Tom Hawkins joins an illustrious group on Friday night when he plays game 300 for the Cats.

The spearhead will become just the sixth player to do so in the 162 years of the Geelong Football Club joining John “Sam” Newman, Ian Nankervis, Corey Enright, Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood in reaching the feat.

Anyone who knows Tom Hawkins understands the importance of family to him. And it is no small coincidence that his family has a connection to the Cats as strong as any.

It was Hawkins’ grandfather Fred Le Deux who started the connection between the family and the Geelong Football Club in 1956. Originally from Nagambie, Le Deux’s trade as a teacher brought him to Ocean Grove where the Cats quickly signed the 21-year-old ruckman/defender. He would play 18 games for the Cats across the next three seasons before a back injury would curtail his VFL career.

15 years after Le Deux’s retirement from VFL football, the Cats would welcome another tall athletic youngster to its ranks when they signed Jack Hawkins from Finley via Geelong Grammar. A high school state high jump champion, Jack would quickly garner the nickname “Jumping Jack” for his aerial exploits. One of Hawkins’ brothers, Michael, would also debut with him in 1973 however it would be his one and only season. For Jack however, his career took off for the Cats and he would go on to play 182 games in the blue and white.

Out one night in Geelong, Jack would meet Jen Le Deux, Fred’s daughter, and the pair quickly hit it off became best friends and then married. With Hawkins’ impressive career coming to an end in 1981, Jack and Jen moved back to Finley and Jack’s family’s 3500-acre farm in Finley.    

The Hawkins name would briefly return in 1984 when another of Jack’s brothers, Robb, would make his debut aged 27 for the Cats after a successful career with South Adelaide. Unfortunately for the high-leaping ruckman, he would only manage three games before his career ended due to injury.

Apart from the occasional eight-hour drive back from Finley to Geelong to visit friends, family or attend past player functions, Jack and Jen were building their life in New South Wales which now included four children of their own: Jane, Tom, Edwina and Charlie.

In 2003 however, the Hawkins name would come back onto the radar of the Cats when eldest son Tom registered 50 disposals in an hour-long game of school football for Melbourne Grammar.

By 16, Hawkins already looked like a man standing at over 190cm tall and tipping the scales around 90kg. His performances for Melbourne Grammar and the Sandringham Dragons were exceptional and at the same time humorous as he bullied opponents his own age but half his size.

When his name was called out by Geelong as a father-son selection with pick 41 in the 2006 national draft, Hawkins became the third generation to pull on the Hoops.

Unbeknownst to Hawkins he would also be gaining a brother with his move to Geelong, albeit one based in football rather than blood. Prior to Hawkins being called out for the Cats, they selected the rugged kid from Bendigo named Joel Selwood at pick seven and the two have gone on to form a loyal bond both on and off the field.

On-field, in particular, has been a joy for Cats fans as the two have formed a partnership to rival that of Lillee and Marsh, with Selwood’s ability to find Hawkins on the lead from a centre square breakaway a mixture of art and illusion.

But Hawkins career, in its own right, is a story of growth, pain and raw power.

Initially, Hawkins failed to live up to the unrealistic expectations placed on him externally. The Cats knew their farm boy needed to grow into a man and that was going to take time. In 2009, the Cats gave Hawkins the opportunity to support Cam Mooney in the forward line and he earned the trust of the coaches to play his role in the 2009 Grand Final where his two goals proved critical. 2010 was hampered by a foot injury in the middle of the year that saw him miss seven games and struggle in his return.

Looking back, it is now easy to see the 2011 was the turning point in Hawkins’ career but by round 11 of that season he had been dropped after an impact less start to the year. The Cats forward line that year revolved around James Podsiadly with Cameron Mooney missing most of the season with injury. But by round 21 the Cats looked to be erring on the side of Mooney supporting Podsiadly for the upcoming finals series. But a one-match suspension for Mooney in that game meant a recall for Hawkins and an opportunity for him to claim the other key forward spot.

Grand Final day of 2011 was what everyone in the football world was waiting for. His 19 disposals, nine marks and three goals were enough for a third placing in the Norm Smith medal, but stats only tell part of how immense he was that day and how powerless Collingwood were to stop him.

The next season was an awakened Hawkins as he claimed the Carji Greeves Medal, his first All Australian and second place in the Coleman Medal. The year was punctuated by his match winning goal after the siren against Hawthorn in round 19, the sixth he booted that night.

2013 to 2015 would be bookended by pain for Hawkins. His 2013 season was cruelled by a back injury that although didn’t stop him from suiting up most weeks, had a devastating effect on his agility and power. After regaining health in form in 2014, Hawkins would face a pain greater than any back injury the next year when he lost his mum, Jen, to cancer early in the season.

Hawkins has openly spoke of the difficulty losing his main support was for him at the time, he referred to his mum as the person who just got him. He spoke of not wanting to get out of bed to train and play, normally his happiest place with his mates.

The healing for Hawkins started off the field where he started a family of his own, marrying his long-time sweetheart Emma followed shortly after by the birth of the first daughter Arabella in 2017.

From 2018 onwards, Hawkins career has returned to the immense player who opposition teams spend hours preparing to combat. The birth of his second daughter, Primrose, in 2019 coincided with Hawkins also gaining his second All Australian guernsey.

With the world up ended by Covid in 2020, Hawkins seemed to thrive on the challenging conditions, calling on his second family at the football club whilst away from his wife and girls at home for much of the season. Despite not achieving the ultimate team success, for Hawkins personally it was a pinnacle moment as he earned his first Coleman Medal, an important note on any key forward’s resume. But for Hawkins it was never an award he seemed to care to win, always valuing a goal assist to a teammate over a goal of his own.

This year has talked to the evolution of Hawkins. Whilst still producing his requisite 50+ goals for the season he has also already registered career highs for hit outs and clearances and will break his career high for disposals in a season over the Cats next two games. This evolution has occurred because of Hawkins team first mindset that says how can I make a teammate better, always looking to create an opportunity for them.

It’s family first for Hawkins, on and off the field.