Hawkins wins top gong
Geelong full forward Tom Hawkins has claimed his first ‘Carji’ Greeves medal as the Cats best & fairest player in 2012.
Hawkins polled 1,394 votes to win by six from skipper Joel Selwood. Corey Enright was third with 1,380 votes.
Hawkins enjoyed his finest season, finishing runner up in the Coleman medal with 62 goals. He was also named in the All Australian team for the first time.
Hawkins finished equal first in the AFL with 83 marks inside 50, and second in the AFL in contested marks with 54. He was at his best against the top clubs, kicking 20 goals against the teams that finished the season in the top four.
At age 24, Hawkins has booted 169 goals in 101 games and he was a member of the 2009 and 2011 premiership teams. Hawkins was named as the Cats best player five times through the season.
Selwood, the ‘Carji’ winner in 2010, enjoyed a stellar first season as captain. He ranked fifth in the AFL in clearance average (6.7 per game) and 11th in contested possession average (13 per game). Selwood also averaged 24.3 disposals per game.
Enright, winner of the award in 2009 and 2011, again finished in the votes, coming home third. It marked the seventh time in his career that Enright had been ranked in the top five of best & fairest voting.
The top 10:
Tom Hawkins – 1,394
Joel Selwood – 1,388
Corey Enright – 1,380
Harry Taylor – 1,355
James Kelly – 1,294
Jimmy Bartel – 1,282
Steve Johnson – 1,252
Andrew Mackie – 1,250
Mitch Duncan – 1,219
Tom Lonergan – 1,213
