Cats’ forwardline, with Hawkins the only mainstay from the attacking setup in Round 23 of last season. He highlighted Tom Atkins as a standout who has slotted in, but called for time before judgment on the overhauled line-up.
“The forward line has significantly changed personnelwise and also just the way we play is a lot different,” he said.
“That’s come on the back of injecting a bit of excitement in the players we’ve picked and for me the reason that we’ve been able to be pretty consistent albeit over such a short period of time — we’ve only been together for six weeks, so to be really classed as a really good forward line you need to be able to produce that for a year, for two years, for three years.
“We’ve had continuity in that small period of time — we’ve had the same forward line for the first four weeks … that has been very rare over the last five years.
“That consistency of getting to play with each other has certainly helped, but the credit needs to go to the players that have come in and been able to perform and play their role.”
WE’VE HAD THE SAME FORWARD LINE FOR THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS … THAT HAS BEEN VERY RARE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.” CATS SPEARHEAD TOM HAWKINS