Geelong is sweating on the results of scans on Tom Hawkins’ troublesome left foot after the veteran forward ended Friday night’s horror loss to Carlton in crutches.
Hawkins limped off the MCG late in the third quarter of Carlton’s 21.12 (138) to 11.9 (75) win and did not return, before being spotted with crutches after the game.
Following the loss, Geelong coach Chris Scott revealed the injury came to the same foot Hawkins had surgery on following Geelong’s premiership win in 2022, but stopped short of saying it was a recurrence of the same injury.
“I can’t say the news is good news, but I’m not saying the news is bad either,” he said.
“He had to come off with a foot issue, it’s mid-foot. He has had a problem with his toe, so it’s a fair way away from that and it’s not the same injury, but the experts we have don’t know, so I certainly don’t have anything more to add.
“Yeah (it is the same foot he had surgery on), but I’d encourage you not to make that leap … to make that connection I think is a little premature.”
Scott said Geelong’s doctors didn’t believe Hawkins’ injury would be season-ending, but admitted the team is still “concerned” about the status of its spearhead moving forward.
In his 359th game, Hawkins had only managed three disposals against in-form Carlton key defender Jacob Weitering.
The Cats spearhead pushed off his left foot to go for a mark midway through the third term and was in immediate distress.
He hobbled off, kicking away his mouthguard in frustration on the boundary line and going straight to the rooms.
Hawkins, who is without a contract for next season, has come under increasing pressure this season after managing just 15 goals in 12 matches so far this season. He has been held goalless in five matches.
“His career is rapidly coming to an end,” former Melbourne captain Garry Lyon said on Fox Footy’s coverage.
“We all know that the end comes quickly, we’ve all been through it, it just jumps on your back. I hope he can get back before the end of the season, but what he’s been able to do in the last month suggests his time is almost up.
“It is impacting this footy club because he was not competitive tonight, again.”
Scott admitted Hawkins, who is four goals short of reaching 800 majors for his career, has been “struggling”.
“Early in the year he was looking good,” he said.
“I thought he played well up in Sydney, certainly in patches, but maybe it is a bit reflective of where we’re at at the moment, the good has been pretty good.
“We won a game early in the year sort of comprehensively – we took him out for that game – and you wonder if he had’ve played that game and played well he’d carry the confidence forward.
“He’s been struggling a bit, but he’s not on his own.”
Hawkins’ injury isn’t the only headache to come out of the loss for Geelong, with skipper Patrick Dangerfield likely to face scrutiny from the MRO over a dangerous tackle on Sam Walsh in the first quarter.
The tackle, which resulted in a free kick being awarded to Walsh, split opinions.
“Looking at that again, there’s nothing more Paddy Dangerfield could’ve done more in terms of a duty of care,” former Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley said on Fox Footy’s coverage.
“He didn’t sling, he actually dropped his body, there wasn’t any rotation, he just basically tried to sit on the ground and hold Walsh up. It’s the first tackle of the game so there’s going to be a bit of force, but I don’t think there was enough head contact.”
Three-time premiership winning Richmond star Jack Riewoldt begged to differ.
“I think he’s in trouble, going off prior form,” he told Fox Footy.
“There is no way he’s nursed him to the ground there, he used his body weight of 100kg. You can’t drop your body weight, that’s like a crusher tackle in the NRL.
“I see that as a fairly dangerous action. That’s exactly what we’re trying to get out of the game.”
The win cements Carlton’s spot in second on the AFL ladder, with the Blues’ percentage rising to 114.3, while Geelong dropped to seventh, having lost six of its past seven outings after starting the season 7-0.
Geelong faces Essendon at the MCG next Saturday night, while Carlton faces Richmond next Sunday night in its bid to record five straight victories.
Check out our live blog below for a recap of all the action as it happened on Friday night.
Key events
Carlton v Geelong live scoreboard
That’s all folks!
That’ll do us for tonight team!
Thanks for spending your Friday night with us as the Blues recorded a massive 63-point win.
Join us tomorrow afternoon as we bring you Saturday’s jam-packed footy action.
Cripps impressed by Blues culture
Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps is mighty impressed by what he’s seeing from his side these days.
“It’s been a work in progress,” Cripps tells Fox Footy of the Blues culture shift.
“As you know, culture takes time and we feel like when you value the right stuff and you work hard, you build good energy at the club and that translates out on the field.
“We enjoy the hard stuff, but we also enjoy the little things as well.
“You’re only smiling when you value the hard stuff first, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Blues dominate stat sheet
The numbers show just how much of a massacre this was tonight.
Just take a look at these major stat categories that ended up in Carlton’s favour.
- Disposals: Carlton 389-341
- Inside 50s: Carlton 58-43
- Clearances: Carlton 50-39
- Marks: Carlton 88-69
- Tackles: Carlton 80-65
- Tackles inside 50: Carlton 22-8
Here are your top three players in terms of ball-winners tonight:
- 1.Patrick Cripps (CARL) – 41 disposals, 13 clearances, 517m gained
- 2.Sam Walsh (CARL) – 33 disposals, nine clearances, 603m gained, one goal
- 3.Matthew Kennedy (CARL) – 31 disposals, five clearances, six tackles
Legends left in awe after Blues ‘demolition’
Carlton has sent a massive statement to the rest of the competition with that win.
“It was a demolition,” says Jack Riewoldt on Fox Footy.
“They have played one of the best games of football we have seen from anyone. They have certainly put another notch in their belt.”
“One of the most comprehensive and impressive performances of the year, there’s no question about that,” Garry Lyon adds.
