The immovable object Tom Hawkins quietly farewells the AFL as a Geelong legend and a favourite of Cats fans

As the spotlight followed Geelong's dejected players walking from the MCG on Saturday night, a club legend quietly left the stands without significant fanfare. Tom Hawkins — the club's games record holder — had watched on nervously throughout the game, hopes still alive that a grand final berth could keep the flickering flame of his career alive. By 2010, though, subtle little injuries in a still growing body would drag Hawkins back in the pecking order behind the recently recruited James Podsiadly, managing just 21 goals from his 18 games, including one major in three finals, as Thompson experimented with using him in the ruck. Hawkins arrives on the biggest stage of all With ten minutes to go in the first half of the 2011 grand final, James Podsiadly fell to the MCG turf hard, shattering his collarbone and the hopes of Cats fans around the country in one painful moment. The big kid becomes a club legend For the next 11 years Hawkins would lead Geelong's goalkicking, adding a Coleman Medal for good measure to his name in the disjointed 2020 season.