Hawkins, who won his club's best and fairest in 2012, was troubled by back problems during most of the Cats' 2013 campaign and he has had to manage the injury during the pre-season.

"He's going really well at the moment," Taylor told AFL.com.au. 

"He's doing everything he can to make sure that he doesn't miss too much training."

James Podsiadly's move to Adelaide means Hawkins is now the most experienced big man in Geelong's forward line.

And Taylor has backed the 25-year-old to set an example for emerging forwards Nathan Vardy, Shane Kersten and Josh Walker to follow.

"He spent a bit of time in the leadership group last year, and he did enjoy that," Taylor said.

"He's a really caring type of guy who values relationships and he'll try and bring other players into the game as much as he can. Whether they be younger players or more senior players, it's something that he's really good at doing.

"It's something that we probably value more in our side than people in the media and the public give him credit for.

"He's copped a fair bit in the past about not kicking goals and not taking marks, but the selfless things, which are a bit more intangible and a bit harder to measure, really help our side and we hope he can keep doing those things."

Taylor himself has spent a number of short bursts up forward in recent years.

But the All Australian defender expects to once again spend most of his time in the back half in 2014.

"I guess the obvious one is that with Podsiadly moving to Adelaide there's a spot up forward," he said.

"But we've got some guys coming through the ranks that have shown great potential in front of goal, so I probably can't see my role changing to much.

"We'll have to see what injury does and form does to determine where I go."