Father Time: some are easier to catch than others

While Tom Hawkins (left) remains in top form well into his 30s, another ageing champion Steele Sidebottom isn’t finding the going as easy. IMAGES: AFL MEDIA.

Father Time catches up with everyone eventually.

It is a fact that is perhaps most stark in the world of sport.

Young men in their 30s, and sometimes in their late 20s or early 40s, can quickly look like a shadow of their former selves as the game they love playing passes them by in a flash.

Basketball megastar LeBron James might currently be stunningly defiant, as he puts together yet another spectacular season despite having turned 39 late last year, but just like the evergreen NFL legend Tom Brady before him, he will eventually get caught.

However, James and Brady are incredible examples of keeping retirement at bay for a remarkably long time courtesy of staggering longevity.

North Melbourne champion Brent Harvey is perhaps the best recent example of that in Aussie rules.

The VFL/AFL all-time games record holder charged towards the finish line in his 21st season in 2016, kicking 36 goals (his equal career-high and best haul in nine years) at the age of 38.

There were few doubts in the minds of footy fans that he could easily have played on for another year or two given the form he was in, and was reportedly being courted by rival clubs.

But instead of possibly becoming the first ever 450-gamer, he decided to stay put on 432 as a one-club player after being forced into retirement by the Kangaroos who sought to drastically rejuvenate their list.

Fast forward eight years, and there was a 24-hour period in Round 2 which underscored with sharp clarity just how easily Father Time can grab hold of some footballers, yet struggle to catch up with others.

Last Thursday night, 33-year-old Collingwood champion Steele Sidebottom looked like a shadow of his former self.

Conversely, the following evening, superstar Geelong forward Tom Hawkins was as impressive as ever.

Sidebottom had looked on shaky ground in the Magpies’ first two games this season, but during his team’s third loss in a row to St Kilda, the alarm bells were ringing louder than ever for the two-time premiership hero.

All of sudden, the man who, for well over a decade, was so sure with his disposal and decision-making was now fumbly, sloppy and making terrible mistakes/committing turnovers which directly led to St Kilda goals. His punching of a ball deep in the Saints’ backline right to the hot spot where Jack Higgins swooped and goaled was the most alarming example.

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Suffice to say, Father Time has a firm grip on the 312-gamer and it’s going to take some doing to escape those clutches.

Yet, the same cannot be said for Hawkins, who played another instrumental role in his team’s upset win over the Crows in hostile territory at Adelaide Oval.

With Adelaide leading by a point 12 minutes into the third quarter, and the game well and truly in the balance, the 35-year-old, as he has done so often, grabbed his side, put them on his shoulders and kicked three of the next four goals in the space of 12 minutes to completely turn the tide in Geelong’s favour.

The Cats would not be headed from that point on. Hawkins would finish with a game-high four majors and Geelong would go on to win by 19 points.

So it’s quite fitting then that as he prepares for his 350th game, becoming just the second Cat (after great mate Joel Selwood) and 24th VFL/AFL player to achieve the coveted milestone, Hawkins is fresh from making a grand statement that he is proving as elusive as ever for Father Time.

He hasn’t limped his way to the rare feat, and hasn’t been gifted it either. Oh no. Hawkins, who will be 36 in July, remains an invaluable cog in the Geelong set-up.

He needs only another 14 majors to become just the third Cat to crack 800 goals, behind the great Gary Ablett senior and Doug Wade, and only the 12th player in league history to do so – an achievement that will further solidify his standing as an all-time great.

For the past seven seasons, Hawkins has kicked at least 49 goals, and last year broke the record for taking the longest time to kick a career-best haul when he booted eight against Essendon in his 334th game.

The way he is still performing, there’s no reason to suggest at this stage that he won’t still be patrolling Geelong’s goal square, alongside Jeremy Cameron, for another season or two.

You can bet your bottom dollar that Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell will be devoting a large chunk of his preparation for the traditional Easter Monday clash to quelling the big Geelong key forward.

So while Sidebottom resembles an insect in a Venus fly trap desperately searching for a way out of Father Time’s grasp, when it comes to Hawkins, Father Time is basically pulling out his hair trying to devise different strategies in his attempt to snare the ever-evasive triple premiership champion.