Geelong coach in massive revelation about Tom Hawkins return ahead of AFL preliminary final
Chris Scott says Hawkins will have to push for his recall in the VFL.
Geelong coach Chris Scott says veterans Tom Hawkins, Cam Guthrie and Sam De Koning won't come straight back into the AFL side before they prove they deserve a spot in the VFL. Hawkins (foot), Guthrie (Achilles) and De Koning will feature in Geelong's VFL semi-final on Saturday, where they will have to earn a spot in the Cats' MCG preliminary final in a fortnight.
The Cats' attacking guns Tyson Stengle and Jeremy Cameron were on fire as they torched Port Adelaide 20.18 (138) to 7.12 (54) at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night. The Cats dished out the second-biggest finals defeat to Port, behind only the club's 119-point grand final loss to Geelong in 2007, securing the club's 13th prelim in 18 years.
But while Tom Stewart is almost certain to return to the side after being a late scratching from their 84-point hammering of Port Adelaide, the veteran trio of Hawkins, Guthrie and De Koning are not guaranteed a spot back in the AFL side. De Koning was in contention for a spot against Port, but Scott said they decided to err on the side of caution.
"We made the conservative call with De Koning as well, he will get a game on Saturday and then we can be more sure that he's really ready to come in and play near his best," Scott said. While Geelong's games record-holder Hawkins has been sidelined by his foot injury for more than two months and is no guarantee of coming back into the team.
The 36-year-old announced last month that he will retire at season's end but will have to prove he deserves a return to the side in the VFL. "Our plan all along was for them to play (VFL) this week so we'll push on with that," Scott said of the veteran trio. "Keep all the options on the table and make good decisions in the moment, resist the temptation to forecast too much." But with the way key forward Shannon Neale dominated the Port defence and the impact Geelong's midfield had as a whole against what is a notoriously strong Port midfield, both Guthrie and Hawkins may struggle to get a look in.
Ken Hinkley won't dwell on horror show against the Cats
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says he and his playing group have no other choice but to move on from the club's second-biggest AFL finals loss. The 84-point qualifying final defeat to Geelong has Port on the brink of bowing out of the finals with consecutive losses for the second year in a row.
If that happens, questions about Hinkley's 272-game tenure - the longest in VFL/AFL history without reaching a grand final - will again hit fever pitch despite him being contracted until the end of next season. But Hinkley says he isn't worried about that right now. "The next 24 hours, we have to live with that performance," Hinkley said.
"We have to live with the facts ... our last three or four finals haven't been at the level we need them to be. It's about our coaching group, it's about our playing group and it's about our footy club.
"I know, and I get, that it falls back to the head coach in some ways. But the reality is, we've always said, this is all of us doing this, this is all of us trying to achieve something together. It's not one individual but there's a figurehead and, for me, I sit in that spot. I work really hard to give the best results we can possibly get. And my team of coaches and my team of people in the footy department do everything they can not to have that result."
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The loss was also compounded by dual All-Australian and vice-captain Zak Butters being taken off because of a rib injury. Butters, the back-to-back winner of the AFL's Most Courageous Player award, failed to return on Thursday night and is in doubt for the home semi-final final against the winner of the Western Bulldogs versus Hawthorn elimination final.
"He's rated the toughest player in the AFL by his peers and he couldn't go out there again and play ... he must be reasonably sore," Hinkley said. Butters will have scans on Friday as the Power try to regroup ahead of next week.
with AAP
