Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Tennis
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Tom Hawkins names his greatest Geelong teammate
Lachlan Geleit • April 10th, 2025 10:45 pm
Geelong great Tom Hawkins has revealed the best player he played alongside.
Hawkins made his debut for the Cats in 2007 and would go on to feature 359 times in the hoops.
Having played so many games for the club across the most successful period in club history which resulted in four premierships, Hawkins had plenty of stars to choose from when it came to the best he played alongside.
Even though he laced them up alongside the likes of Joel Selwood, Patrick Dangerfield, Corey Enright, Matthew Scarlett, Tom Stewart and Jeremy Cameron, Gary Ablett Jr. stands above the rest when it comes to pure football ability.
“It’s probably got to be I think Gary Ablett Jr,” Hawkins told SEN's Sportsday.
“I've played the most footy with Joel… we played over 300 games together, so he’s my favourite teammate.
“But I think it’s probably Gary Ablett Jr, it’s hard to go past him as the most talented and all-round best player I played with.”
While Ablett Jr was the best Hawkins ever saw, he credited Selwood as his favourite teammate to kick to him inside 50.
Having featured in 305 games alongside his great mate, Hawkins says he and Selwood’s connection eventually became second nature.
“The best player kicking it to me inside 50 probably has to be my great mate Joel,” Hawkins said.
“That’s not just because we're friends, but the chemistry we built over a long period of time made it become second nature and something that’s kind of hard to describe. It honestly became automatic.
“He would know so intimately my turns and some of the flags that I would put out, just the way that I'd dropped my hips, turn back and push off opponents.
“He just knew where to put it for me. I don’t know the exact number (he assisted), but out of the 700 goals, there would have been a lot.”
Listen to Hawkins’ full chat with Gerard Healy and Kane Cornes here.
