Geelong defender Zach Guthrie says his side isn't panicking after their eight-point loss to Melbourne on Saturday night as Tom Hawkins struggles to find form.
It brought an end to the Cats' undefeated streak, as they struggled to stop the Demons' midfield, coupled with horrible misses in front of goal.
There's a question mark above star forward Hawkins' head, after his goalless streak stretched out to four weeks.
READ MORE: NRL's 'absolutely pathetic' reaction to 'shameful' act
READ MORE: Worrying Wayne act could come back to bite Bunnies
READ MORE: Latrell lesson Broncos must take in Reynolds absence
But Guthrie, who took nine marks and collected 24 disposals in the loss, says Hawkins is playing a different role and even without a goal to his name in the past month, is far from panicked himself.
"I thought we still gave ourselves a chance to win, which was pleasing, but just fell a bit shy in the end," Guthrie said on Monday.
"The goals will come."
The 2022 premiership defender explained that although Hawkins hasn't kicked a goal in a while, he has still been heavily involved in the side's recent wins.
"As I said, I feel as though he could have had a few shots the other night (but he passed them off) … and that's just the guy he is," Guthrie said.
It comes as Matthew Lloyd says he's confident Geelong will support Hawkins in his lull, but should be more concerned about the damage his opponents have done, instead of how many goals he hasn't kicked.
Footy Classified is now available as a podcast! Subscribe/follow via Apple, Spotify or Google Podcasts
"He's got the runs on the board, so everyone's going to support Tom Hawkins," Lloyd said on Nine's Footy Classified on Monday night.
"But the concerns are, how many disposals (Steven) May had, how many disposals Hawkins had and the damage that May was doing."
Melbourne defender Steven May collected 25 disposals and a whopping 13 marks against the Cats, while Hawkins struggled with 11 touches.
"He'd want a big one this week. I don't care what they say, if you're a gun forward like Tom Hawkins and you hadn't kicked a goal for over a month … he's better than that," Lloyd said.
The Cats face off against Port Adelaide at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.