Every AFL player who will retire this year including Dustin Martin, Tom Hawkins and Dyson Heppell

Tom Hawkins – Geelong

Tom Hawkins called time on his decorated career with the Cats after winning three premierships, five All-Australians and kicking nearly 800 goals.

He leaves the Cattery as the club’s games record holder, to focus on family and farming going forward.

However, the call to retire was a difficult one due to a flaring toe injury, as he revealed in his new book.

“When the problem with my second toe first flared in the latter stages of the 2022 season, there were times where the pain was so significant that part of me wished I could cut it off,” Hawkins wrote in his new book, Tom Hawkins.

“But as we assessed how best to treat the injury leading into what could prove my final season, I was astonished to learn that amputation was not just an option, but was a realistic one should things go awry.”

Hawkins was also the last remaining member of the Cats’ 2009 premiership team.