BEAUFORT Football Netball Club president Nick Franc says if the effort and teamwork displayed behind the scenes in the lead-up to Geelong legend Tom Hawkins’ one-off appearance this weekend can be matched on-field, the Crows will be tough to beat against Hepburn.<\/p>\n
Franc said the whole town had rallied behind the club ahead of tomorrow’s (Saturday, May 31) Central Highlands Football League clash at Goldfields Recreation Reserve.<\/p>\n
From schools and service groups to the town’s CFA brigade, everyone is bending over backwards to ensure the Crows’ big day is a success.<\/p>\n
The support has been so overwhelming that Franc is adamant the football side of things are in good hands.<\/p>\n
“It’s just the logistics of it all. We really don’t know how many people are coming,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The football part is the easy part.<\/p>\n
“I think we are organised. We have tripled our canteen; we’ve got more food.<\/p>\n
“Apex are doing stuff, Rotary are doing the gate, the high school are doing the parking, so we are trying to incorporate as many community groups as\u00a0we can.<\/p>\n
“We don’t know what’s coming, that’s the unknown of it all. But we are prepared.”<\/p>\n
Hawkins has made his way to Beaufort via the Carlton Draft, an initiative that gives struggling clubs a chance to access a former AFL star for a one-off game.<\/p>\n
The Crows had pick one in the draft and wasted no time in selecting Hawkins over Brett Deledio, Matthew Pavlich, Travis Cloke and Will Schofield.<\/p>\n
Thanks to a fabulous gesture by Crows captain Cormac Mahony, Hawkins will don the number 26 he wore with such distinction across 359 games for the Cats.<\/p>\n
Mahony was only too happy to relinquish the number to accommodate the three-time AFL premiership winner.<\/p>\n
With both sides entering the battle with only one win to their name this season, Franc is hoping the five-time All-Australian’s 796 goals of experience can prove telling.<\/p>\n
“It should be pretty even,” he said. “Surprisingly, there a lot of blokes who were injured the last game we played that are available this week.<\/p>\n
“We should have a full list and when we do the team isn’t too bad.<\/p>\n
“Potentially, we should have won a few more games. We were up against Skipton and Clunes in the last quarter, but they\u00a0overran us.”<\/p>\n
The Crows will be hoping for a different outcome to their last involvement in a Carlton\u00a0Draft game.<\/p>\n
In 2023, they were on the receiving end of a 79-point loss to Carngham-Linton, which was bolstered by the inclusion of former Fremantle Dockers star David Mundy, who kicked six goals.<\/p>\n
Hawkins should be in good shape, having already lined up for his hometown club Finlay against Deniliquin this season.<\/p>\n
He managed four goals in a 15-point win on Good Friday.<\/p>\n
The 2020 Coleman medallist is excited to be helping the Crows.<\/p>\n
“I thought about possibly participating in The Carlton Draft at the end of last year and am extremely glad I took up the offer when the phone rang,” Hawkins said.<\/p>\n
“It’s fantastic to see how much it means for all the clubs; it’s so exciting.<\/p>\n
“I was pretty stoked I went pick one. I was pick 41 in the AFL National Draft in 2006, so it’s nice to move up the order\u00a0a bit.<\/p>\n
“I’m hoping I can have a pretty good day out and kick a few goals, but more importantly, I want to get a win on the board for Beaufort and give back to the community that turns out.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEAUFORT Football Netball Club president Nick Franc says if the effort and teamwork displayed behind the scenes in the lead-up to Geelong legend Tom Hawkins’ one-off appearance this weekend can be matched on-field, the Crows will be tough to beat against Hepburn. Franc said the whole town had rallied behind the club ahead of tomorrow’s […]<\/p>\n