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Doug ‘The Hawk’ Hawkins, (born May 5th, 1960), is an ex Aussie rules footballer and current media personality.
Doug hailed from Braybrook in the working class western suburbs of Melbourne. This definitely shaped his career on the football field and in the media. Proud to be from a blue collar area, he took the hardworking qualities and toughness into everything he did in life.
He began his VFL career at the Footscray Football Club in 1978 as a teenager. Over his career the nuggety Hawk was to star in his position on the wing. He quickly became known as the best winger in the league. The Footscray Bulldogs’ home ground at Western Oval soon named one of the wings after him – ‘The Doug Hawkins Wing’.
In 1994, Hawkins broke Ted Whitten Snr.’s long standing club record for the bulldogs of 321 games. Hawkins went on to play 329 games for the doggies before moving to Fitzroy Football Club to finish his career in 1995. He played the one season for the Lions before retiring from football altogether.
Not only was he a legend and favourite son for the Footscray/Western Bulldogs but he was also a great ambassador for Victoria. Well loved by footy fans from all walks of life it was no surprise Hawkins slipped easily into the media.
Regular appearances on The Footy Show and Fox Footy kept him in the public eye. His straight forward, no fuss, honest opinions on the game make him one of the most sort out experts of Aussie rules.
But it is still his playing career that makes ‘The Hawk’ an Aussie icon. He played a total of 350 senior matches, kicking 227 goals, and was named in the doggies’ team of the century. He was an All Australian on two occasions, club best and fairest, club leading goal kicker in ’91 and club captain for three years. A true Victorian champion!
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