Geelong coach Chris Scott is “unbelievably confident” power forward Tom Hawkins can overcome his form slump to help the Cats return to the winners’ list.
The big man has come under fire for lacklustre returns this season, which have left him averaging less than two goals a match.
He also failed to fire in last week’s loss at home to Sydney, ramping up the pressure for an improved performance this weekend against Fremantle.
A return to form will have added significance against the Dockers as Andrew Mackie and Cameron Guthrie prepare for milestone games.
Scott stuck by Hawkins during the coach’s media conference this week.
“If you’re looking for big names to go out of our team this week then I think you’ll be disappointed,” he said.
Scott deflected some of the blame from Hawkins as critics also circled around Steve Motlop and Mitch Duncan.
“A big part of it is the way we’re playing collectively, that needs to be better and our delivery needs to be better,” Scott said.
“I think we can kick the ball to him a little bit more. He’s still a dominant player one-on-one, even when he’s not quite at his best.
“Then there’s the part that he needs to play as well. We’d like him to be a little more involved in the game.
“I’m unbelievably confident (about Hawkins) and I’ve got great faith in Tom.”
Speedy Motlop accumulated 12 and 10 disposals respectively in the Cats’ losses to St Kilda and the Sydney Swans over the past fortnight.
“There’s always room for improvement and you always think you could have tried harder and I’m sure Steve’s questioning those things at the moment.
“But the work he’s doing with us strongly suggests that he’s really motivated to improve his game. He wants to be an elite player in the competition and we’re going to do everything we can to support him to get there.
“That support doesn’t involve blind faith, there will come a point in time where we say, ‘Steve, the best thing for the team is for you not to be in it’.
“We’re not at the point right at the moment.”
Veteran Mackie is set to play his 250th AFL game, while Guthrie is on the verge of 100.
