Geelong will nervously await scans on champion forward Tom Hawkins’ left foot as coach Chris Scott concedes they are concerned he may have suffered a serious injury.
Scott was unwilling to speculate after his side’s 63-point loss to Carlton on whether the setback may be season-ending for Hawkins, who turns 36 next month and was held goalless for the fifth time this season.
Hawkins grabbed for his left foot after an innocuous third-quarter incident where he collapsed to the ground as he attempted to lead towards teammate Tyson Stengle. He kicked his mouth guard away as he arrived at the bench afterwards, and took no further part in the game.
It is the same foot Hawkins underwent surgery on after the 2022 grand final win over Sydney, but Scott warned it would be “premature” to draw a link between the two injuries.
Tom Hawkins shakes hands with Carlton players.Credit: AFL Photos
“I can’t say the news is good news, but I’m not saying the news is bad either,” Scott said.
“He had to come off with a foot issue. It’s mid-foot. He has had a problem with his toe, [but] it’s a fair way away from that – it’s not the same injury – but the experts we have, don’t know, so I certainly don’t have anything more to add on that.
“[Our medicos] are not saying [it is season-ending], and I certainly don’t want to say anything that alleviates the concern because we’re concerned, but I don’t want to jump to conclusions either.”
Hawkins has kicked only six goals in his past nine matches, on top of being rested from the Cats’ 75-point demolition of North Melbourne in round five.
“Early in the year, he was looking good,” Scott said.
“He played well up in Sydney [last week], certainly in patches. But, yeah, maybe he’s a bit reflective of where we’re at, at the moment. The good’s been pretty good, and we’ve taken him out of some games.
“We won a game earlier in the year sort of comprehensively [against the Kangaroos], and you sort of look back and we took him out for that game, and you wonder if he had played that game, and played well, [he might have] carried the confidence forward.
“He’s been struggling a bit, but he’s not on his own.”