Cats TV asked James Kelly and AFL journalist Adam McNicol if a sore Tom Hawkins is providing enough for the Cats' forward line, on Argue the Toss?

Despite what’s been said about Hawkins in the press, Kelly supports his teammate and reiterates his importance on the field.

He also goes on to explain why last Friday’s clash was such a hard task for the tall forward, who is currently suffering from a mild back issue.

“I think he’s copped a bit of bad press from the game on the weekend against North Melbourne but I think you’ve got to take into consideration that our attack was really poor given the delivery that he needs and most of the day he battled against two opponents,” Kelly explained.

“Tom would admit that he’s not 100% and I still think going into finals, where it’s a little more one-on-one, Tom is still a huge marking thread and he has still kicked a reasonable amount of goals this year given he’s been so sore.”

McNicol reassures that a player like Nathan Vardy has the potential to act like another James Podsiadly when Hawkins is being tagged.

"I think down the track once Nathan Vardy has a few games and some consistent game-time under his belt you’ll find he’ll be able to play that Podsiadly role and he’ll be able to bob up if Hawkins is being held and he can kick a bag of five or six," McNicol said.

According to McNicol the Cats veteran, Podsiadly, is a vital ingredient to the Cats forward line, which became a lot more evident when he was missing on Friday night.

“Podsy’s been the man in the last couple of years who can play that really strong role and can actually kick a lot of goals if Hawkins is being held,” McNicol said.

“I think Podsy in the general footy world probably doesn’t get the respect he deserves, because you really saw how valuable he was when he wasn't playing.”


Catch the full episode of Argue the Toss on Cats TV, just click on the video above.