Cats' fans Bronx cheers for Hawkins embarrassing, says Chris Scott
Bronx cheers for Tom Hawkins draws defensive fire from his coach
Hawkins, who has battled a back injury for much of the season, managed only six possessions, three marks, one tackle and one goal in the club's 25-point victory over Port Adelaide at Simonds Stadium on Saturday.
The performance came a week after he booted just one major in Geelong's round 19 loss to North Melbourne.
Scott defended Hawkins' form after the win over the Power, but he was furious with the reception the big forward received when he jogged from the field late in the game.
"I heard some of our supporters almost come out with the Bronx cheers," Scott told Fox Footy in a post-match interview.
"It's embarrassing. It's embarrassing for all of Geelong. We've got some pretty ugly supporters, if that's the case.
"They've been well looked after for a long period of time, and we expect better."
Hawkins has kicked 45 goals this season, but he has managed only 13 in his past seven games, and five of those were against lowly St Kilda.
The 25-year-old is in his worst run of form since he was dropped in the lead-up to the 2011 finals series.
"I remember vividly these conversations in 2011 as well," Scott said. "But we're comfortable with what Tom's giving us."
It appears that his back injury is severely restricting Hawkins' range of movement.
He seemed unable to gather the ball down low against Port Adelaide, and he was rarely able to chase his opponents for more than five or 10 metres.
If Hawkins continues to struggle, Scott has admitted that his place in the team could come under threat.
"No one in our team has a gold ticket," he said. "We'd like, and Tom would like, to be playing a bit better.
"But I didn’t think he was disgraceful by any stretch."