Tom Hawkins
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Jack Hawkins
Nickname(s)	The Tomahawk[1]
Date of birth	27 July 1988 (1988-07-27) (age 21)
Place of birth	Finley, New South Wales[2]
Recruited from	Sandringham Dragons
Draft	41st overall (F/S selection), 2006 Geelong
Height/Weight	197 cm / 100 kg
Position(s)	Full-forward
Club information
Current club	Geelong
Number	26
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2007–	Geelong	43 (59)
1 Playing statistics to end of 2009 AFL Grand Final season .

Thomas "Tom" Jack Hawkins (born 27 July 1988 in Finley, New South Wales),^[3] is an Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).^[2] The eldest son of former Geelong champion 'Jumpin' Jack Hawkins, Hawkins was drafted by Geelong under the father-son draft rule and wears the number 26 jumper made famous by his father.^[2]

Acknowledged as having endured one of the most hyped and publicised entrances into the AFL in recent times, Hawkins has established a reputation as one of the brightest young key forward prospects in the game, where his man-boy physique and unusual combination of size, strength, and footballing ability have impressed many.^[4][5] Former Carlton coach Dennis Pagan was famously moved to compare him to legendary Swans full-forward Tony Lockett after his debut game.^[6]

[edit] Early life

Born in Finley, New South Wales to Jack and Jenny Hawkins, Tom grew up in the New South Wales region of Finley as the middle child among three other siblings. He attended Finley High School and played for the Finley Football Club before making the move south of the border to begin boarding at Melbourne Grammar.^[3] Hawkins' footballing ability was recognised early on when he was selected to play 1^st XVIII football for the school whilst still in Year 10, when many of his teammates were completing their final year of schooling at Year 12.^[3] Hawkins kicked 4 goals on debut for the school, and his performances up forward soon garnerned outside attention from AFL recruiting teams. By the time Tom had reached his final school year, he was rewarded with joint captaincy of the football team alongside Hawthorn draftee Xavier Ellis. He was also selected in the Associated Public Schools (APS) team to play the Associated Grammar School (AGS) selected football team in the traditional annual clash of schools, where he won best on ground honours for his performance.^[7]

Having gained permission to join local U/18 club the Sandringham Dragons for numerous games during the season, Hawkins impressed in his limited appearances within the elite TAC Cup competition, highlighted by a 22 disposal, 9 mark, and 5 goal effort in just his third game.^[3] In 2006, he was awarded an AIS/AFL Academy Scholarship as part of the 9th intake.^[8] The scholarship, awarded to outstanding young athletes entering the last year of their junior football development, saw Hawkins participate in several training camps, capped off with representation for Australia in the U/18 International Rules Series, before completing his summer training with the Geelong Football Club.

In the mid-year of 2006, Hawkins was selected to play in the 2006 Under 18's National Championships, lining up at full forward for Vic Metro. A best on ground performance which yielded 12 marks and 6 goals in the opening match against South Australia began a wave of unprecedented hype and attention, with Hawkins drawing comparisons to Brisbane Lion Jonathan Brown and leading Vic Metro coach David Dickson to declare the young forward as "the best footballer I've seen...since Chris Judd".^[9] Hawkins was awarded the Larke Medal as the MVP within Division 1 and named as the tournament's All-Australian full-forward, just falling short of the all-time contested marking record held by Justin Koschitzke.^[10][11]

[edit] AFL career

[edit] 2007: Debut

By the end of 2006, Hawkins had signed a contract with Geelong and was named on the Cats' list in the first list lodgement of the 2007 AFL Season.^[12] Hawkins was officially selected by Geelong in the 2006 AFL Draft under the father-son rule. Whilst many pundits lauded him as the best key position prospect within the draft, and felt Hawkins' junior performances warranted possible selection with the top overall pick, the father-son ruling only demanded a middle-tier 3rd Round pick surrendering by the Cats.^[7] The subsequent controversy over what was widely acknowledged as a bargain gain for the Cats led to the AFL amending the father-son ruling for future use.^[13]

With a reputation as one of the finest young tall forwards in the land, Hawkins was immediately billed as the successor to the legendary Gary Ablett, whose retirement 10 years earlier had left a gaping hole in the Cats' forward line.^[7][14] A stress reaction injury to his right leg, however, halted Hawkins' pre-season, forcing his much-awaited debut in Geelong colours to take place in the VFL side.^[15][16]

Hawkins made his highly anticipated debut for the Geelong seniors in Round 2 of the 2007 season against Carlton.^[17] Opposed to Carlton Captain Lance Whitnall, Hawkins impressed with 3 goals and several strong marks in the Cats' 78 point victory, prompting Carlton coach Denis Pagan to label him the next Tony Lockett.^[6] Other revered media figures, such as Gerard Healy and David Parkin, were moved enough to describe the debut as the best first-up performance in recent memory.^[18] Uncommonly for AFL debutants, he followed up with an even more impressive performance in his second game, kicking 4 first half goals to help set up a victory against Melbourne at the MCG, earning the AFL Rising Star nomination for Round 3 in the process.^[19]

Question marks, however, were raised over his fitness and ability to run out entire games, and after 9 games in his debut season, which saw him boot 12 goals, Hawkins saw out the rest of the year with the clubs' VFL side.^[6] There, Hawkins helped the Cats' reach the VFL Grand Final for the second successive year, booting 3 goals as the Cats defeated the Coburg Tigers to claim their first VFL Premiership since 2002.^[6]

Hawkins kicks for goal.

[edit] 2009: Premiership success

Hawkins participated in the 2009 AFL Grand Final alongside other father/son selections Gary Ablett, Matthew Scarlett and Mark Blake. Hawkins scored 2 goals in the game to help Geelong defeat St Kilda by 12 points and capture the 2009 AFL premiership.

[edit] Statistics

Statistics are correct as of 9 May, 2009 (Round 7)^[20]

[edit] Honours and achievements

Team

• AFL Premiership (Geelong): 2009
• AFL McClelland Trophy (Geelong): 2007, 2008
• AFL NAB Cup (Geelong): 2009
• VFL Premiership (Geelong): 2007

Individual

• AFL Army Award winner: 2009
• AFL Rising Star Award nominee: 2007

[edit] Personal life

[edit] Family links

Along with his father, Hawkins' uncles, Michael Hawkins and Robb Hawkins, both played senior football for Geelong. Similarly, a grandfather on his mother Jenny's side, Fred Le Deux, played 18 games with the Cats from 1956-58.^[21]

[edit] Nickname

Hawkins' famous nickname 'Tomahawk', is a play on his first name and surname, with references to a tomahawk axe, and has proven a popular calling card within the league.^[22][1] Its origins were, for a period of time, much disputed, with journalists' Mike Sheahan and Mark Robinson both claiming authorship.^[1] References have also been recorded by several club recruiters, one of which claimed "You will have to play with an axe on him (to stop him)".^[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Tom Hawkins (footballer) profile on the Official AFL Website of the Geelong Football Club
• Tom Hawkins (footballer)'s statistics from AFL Tables