Hawkins leads Crows to victory

Tom Hawkins left his mark on and off the field for the Beaufort Crows on Saturday, helping them to their second win of the season, a 36-point victory over Hepburn at Goldfields Recreation Reserve in round eight of the Central Highlands Football Netball League.

By Chris Graetz

Tom Hawkins tries to break away from his opponent. PHOTO: CHRIS GRAETZ

The young Crows were nervous in the first quarter, with Hepburn dominating around the contest, kicking two goals to zero to take a 15-point lead into quarter time.

The Crows started to get their composure in the second quarter, and played better football, kicking three goals to keep the margin 15 points at halftime.

After a halftime talk from coach Daniel Jones, who emphasised on composure, the playing group responded, kicking four goals to zero to lead by 12 points at the final break.

With the game on the line in the last, the young Crows ran out the game strong, kicking a further seven goals to win 14.9.93 to 8.9.57.

Hawkins kicked four goals for the Crows with Lachlan Murray booting three and Harrison Newitt and Dempsey Wenn kicking two. Miles Picken, Cooper Smith and Jack Wotherspoon also hit the scoreboard.

Key back, Hamish Francis was best on the ground with James O’Sullivan, Oscar Allen, Harrison Newitt, Jack Wotherspoon and Solomon Murray named among the best players.

Crows coach Daniel Jones said the playing group started the game nervously.

“We spoke about it pre-game that it will be a different atmosphere with crowd numbers and we were certainly overawed by the occasion,” Jones said.

“To Hepburn’s credit, they played well, and they were much better in the contest and spread from the stoppage and controlled possession and we found it difficult to transition the football through our defensive actions and the pressure they put on us.

“From that point onwards, we started to have more composure, and we didn’t rush and started to control the play and had good looks inside fifty and didn’t take our advantage of that, but we reset it at halftime.”

At halftime, Jones reminded his players to be more composed.

“I told them to take a deep breath and to back our contest work which we have been strong at,” Jones said.

“I had the belief that we were going to run the game out strong as that is one thing we have been able to do this year, and we started to match them in the contest.

“Once we got our hands on the ball, forced them to defend, and were composed, it enabled us to get to the outside and get some better entries inside forward fifty and allow Tom [Hawkins] and Lachlan [Murray] to hit the scoreboard.”

Jones highlighted the roles that Hamish Francis, James O’Sullivan and Oscar Allen had in the win.

“They are part of the Melbourne contingent and are new to the club this year, and were brilliant on Saturday,” Jones said.

“Hamish was solid down back as an intercepting key defender and has been an amazing addition to the playing group.

“James has been out of the game for a long time, having last played in the under-14s, but he is an elite sportsperson who had a tennis scholarship at Kooyong, so the running ability he brings to the wing, and be able to win one on one contests has been brilliant.

“It was Oscar’s best game for the club. He gave us good run and dash and composure off halfback which helped us transition the footy and improved entries into the forward fifty.”

The presence of Hawkins was hugely beneficial to the playing group with Jones highlighting the crowd he brought.

“Playing in front of that huge crowd was invaluable for the team as for some of them, it’s the biggest crowd they have played in front of before and having a player of Tom’s calibre there was a great learning for the boys,” Jones said.

“Having that experience of playing in front of a huge crowd will help fast track the development, so when we do get to finals football gain, where the heat will be on, they will have had that experience.

“The best thing about Tom is that he is a genuine person. I spoke to him Friday and his main message was that he is at our disposal, and he will do whatever is required.

“I said our focus was to win a game of football and for him to be able to do that and care about the club and the community was excellent.

“The time he gave everyone was incredible and I couldn’t speak more highly of him.” After winning one game in 2024, the Crows have now won two games, and Jones is pleased with where they are at.

“For us this year, it was about being able to close the gap from our poor footy to strong footy, having only won a solitary game over the last two years,” Jones said.

“We are starting to feel that we are doing that. There were a couple of games where we were in front in the last quarter but got overrun late in the game, so we have been in games for a while, and that has been an improvement.

“With the age demographic of the club and the volume of new players we brought to the club, the improvement has been significant, and we are looking forward to finishing it off in the back half of the year and closing that gap.”