AFL legend Doug Hawkins has revealed he was rushed to hospital this week after being struck by lightning during a freak storm.
Hawkins, a former Western Bulldogs and Footscray champion, said the incident “scared the c–p” out of him.
Now 62, Hawkins was working on site in Yarraville, in Melbourne’s inner-west, when the skies darkened and a freak thunderstorm hit early on Thursday.
“I was too scared to get out of the box,” he told Melbourne’s 3AW radio.
“[It] scared the c–p [out of me].
“That was the most scary experience I have ever, ever had, particularly when the box started to shake.
“It was the loudest thunder I have ever heard in my life. It just went ‘bang’ and all of a sudden the whole box shook for about 10 seconds.
“I was too scared to get out of the box and go to my car.”
Up to 13 millimetres of rain fell across Melbourne from about 8am on Thursday, as the surprise storm cell smashed Geelong and surrounds and moved east towards the city. But more than rain, the storm also brought lightning, with more than 10,000 lightning strikes in less than an hour as it moved across Melbourne.
Hawkins said he felt “light-headed and unwell” as the box shook during the hit.
He compared the experience to playing against another star from the 1980s – Hawthorn Brownlow medallist and famous hard nut Robert DiPierdomenico.
“It was nearly worse than playing on Dipper in the 1980s and not knowing where he was. That’s how bad it was,” he said.
“It actually scared the crap out of me.”
After plucking up the courage to leave his box, Hawkins was taken to nearby Footscray hospital to have scans and his heart checked.
“It was like a delayed response,” he said.
“I said I’m not feeling too great. I’m a bit light-headed and I’ve got these shivers up my left arm.”
But Friday morning he was happy to report he was “back up and about”.
Hawkins played more than 350 AFL/VFL games and was captain of the Western Bulldogs from 1990-93.
