Douglas James Hawkins (born 5 May 1960) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who represented and in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). He also enjoyed a brief career in media and ran for the Senate, as a member of

Palmer United Party The United Australia Party (UAP), formerly known as Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and the Palmer United Party (PUP), is a currently deregistered Australian political party formed by mining magnate Clive Palmer in April 2013. The party ...

, in the

2013 Australian federal election The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of Aus ...

Early career

Hawkins hailed from the industrialised, working class western suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and although he was a

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at the ...

supporter in his youth, competition zoning rules in effect prior to the adoption of a national draft, dictated that Hawkins' rights were 'zoned' to , given his suburb of residence was nearby Braybrook. He got his wish, making his VFL debut for Footscray in 1978 as a teenager.

Football career

Footscray

Hawkins made his debut in Round 1 1978, against the team he grew up barracking for, the North Melbourne Kangaroos, he recorded 7 disposals and a goal. He played 18 games in his debut season, recording 241 disposals and kicking 11 goals for the season. He played all 22 games in his second season and kicked 17 goals. Over the next few years, he began to make a name for himself as one of the finest wingers the game has ever seen, so much so that at the team's home ground, the

Western Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Victoria University Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, West Footscray. It is the training and administra ...

, the outer wing of the ground was named the "Doug Hawkins Wing". Hawkins made the VFL team of the year for the first time in the 1984 season, a season in which Hawkins amassed 446 disposals and booted 9 goals for the year. His finest individual season came in 1985, winning the

Charles Sutton Medal The Charles Sutton Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged best and fairest for the Western Bulldogs throughout the Victorian Football League/ Australian Football League season. The medal is named a ...

, his first and only best and fairest award of his career. 1985 saw Hawkins rack up 531 disposals and kick 7 goals for the year. He backed up his 1985 season by making the VFL team of the year again in 1986.

Captaincy

Hawkins was named Captain of Footscray at the beginning of the 1990 season, taking over from Stephen Wallis, he captained the club from 1990 to 1993 and Hawkins was played uncharacteristically as a small forward, as opposed to the wing. He kicked 38 goals in 1991 to win the club goalkicking and followed it up in 1992 with 42 goals. His final season for Footscray came in 1994, with one of his last game's being a famous one, as he broke

Ted Whitten Edward James Whitten Sr. OAM (27 July 1933 – 17 August 1995) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Born and raised into a working-class family in Footscray, Whit ...

's long-standing club record of 321 for Footscray, and Whitten was on hand to congratulate him.

Fitzroy

However, after playing 329 games and kicking 216 goals for the Bulldogs, at the conclusion of the 1994 season his contract was not renewed, so he moved to the Fitzroy Football Club for the 1995 season; he played 21 games and kicked 11 goals for the club before announcing his retirement.

Statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 18 , , 11 , , 7 , , 157 , , 84 , , 241 , , 65 , , , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 8.7 , , 4.7 , , 13.4 , , 3.6 , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 22 , , 17 , , 13 , , 279 , , 106 , , 385 , , 64 , , , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 12.7 , , 4.8 , , 17.5 , , 2.9 , , , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 12 , , 5 , , 7 , , 138 , , 81 , , 219 , , 38 , , , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 11.5 , , 6.8 , , 18.3 , , 3.2 , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 21 , , 12 , , 11 , , 219 , , 189 , , 408 , , 73 , , , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 10.4 , , 9.0 , , 19.4 , , 3.5 , , , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 16 , , 5 , , 5 , , 198 , , 132 , , 330 , , 48 , , , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 12.4 , , 8.3 , , 20.6 , , 3.0 , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 19 , , 6 , , 6 , , 254 , , 179 , , 433 , , 74 , , , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 13.4 , , 9.4 , , 22.8 , , 3.9 , , , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 22 , , 9 , , 13 , , 290 , , 156 , , 446 , , 99 , , , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 13.2 , , 7.1 , , 20.3 , , 4.5 , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 24 , , 7 , , 8 , , 349 , , 182 , , 531 , , 172 , , , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 14.5 , , 7.6 , , 22.1 , , 7.2 , , , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 16 , , 2 , , 4 , , 198 , , 98 , , 296 , , 92 , , , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 12.4 , , 6.1 , , 18.5 , , 5.8 , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 12 , , 6 , , 2 , , 144 , , 90 , , 234 , , 72 , , 8 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 12.0 , , 7.5 , , 19.5 , , 6.0 , , 0.7 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 20 , , 7 , , 3 , , 198 , , 161 , , 359 , , 90 , , 22 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 9.9 , , 8.1 , , 18.0 , , 4.5 , , 1.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1989 , style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 20 , , 8 , , 4 , , 266 , , 206 , , 472 , , 127 , , 33 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 13.3 , , 10.3 , , 23.6 , , 6.4 , , 1.7 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 21 , , 28 , , 12 , , 248 , , 145 , , 393 , , 101 , , 16 , , 1.3 , , 0.6 , , 11.8 , , 6.9 , , 18.7 , , 4.8 , , 0.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 22 , , 38 , , 33 , , 248 , , 119 , , 367 , , 116 , , 20 , , 1.7 , , 1.5 , , 11.3 , , 5.4 , , 16.7 , , 5.3 , , 0.9 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 23 , , 42 , , 22 , , 254 , , 155 , , 409 , , 123 , , 26 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , 11.0 , , 6.7 , , 17.8 , , 5.3 , , 1.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 20 , , 6 , , 11 , , 200 , , 156 , , 356 , , 88 , , 21 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 10.0 , , 7.8 , , 17.8 , , 4.4 , , 1.1 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 7 , , 21 , , 7 , , 8 , , 143 , , 88 , , 231 , , 53 , , 23 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 6.8 , , 4.2 , , 11.0 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 21 , , 11 , , 3 , , 180 , , 162 , , 342 , , 68 , , 32 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 8.6 , , 7.7 , , 16.3 , , 3.2 , , 1.5 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 350 ! 227 ! 172 ! 3963 ! 2489 ! 6452 ! 1563 ! 201 ! 0.6 ! 0.5 ! 11.3 ! 7.1 ! 18.4 ! 4.5 ! 1.1

Accolades and Honours

During his playing career, Hawkins won the club best and fairest award in 1985, represented Victoria five times, and was named in the AFL Team of the Year in 1984 and 1986. Upon reaching 300 senior games, he was awarded AFL Life Membership in 1993. After retiring, Hawkins was awarded Father of the Year in 1998 and was one of the torch bearers for the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. When the Bulldogs' Team of the Century was announced in 2002, Hawkins was named on the wing as vice-captain. In 2004, he was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was inducted into the Western Bulldogs Hall of Fame before being upgraded to Club Legend status in 2014.

Media career

Off the field, Hawkins was known as an old-fashioned Aussie larrikin, someone who himself acknowledged he was not one of the smartest people going around, but was always up for a laugh. As a panel member of the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

's '' The Footy Show'' during the mid-1990s, he was often portrayed as the show's

court jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...

. In 1998, Hawkins moved to the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

and appeared on a Wednesday night rival to ''The Footy Show'', '' Live and Kicking''.

Politics

Hawkins stood as a candidate for a Victorian Senate seat in the

2013 Australian Federal Election The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of Aus ...

as a member of

Personal life

Hawkins is married to Raelene, who appeared on

Fox Footy Fox Footy (stylised as FOX FOOTY) is an Australian rules football subscription television channel dedicated to screening Australian rules football matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Pty Limited, operated out of their Me ...

's ''Living with Footballers'' before it was axed at the end of 2004. They have three children – a son and two daughters. Doug currently resides near

Bacchus Marsh Bacchus Marsh (Wathawurrung: ''Pullerbopulloke'') is an urban centre and suburban locality in Victoria, Australia located approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne and west of Melton, Victoria, Melton at a near equidistance to th ...

and has served as a coach of the

Bacchus Marsh Football Club Bacchus Marsh Football and Netball Club is an Australian rules football and netball club, located in Bacchus Marsh in Victoria, Australia. The football squad competes in the Ballarat Football League, which is part of the Victorian Country Fo ...

References

Bibliography

External links

*
AFL: Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Doug Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees Australian rules football commentators Australian television personalities 1960 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Victoria (Australia) Western Bulldogs players Fitzroy Football Club players Charles Sutton Medal winners People from Bacchus Marsh United Australia Party (2013) politicians Braybrook Football Club players Victorian State of Origin players People from Braybrook, Victoria