GEELONG has defended forward Tom Hawkins in his battle with poor form – which saw him heavily criticised by his own fans – during the win against Port Adelaide on Saturday.
Hawkins is expected to line-up against West Coast next week despite his form slump.
Cats VFL coach Matthew Knights was quick to defend Hawkins today when asked whether young forward Shane Kersten can step into his role – after he kicked another three goals in the VFL on Sunday. Kersten has kicked 15 goals in his past three matches, since returning from injury and is considered the Cats most in-form forward in the VFL.
“I’d expect Tom Hawkins to running around in Western Australia next week because he’s an outstanding forward, he makes the forward line function really well and all players have games where they’re not as good as the previous week or they’re a bit off their best but I’ve got no doubt that Tom Hawkins is going to play great footy between now and the end of the year,” Knights said.
“He’d probably still be first picked in many forward lines in the competition. If Shane gets his position, he would’ve earned his position off his own right and it’s irrelevant the Hawkins situation as far as I’m concerned.”