- Geelong great will not play on in 2025
- Holds club record, won three flags
Tom Hawkins still harbours ambitions to play again this season but the Geelong champion has confirmed he will retire at the end of the 2024 campaign.
The Geelong games record holder told teammates on Tuesday that he would call time on his decorated 18-year career which has included three premierships and a monster streak of 11 consecutive club leading goalkicker honours.
Hawkins, 36, will continue to mount his comeback bid from the foot injury he suffered in round 15 against Carlton, with the Cats hopeful he can return to full training within a fortnight and push his case for finals selection.
Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie, who was Hawkins’ teammate for more than a decade, said the star forward was a ‘generational player’.
‘Tom has been an incredible presence both on and off the field at Geelong for the past 18 years, with his ability to play consistently at an elite level, along with humility and care for his teammates, trademarks of his career,’ Mackie said.
‘He is a generational player who will rightly be celebrated for his achievements on field, as well as the role he has played shaping our club into what it is today.
‘We thank Tom, his wife Emma, and their children Arabella, Primrose and Henry for all they’ve given our club.’
Hawkins earlier this season overtook close friend and former teammate Joel Selwood to break Geelong’s all time games record, which now stands at 359.
Hawkins won three flags in his glittering career with the Cats – including their 2022 triumph over the Swans (pictured)
The 36-year-old has been a mainstay of the Geelong side since 2007 and holds the record for games played with the club (pictured being chaired off the ground in his 350th game)
His 796 goals are the third-most of any Cat behind Gary Ablett sr and Doug Wade.
The announcement came just minutes after Richmond champion Dustin Martin announced he has played his last game of footy.
Hawkins played in Geelong’s 2009 flag in his third season, booting a controversial goal which appeared to shave the post but was crucial to the Cats’ win over St Kilda.
Back injuries and a perceived lack of mobility made him a maligned player in his early years but he emerged as a powerful key forward in the 2011 finals series and wrenched the grand final away from Collingwood with a superb three-goal performance to seal his second flag.
After that breakout finals series, Hawkins booted at least 46 Goals in each of the next 12 seasons and earnt five All-Australian blazers, including the honour of the All-Australian captaincy in 2022.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk