The former club captain watched in amazement on Friday night as Hall rediscovered some of his most powerful form in his first game as a Bulldog.
Hawkins described Hall as the "missing link" over the past two failed Bulldogs' finals campaigns.
"When Barry became available, I was very keen to get him," Hawkins told afl.com.au on Tuesday. "He's a big, strong, quality forward, not just a tall forward but a quality forward.
"You look at our last two years, the preliminary finals from last year; St Kilda had [Nick] Riewoldt and Geelong had [Cameron] Mooney and [Tom] Hawkins to kick the ball long to.
"We haven't been able to do that when we've been under pressure because Johnno's only my size. Now when we get the ball out of the midfield and we're undecided of where to go, we can kick it long to Barry and put him one on one like the days when we had Kelvin Templeton or Chris Grant or Simon Beasley."
Hawkins, who played 329 games for the club before a further 21 for Fitzroy, said Hall looked dangerous in his six-goal debut after rediscovering his passion for the game.
"He kicked some very nice goals, his attack on the footy was terrific, and to see him joking and smiling and laughing, it looked like he was enjoying his footy," he said.
"The last year or so at Sydney, he was doing some very frustrated things. The change of footy clubs, being back home in Victoria, has been sensational for him."
The Bulldogs have won just won flag - in 1954 - but Hawkins believes a second premiership is on the cards this year.
"I really think this is the year. It has to be," he said. "The difference for this group, in comparison to years before, is that they believe they belong there.
"In the past, we've been happy to just play finals footy. These blokes believe they belong on the big stage. There's a big difference.
"If they play to their full potential, they absolutely can win it and they believe they can."
Barry Hall is a $281,200 forward in this year's Toyota AFL Dream Team.
