Footy great Tom Hawkins returned to the pitch last week as he turned out for his former junior footy club in New South Wales.
The 36-year-old, who retired in 2024, donned the footy boots once again and took a trip back to where it all began, turning out for his grassroots side, the Finley Cats, during their Good Friday Super Clash against Deniliquin Rams.
The Tomahawk had not played for the club since he was 16, with the footy great subsequently moving to Victoria where he would go on to enrol at Melbourne Grammar, before being drafted to Geelong.
The 2020 Coleman Medallist, donned his iconic No 26 guernsey, which notably bore similar navy and white hoops he won three AFL premierships in while playing for Geelong.
Finley is a small town on the edge of the Murray Calley National Park which boasts a population of around 2,400 people.
But hundreds had crammed into the Finley Apex Sports and Community Centre to see the Cats legend go to work.
Footy great Tom Hawkins was seen drinking water from a MasterFoods tomato ketchup bottle
It came as the Geelong great turned out for his grassroots footy side on Good Friday, the Finley Cats
Hawkins, who retired at the end of last season, looked like he hadn’t lost any of his class, booting four goals for the club to see his junior side seal a 9.10 (64) to 6.13 (49) win against Deniliquin.
And that was even without the Cats legend breaking into a sprint.
It came after the footy club had suffered a 170-point defeat by Congupna only a week ago.
Hilariously, play was stopped for a brief moment, with players taking the opportunity to rehydrate. Hawkins was approached by a water carrier, who handed him a bottle of MasterFoods tomato ketchup which was filled with water.
It came as MasterFoods had layed on a spread of sauces for the event, with footy fans indulging in meat pies and sausage rolls throughout the evening.
And as many footy fans know, going to the match is not the same without a meat pie and a squeeze of sauce.
Hawkins, who kicked 796 goals across 359 appearances for Geelong, later revealed the hilarious terms he gave Finley for him to play this weekend.
‘Back when I started you would get a pie and sauce and a can of coke for playing footy. Now that is my agreement for playing (on Friday),’ he quipped to The Herald Sun, firmly tongue-in-cheek.
It came after Hawkins retired from AFL footy last season following a glittering career at the top level
Known as the ‘Tomahawk’, Hawkins would go on to help Geelong win the premiership three times
Hawkins began playing footy for Finley at the junior level before he enrolled at Melbourne Grammar
‘(I said) as long as I get a pie and sauce and a can of coke and maybe a Great Northern (beer) after the game I will come back and play.’
The Geelong great, took a moment to reflect on the the match and was hopeful his appearance could help inspire younger players to follow their dreams and one day play professional footy.
‘When I last played for Finley as a 16-year-old, Marcus Baldwin was an ex-AFL player coming back to Finley and we played in the same team together,’ he said.
‘That was a great opportunity for me to be able to play with someone who had been at AFL level.
‘Finley have certainly supported me along my journey and it is great to come back and maybe there will be a 16-year-old playing for Finley or Deni who will remember it just like I did. It is amazing the impact you can have without even knowing it.’
The Tomahawk also reflected on what life has been like since he retired.
He sits just outside the top-ten all-time leading AFL goalkickers but after a foot injury had plagued him for an extended period of time, he pulled the curtain down on his epic 18-season career.
And while he misses his old team-mates, Hawkins says he hasn’t thought too much about playing since stepping away from the sport.
‘I miss the whole Geelong Football Club and AFL experience, but playing, I honestly have not thought too much about it,’ he said.
‘I am loving watching and consuming football. I feel like I am watching the game closer than ever.’
