Geelong star Tom Hawkins has named his two toughest opponents ahead of his 300th game.
The 33-year-old forward has kicked 54 goals in 2021 to take his career tally to 657 across his superb 299-game career.
Last year’s Coleman Medallist and three-time All-Australian has played on some champion defenders across his 15-year career, but a triple premiership Hawk and a Dockers backman proved the toughest to conquer.
“I’ve played on some wonderful defenders,” Hawkins told SEN Breakfast.
“Brian Lake’s been a player that I’ve really enjoyed playing on. Obviously he’s a wonderful player with a lot of great attributes. He just matched up beautifully against me, so I’ve had some really hard games against him.
“He was actually my first VFL/AFL opponent back in the day, Brian Harris. We’ve played on each other a lot over the journey.
“And the other one was Luke McPharlin that I always enjoyed playing on.
“That was probably when I was a bit younger, so I didn’t really understand the craft of my position and how to play the game and how to evolve throughout a match.
“They’ve been two players that I look back on and I’m glad for the experience because they taught me a lot as well.”
Hawkins, a dual premiership player, will become just the sixth Geelong player to reach the magical 300-game milestone.
The Cats take on Port Adelaide in a Qualifying Final blockbuster at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.