Geelong great Tom Hawkins won’t get to play in front of home fans at GMHBA Stadium again, with the retiring forward ruled out for the last two weeks of the home and away season.
Hawkins continues to work through a foot injury that has sidelined him since Round 15. The Cats confirmed today that he won’t recover in time for next week’s match against West Coast.
The 36-year-old was back running earlier this week, but coach Chris Scott was still unsure when he would be fit enough to return.
“With what you saw with him running outside, he is taking steps forward there,” Scott said.
“But I’ve seen it everyday, virtually from the moment he got injured he’s been in at the club working away.
“The unfortunate answer is we don’t know how it’s going to play out, but we’re optimistic.
“Optimistic doesn’t mean we’re sure it’s going to happen.
“There’s enough uncertainty there that I shouldn’t even speculate.”
A win over St Kilda on Saturday night will all but lock in a top-four spot for Geelong, with the Cats currently two premiership points clear in fourth position on the ladder.
The top four finish would guarantee at least two weeks of finals action, but Scott was still hesitant to confirm Hawkins would feature in September.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said.
“I wouldn’t blame (the media) for trying to work through the hypothetical’s of the situation, our coach group needs to work through them as well.
“We’re not at the stage where we’re vocalising those things at the moment.
“I tend to think the decision will be a bit more black and white – not completely black and white, but I think it’ll be simple.
“Either (Hawkins) will be ready to perform well, or not.”
Geelong has made two changes for the important match against the Saints, the Cats’ first trip to Marvel Stadium this season.
Mitch Knevitt and Gary Rohan replace Tanner Bruhn, who’s missing with a concussion, while Zach Touhy has been managed.
K rock Football is live from 6pm via FM 95.5 across Geelong and the Surf Coast or krockfootball.live
X: @krockfootball
