HAWKINS’ DRAMATIC RETURN: GEELONG’S GREATEST SIGNS ONE-YEAR DEAL TO END RETIREMENT
Cats’ all-time games and goals king comes back 18 months after hanging up boots for 2026 season tilt
Geelong Cats legend Tom Hawkins has sent shockwaves through the AFL with the announcement he is coming out of retirement to sign a one-year contract, ending 18 months away from the game to add to his record 359 appearances in blue and white for the 2026 season.
The 36-year-old, who stepped away at the end of 2024 after an extraordinary 18-year career that saw him surpass Joel Selwood’s 355-game mark to become the club’s longest-serving player, made the emotional reveal at a packed GMHBA Stadium press conference on Wednesday, fighting back tears as he faced hundreds of cheering fans.
“I genuinely thought my last game was that final in 2024 – I’d given everything I had, and I was ready to pass the torch,” Hawkins said. “But training on my own over the winter, running the same ovals I grew up on, I felt that fire reignite. This club is my home – it’s where I became a man, where I won premierships, where I broke records. I just knew I had one more chapter to write.”
Hawkins’ legendary status at Geelong is unassailable: three AFL Premierships (2009, 2011, 2022), a Coleman Medal (2020) as the league’s top goalkicker, five All-Australian selections – including captaining the side in 2022 – and a Carji Greeves Medal (2012) as best and fairest. As the club’s all-time leading goalkicker with 798 majors, he was a consistent leading goal-scorer for over a decade and a defining figure in Geelong’s modern era of success.
His return has been met with euphoria among Cats supporters, who rank him alongside other club greats with enduring careers: Selwood (355 games), Corey Enright (332) and Ian Nankervis (325). Geelong’s general manager of football Andrew Mackie described the signing as “a gift we never saw coming”.
“Tom is the heart and soul of this club – loyalty, excellence and resilience personified,” Mackie said. “We’ve been monitoring his fitness closely, and he’s in better shape than some of our younger players. He’s not coming back to just make up numbers – he’s coming back to contribute, to mentor our emerging forwards, and to leave nothing on the field one last time.”
Hawkins, who has served as a club ambassador since retiring, said his decision was driven by a desire to share the field with Geelong’s next generation and to reach the 360-game milestone – a number he calls “the perfect finish line for a kid who dreamed of playing just one game for the Cats”.
“I want to pass on everything I’ve learned to the young guys who’ll carry this club forward,” he said. “And 360 games? That’s a full circle moment – from sitting in the outer as a boy to running out there one last time. I can’t wait to pull on my iconic number 26 jumper again, hear that crowd roar, and give every ounce of energy I have for the team that gave me my life.”
The one-year deal was finalised on Tuesday, with Hawkins set to join pre-season training next month.
