FOOTBALL NATION OPINION
GEELONG should have trialed several young key forwards in the place of Tom Hawkins in the lead-up to finals rather than making the last-minute decision heading into a semi-final.
Last week, it used promising youngster Josh Walker, who has shown so much talent in the VFL, but failed miserably on the big stage against Fremantle. When he was needed to take a couple of big marks in the final term, both bounced off his chest despite presenting well all day.
It has cost Walker a spot in the team this week and if Hawkins doesn’t get up again with his on-going back problem, then coach Chris Scott said it may even opt to hand another senior debut in a final to Shane Kersten, who like Walker, has been dominant in the VFL.
‘He (Hawkins) was touch and go and had a bit of a fitness test before the game before he was actually confirmed in the side an hour or two before the game,” Scott recalled. ”So that’s probably a positive, he has played good footy when he’s felt average at times this year.”
”We’ve got a few options, personally, I wouldn’t have too many issues bringing in a debutant for a big game,” Scott said when asked about back-up plans for Hawkins. ”It would be bold, but I kind of like that. Shane Kersten’s been very solid in the VFL this year, he’s been unfortunate at times to miss with injury when he was on the precipice of senior selection. I’m bringing it up as an option.”
But knowing Hawkins’ back problems, the Cats have been reluctant to toy with other options until now. Kersten and Walker have been dominant in the VFL for the past two months and have only been looked at as a serious inclusion over the past fortnight.
While Geelong’s limited ruck stocks – with Dawson Simpson and Hamish McIntosh out for the rest of the season – appeared to be the only cog that it needed to get right come September, the forward line is giving it the most trouble.
Hawkins, as we know, as dominated against Hawthorn in recent finals series – and when he’s up and going – he could be a threat if it meets the Hawks next week in a prelim.
There is, however, a strong theory that Hawkins will not play again this year. And that’s a scary thought for Cats fans with no immediate replacement to jump straight in.
If it was a midfielder, say Jimmy Bartel or Joel Selwood in the same boat, there would be a younger replacement at their disposal to jump straight in given its abundance of promising midfielders. The likes of George Horlin-Smith, Jordan Schroder, Billie Smedts, et all have all been used at different parts of the season. But it hasn’t been quite as experimental with its young forwards as what it has been to its midfielders – and that may bite it in the back.
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