The 27-year-old took a crucial step toward gaining a place on the 2014 Commonwealth Games team for Scotland by winning the 85kg division at last weekend’s Australian Weightlifting Championships in Brisbane.

He lifted 135kg in the snatch and 162kg at clean and jerk for an overall tally of 297kg, which was five kilo more than his nearest rival.

The four-day event doubled as the Oceania titles at which Hewkins was runner-up to a New Zealand rival by a kilo.

After winning the national 85kg title in 2008 and ’09, Hewkins took a lengthy rest from lifting because of knee and shoulder injuries.

“All three Australian titles have been special, but this one was more so because of the break from the sport.

”There were some doubts  when I first got back into training about how my knees and shoulders would be.”

After six months of solid training, Hewkins won the Victorian title at Hawthorn.

“I was rapt to have lifted 291 at the states, and then 297 at nationals, but the goal is to get to 310 or more.”

He said Bendigo’s Martin Leach from the Galaxie Weightlifting Club had played a key role in his comeback.

The latest victory has Hewkins in the running to compete at the Commonwealth Championships in Malaysia in late November.

Australia’s trials for the Commonwealth Games are on next April.

“Training sessions (which are presently three times a week) will have to increase.”

Three of his biggest supporters are wife Veronica, and their daughters Scarlett, 4, and Delilah, six months.

Recovery from training and competition is helped along by Ren at White Hills Myotherapy.

“There’s a lot of work still to be done to make the Games team, but I will be doing all I can,” Hewkins said of his Games quest.