However, Geelong's hopes were undone by their inability to kick a competitive score, with Hawkins eclipsed by Lake one week after he kicked a career-best seven goals against the Brisbane Lions.
Chris Scott did his best to conjure some magic from the coaches' box, throwing Harry Taylor forward in the second half.
But his team was unable to make up for the lack of goals from Hawkins.
"We just couldn't execute our skills well enough on the night.
"But early on, I thought the pressure of the game, the opposition and the occasion probably showed with both sides.
"There were some easy marks dropped and it was a bit uncharacteristic of both sides.
"But in the end we just made too many mistakes too often … and our forward line didn't function well enough."
Although Hawthorn largely controlled the final quarter, the first three were typical of the recent contests between the clubs, with the pressure fierce and the momentum swinging back and forth.
Geelong, which had lost only four first quarters for the season, made the pace in the opening 15 minutes.
The Cats kicked the first two goals, with much of their midfield drive coming from Johnson, who was back after three weeks on the sidelines with a foot injury.
However, the Hawks then took control, snaring a nine-point lead by quarter-time and extending their advantage to 14 points by midway through the second term.
Scott's men soon rebounded, kicking two goals in the last minute of the opening half – the second of them a long bomb by Josh Walker after the siren – to level the scores at the long break.
Hawthorn regained the upper hand by kicking four goals to two in the third quarter, and the Hawks then ran riot in the final term.
They had the game in the bag when Roughead extended their lead to 22 points by slotting a curling long-range snap with seven minutes to go.
It was the greatest margin between the teams since round 22, 2006, when the Hawks beat the Cats by 61 points.
Having broken an 11-game losing streak against Geelong in last year's preliminary final, Hawthorn has now defeated the Cats three times in four matches.
The latest victory means the Hawks will enjoy a week's rest before hosting a preliminary final at the MCG.
Other than Selwood and Bartel, their best performers were Travis Varcoe, Josh Caddy, Cameron Guthrie and Mathew Stokes.
The downside for Geelong – and the upside for the Hawks – is that the qualifying final winners have gone on and made the Grand Final in each of the past seven seasons.