The Tomahawk is blunt right now, so Geelong are relying on some other big weapons.
Cats key forward Tom “Tomahawk” Hawkins is still clearly suffering from a lower-back injury.
At the moment, he is a shadow of the star forward who earned last year’s club best and fairest award and made his first AFL All-Australian team.
But the way his fellow key position players work so effectively, it hasn’t mattered.
Geelong’s ability to rotate their tall players up and down the ground was crucial on Friday night as they won the blockbuster against Essendon by 28 points.
The win left the Cats as the only unbeaten team after seven rounds.
Hawkins was kept to nine possessions and kicked two goals.
“We understand he’s a little bit limited at the moment, but the medical view is very strong in that it’s not doing any further damage,” coach Chris Scott said.
“We just don’t do that with players – if he was at risk of getting worse by playing, he wouldn’t be playing.”
Still, Hawkins is doing his bit for the team.
“He’s doing that to the letter,” Scott said.
“He’s not playing the way Tom Hawkins has the last 18 months – he’s playing a slightly different role and we think he’s been very effective.
“We’ve made the assessment he’s not at his absolute best, but is he good enough to play a role for us?
“At the moment, we think he is.”
The Cats key position players have also become masters at changing positions quickly and backing each other up.
When Essendon pressed in the second term, key forward James Podsiadly went back and was prominent as the Cats quickly rallied.
In the blink of an eye, a dangerous 21-point deficit was a four-point lead at halftime.
Key defender Tom Lonergan also pressed forward several times and was dangerous, kicking two crucial goals through the middle of the match.
It is a ploy that has also worked well for star Cats backman Harry Taylor this season.
Heaven help opposition defences when Hawkins returns to full fitness.