“The Carlton Football Club has arrived in a big, big way. It was complete.”
A man who can’t be happy to see Carlton thriving, Collingwood legend Nathan Buckley, can’t help but be impressed either.
“We spoke about them pre-game, about how many weapons they have, but they’re so consistent across the board at the same time,” he says.
“They had 12 goal-kickers across the night. They dominated for all but 15-20 minutes in that third quarter.”
Tom De Koning on match-up with brother
Carlton big man Tom De Koning says he was completely surprised when he saw his brother Sam in at the centre bounce.
“Wasn’t expecting him to be in the ruck, but it was a pleasant surprise,” he tells Seven.
“That’s why I had a bit of a laughing moment in there, I thought, ‘This’ll be great’.
“It was a good battle and hopefully we can have a few more.”
De Koning finishes as the top rated player on the ground after picking up 25 disposals, 34 hitouts, seven clearances and 408 metres gained.
An absolute masterpiece from the Blues ruckman.
FT: Blues send ominous statement to rivals
This Carlton team is legit folks. There is no other way to say it.
Geelong has belted the Blues for what seems like two decades, but this is Carlton flexing its muscles.
It ends up with a comprehensive 63-point win at the MCG and the Navy Blues are UP AND ABOUT.
That is as impressive a win as Carlton has had for maybe an entire decade.
Curnow adds a fifth as Blues drive home advantage
Charlie Curnow has done it again at ground level!
The two-time Coleman Medal winner has five goals tonight, and three of them have come at ground level.
“Good luck stopping him. You might stop him in the air, but he’ll get you at ground level,” Matthew Richardson says on commentary.
Hawkins pictured with crutches on the bench
Not a good sign here if you’re a Geelong fan.
The cameras show Tom Hawkins sitting on the bench in a jumper and he’s got a crutch between his legs, presumably for that foot injury.
This is Carlton’s highest score against Geelong since the 1995 Grand Final. It’s been a generational belting at the MCG.
Walsh responds within seconds for Carlton
It doesn’t take long for the Blues to hit back!
Sam Walsh is Carlton’s TWELVTH different goal-kicker as he rams one home on the run.
The Blues have kicked 20 goals tonight, it’s been a complete performance from Michael Voss’s men.
“He’s a machine. An absolute pro,” says Matthew Richardson.
Stengle snaps through a brilliant goal
Tyson Stengle with some magic at the MCG!
This is a brilliant finish from the Geelong goalsneak, who bananas one through under immense pressure.
He would’ve liked to have made an impact on this one a little earlier.
Newman flushes a set shot as Blues avalanche continues
Nic Newman joins in on the party!
A brilliant set shot from the left-footer and he salutes this crowd of over 75,000 fans in at the MCG.
This is a major statement win coming up for the Carlton Football Club.
They’ve absolutely towelled up a fellow finals contender, and it’s not really been close all evening.
Curnow adds his fourth with another on the run
Charlie Curnow is just SO, SO good at ground level for a guy his size!
That’s his second goal of the night that comes virtually playing the role of a crumber.
He kicks his fourth goal of the night to restore Carlton’s 50-point lead.
Ollie Hollands snuffs out brief Cats run
Ollie Hollands becomes Carlton’s 10th different goalkicker!
This is far too easy, a lack of pressure from Geelong in their defensive 50 allows Hollands to straighten onto his right boot on the run.
Cincotta with the goal assist, what a night he’s had!
Two in a minute for Geelong as Miers hits the scoreboard
Gryan Miers joins in on the party after snapping one through on his right boot.
There’s muted celebrations from Geelong, you get the sense that they don’t quite believe a comeback is possible.
Carlton’s lead at 38 points with just under 10 minutes left.
Cameron with a consolation after inch-perfect Miers kick
Gryan Miers, this is one of the best field kicks of the night.
Miers in the middle of the ground actually slips as he kicks it and somehow lands it between three Carlton defenders to find a leading Cameron.
Jezza goes back and kicks his third of the night, a decent outing given the lack of service he’s gotten.
The air has gone out of this one now with just 10 minutes left on the clock, surely not enough time for the Cats.
Cowan breaks his duck as Blues continue onslaught
Lachlan Cowan is MOBBED!
The young defender slams one through on the run, his first ever AFL goal, and every single one of his teammates comes over for the celebration.
Carlton’s lead is out to a game-high 50 points. They’ve completely overwhelmed Geelong in the final quarter.
Hollands makes it three in a row for Carlton
They’ve done this three weeks in a row now, the Blues!
Against both Port Adelaide and Essendon, Carlton was challenged at the end of the third quarter and came out punching in the fourth.
Once again, Geelong threw down the challenge, and Carlton has responded by kicking three goals in the first six minutes of the fourth term to kill off the comeback attempt.
So impressive tonight!
McKay’s excellent kicking continues as Blues kick away
This Harry McKay is just STREETS ahead of last year’s version.
McKay takes a mark in the pocket and goes back and drills the regulation set shot instead of going for the snap as he did in previous years.
“He’s settled his mind down, hasn’t he?” Matthew Richardson says on commentary.
“He’s just more calm in his mind and he’s making the right decision.”
Just like that, the Blues look like they’ve snuffed out this Geelong comeback attempt.
Massive goal for Carlton after 50m penalty
That’s a huge call from the umpire in the context of this one.
Matthew Kennedy takes a mark on the wing and he’s crashed into by Max Holmes who is a second late on the spoil attempt.
No mercy from the umpire, as he calls for a 50m penalty, and Kennedy kicks the goal.
Carlton back out to a 33-point lead.
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