There was much to celebrate in the Hawkins household as Charlie Hawkins and his slightly better known brother, Cats full-forward Tom, both tasted premiership glory over the weekend.
Charlie, the younger of the two, played in the VAFA for the Old Geelong reserves and helped his team beat Mazenod at Trevor Barker Oval in Sandringham on Friday. The team won by nine goals.
VAFA player Charlie Hawkins (left) wears Tom’s premiership medal, and the Cats star proudly wears Charlie’s.
“It was pretty exciting,” said 27-year-old Charlie. “We were a pretty good side all year, and a bit like the Cats we got a bit of a run and got through all the way.”
The NAB banker by day is, unlike Tom, a defender, a position he says is actually aligned with the Hawkins men, his father Jack having played it too.
“Tom’s actually the outlier in the family because he plays forward,” he said.
The now three-time Cats premiership player concedes that, while this may be true, it’s more to do with the fact his brother has a skill he doesn’t.
“I’m the outlier because I can’t play multiple positions,” he said. “Charlie has more versatility than me as he can play forward and back, and ruck – [he’s] probably the most versatile in our family.”
“Tom’s actually the outlier in the family because he plays forward.”
Tom Hawkins’ younger brother, Charlie
In attendance at the Friday clash was Hawkins’ dad, former Geelong player Jack Hawkins, and grandfather, Fred Le Deux, who also played for the Cats in his day and donned the number 22 jersey.
Charlie, much like his brother, has played footy all his life and, despite not being – in his words – “as good as him”, he’s always felt just as much support from the Hawkins family.
“My whole family and Dad’s always been a big supporter of our football,” Charlie explained. “[It] doesn’t matter if it’s Tom playing on a Friday night, or me playing on a Saturday morning in Finley three hours away when I was a junior – he’s always got to both games.”
Although Tom was taking part in the grand final parade while his brother was playing his grand final, the Geelong star was still keen to know the result.
“He’s always been pretty interested in my footy,” said Charlie.
“He called me in the morning before my game and then straight after my game [and] on his way to the parade he called to see how the seniors were going because he was keen to follow that score at the same time.”
For his part, Tom said he was disappointed he couldn’t be there in-person to support his little brother.
“Grand finals are hard to get to at any level,” he said. “I was so happy and proud that he won and was getting updates during the parade. It was such a great day for the family. We are all so proud of Charlie.
“It was one [grand final] down, one [more] to go for us,” he said.
Charlie was at the AFL grand final on Saturday with the rest of his family, and sitting near the Selwoods.
Tom Hawkins with younger brother Charlie at the MCG.
“It was a massive relief [to see the Cats win],” Charlie said.
“Tom’s obviously won premierships before with the Cats, but I sort of have felt all year like this one had a bit of a different vibe to it.
“You know, he’s a very senior player now, and he loves all the boys he’s playing with, and he’s really enjoyed his footy for the last couple of years, even though it has been interrupted.”
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
