Is Tom Hawkins at the top of his game right now?
Despite recently turning 32 and midway through his 14th AFL season, the key forward is playing some top quality football for Geelong.
Hawkins has kicked 19 goals while leading the league for goal assists with 14 after he kicked three and provided an assist in Wednesday night’s 33-point win over North Melbourne.
His performance attracted applause from SEN Breakfast’s Tim Watson who suggests the veteran has “never looked sharper”.
He said: “We have spoke about this before but the form of Hawkins…
“He’s always been a really, really good player but he’s never looked sharper and more in tune with what’s going on out there than he does now.
“That’s extraordinary that somebody could elevate their performance above what they’ve already been able to achieve, and he’s achieved a lot throughout the course of his career.
“He’s just such an intelligent player.”
Garry Lyon also mentioned Cats coach Chris Scott’s plan which saw Patrick Dangerfield spend almost the entire night playing near Hawkins inside forward 50.
It is a massive luxury for the Cats whose midfield has seen the likes of Sam Menegola and Cam Guthrie take the next step with Mitch Duncan back to his best after a few weeks out injured.
“Play him (Dangerfield) sparingly but play him where he can still have an impact on the game,” Watson added.
“When it got a little bit tight in the last quarter, the Kangaroos got to within 15 points, he goes into the next centre bounce, wins the ball out of there, goes forward and (Mitch) Duncan kicks a goal, game over.
“It’s nice to have that type of player. Not everybody’s got that type of player.”
Lyon added: “That was a big moment.
“He hasn’t attended one centre bounce for the night, it gets to 15 points and it’s just a little bit uncomfortable, then he wanders in and then (Joel) Selwood gets the next one and they kick another goal, then it’s all over.
“Chris Scott has been on the record saying he’d love to play Patrick Dangerfield forward more if he was able to. Now they’re starting to develop a bit more depth through the midfield, maybe we’re going to see a bit more of him playing out of the goal square.”
The Cats anchored themselves in the top eight with the victory over the Roos, improving their record to 6-4, as they look ahead to next Monday night’s intriguing clash with fourth-placed St Kilda at the Gabba.