At 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) tall and weighing 110 kg (240 lb), Hawkins played primarily as a key forward and is one of the most prolific scorers in the history of the game, ranked 13th highest all-time league goalkicking.

Hawkins was born and raised in country New South Wales before moving to Victoria to attend Melbourne Grammar School, where his football abilities earned him a spot in the first XVIII in year ten.

His accolades as a junior include national and state representation, the Larke Medal as the AFL Under-18 Championships most valuable player, and All-Australian selection.

His debut season saw him earn an AFL Rising Star nomination and he was part of Geelong's Victorian Football League (VFL) premiership side.

By the time he had reached his final school year he was rewarded with joint captaincy of the football team alongside Hawthorn draftee Xavier Ellis.

A best on ground performance which yielded twelve marks and six goals in the opening match against South Australia began a wave of unprecedented hype and attention, with Hawkins drawing comparisons to former Brisbane Lions forward, Jonathan Brown and leading Vic Metro coach David Dickson to declare the young forward as "the best footballer I've seen...since Chris Judd".

[8] Hawkins was awarded the Larke Medal as the most valuable player within division one and named as the tournament's All-Australian full-forward, just falling short of the all-time contested marking record held by Justin Koschitzke.

[6][12] A stress reaction injury to his right leg, however, halted Hawkins' pre-season, forcing his much-awaited debut in Geelong colours to take place in the Victorian Football League (VFL) side.

[15] Opposed to Carlton captain Lance Whitnall, Hawkins impressed with three goals and several strong marks in Geelong's seventy-eight point victory, prompting then-Carlton coach, Denis Pagan to label him the next Tony Lockett.

[16] Other revered media figures, such as Gerard Healy and David Parkin, were moved enough to describe the debut as the best first-up performance in recent memory.

[21] A mid-year footy injury saw Hawkins miss seven weeks of football in 2010,[22] and he finished the season with eighteen matches and twenty-one goals.

[27] He was highly praised during Geelong's finals series in which Herald Sun journalist, Scott Gullan labelled the qualifying win against Hawthorn the best match of Hawkins' career at the time.

[28] He bettered that performance two weeks later in the 2011 AFL Grand Final, where he finished the day with nineteen disposals, nine marks and three goals to win his second premiership medallion.

[36] His emergence was rewarded with selection in the 2012 All-Australian team,[37] the Carji Greeves Medal as the club best and fairest player, and he was Geelong's leading goalkicker.

[42] Despite the back injury, he managed to play twenty-two matches for the season kicking forty-nine goals and he was Geelong's leading goalkicker for the second consecutive year.

[49] During the qualifying final match against Hawthorn, he was scrutinised for a jumper punch against Ben Stratton, which was pondered whether Hawkins would face a suspension;[50] he was ultimately cleared of the incident, which allowed him to play in the semi-final loss against North Melbourne.

Geelong reached the preliminary final, this time falling at the hands of eventual premier Melbourne, who dominated with an eighty-three point win.

[71] Geelong's remarkably strong form in the 2022 season included a sixteen game winning streak and an outstanding performance on grand final day, with an eighty-one point victory over Sydney.