2013 reviews: Hawkins, Stokes, Christensen
Cats assistant coach Dale Amos gives a run down of three Cats stars
Despite Hawkins troubled back, the 25-year-old forward only missed three games in the 2013 season. During his 22 games Hawkins averaged 9.8 disposals, 4.2 marks and 2.2 goals per game. This year Hawkins equaled his career best with six goals against Port Adelaide, along with five against the Saints and four against the Pies. For the second consecutive year Hawkins, who kicked 49 goals, was the club’s leading goal kicker, followed by Steven Motlop on 44.
Amos' review:
His back injury obviously hindered his output during the year, especially when compared with the really lofty standards he set last year when he won the 'Carji' Greeves Medal and was All Australian. We felt he played better towards the end of the year. His form at the start of the year was actually quite good as well, but his back issues became worse during the middle of the year and really hampered his performance. He remains a critical player for us. We're optimistic that he can manage the back problem through the pre-season and in the future. Hopefully we're on the right path with that.
27 Mathew Stokes
This year Stokes didn’t hold back, instead he doubled his 2012 disposal count from 310 to 633, which was the eighth highest number of touches in the AFL for 2013. He averaged an impressive 26.4 touches, 5.1 marks and 3.7 inside-50s per game.
Amos' review:
Great year from Stokesy, on the back of moving into the midfield. He got tagged by Ryan Crowley early in our final against Fremantle, which was an indication of how important he had been to us during the season. He's still dangerous as a small forward, but he had a brilliant year in the middle. One of his best performances was when he came on as the sub against North Melbourne in round two and had about 20 touches in not much time. He's got that ability to know where the ball is going and to get there.
28 Allen Christensen
The small midfielder, who played his 50th game in round 15 against Hawthorn, was sorely missed during his hamstring injury, which caused him to miss four senior games. The 22-year-old demonstrated his importance during every clash where he averaged 21.1 disposals at 70.9% efficiency per game, with 10.1 kicks and 11 handballs, including 3.6 inside 50s, 3 clearances, four tackles and 84.4 dream team points. In round 14 against Fremantle Christensen outclassed the Dockers with a career best performance of 36 disposals, seven clearances, six inside-50s and six tackles.
Amos' review:
'Bundy' had some really exciting patches, although he wasn't as consistent as he would've liked. He is developing into a very good stoppage player in the midfield and that's something we saw a lot of this season. Hopefully he'll be even fitter and stronger with another pre-season under his belt and can spend even more time in the midfield next year. He kicked 23 goals this season, so we know he's still very dangerous up forward as well. He's a really exciting prospect and is emerging as a leader.