LIAM SHIELS is Alastair Clarkson’s new go-to man when he needs to shut down an opposition player.

Since early last season, the Hawthorn coach has turned to the youngster, still finding his way in the AFL, to nullify an opposition gun either from the first bounce or at any stage during the game.

Luckily for Clarkson, Shiels relishes the challenge of standing the best players in the competition but enjoys too, the freedom of hunting the footy in his own right.

When Gold Coast star Gary Ablett had three goals to half time on Sunday, it was Shiels who was handed the near impossible job of nullifying his influence, made all the more difficult given it wasn’t until midway through the third term that he got the tap on the shoulder.

By that time, Ablett was well and truly considered the best player on the ground, with more influence on the game than any other player.

It was early in the third quarter and Ablett had just set up another Gold Coast goal, giving them an unlikely 17 point advantage when the move was made.

Hawthorn kicked the next six unanswered goals to take a 20 point lead into the final change. Ablett’s influence on the game had been nullified and Hawthorn was on a roll.

Ablett finished the game with 37 disposals, but his influence on the match in the second half was nowhere near what it had been in the first.

Shiels had done exactly what his coach asked of him and stepped up to the challenge of taking on the competition’s best player and shutting him down when he’s in full flight.

The 22 year old says the challenge was good for his development.

“I had a bit of a role on Ablett in the second half and was able to nullify him which I was pretty happy with,” Shiels told hawthornfc.com.au

“He’s a superstar player, I got put onto him early on in the third quarter, which was a great challenge for me.

“He’s just so hard to tackle, and he knows where the ball is going to be.

“It was a massive challenge for me but good to be playing on such a superstar player.”

It’s not the first time the impact of star players has been reduced by Shiels, with the midfielder forging a reputation for himself as an effective defensive role player in 2012.

Last year, it was performances on North Melbourne’s Brent Harvey and Port Adelaide’s Hamish Hartlett that had him at the forefront of Clarkson’s mind when looking for a player to execute the shutdown role.

Then, he successfully performed the run-with role against Carlton’s Kade Simpson and Western Bulldog, Ryan Griffen.

Like his role on Ablett on Sunday, Shiels was thrown into the deep end to tackle a red-hot Griffen in Round 16 last season, after the Bulldog star gathered 10 disposals in the opening quarter.

Such was Griffen’s influence on the game, the then struggling Bulldogs trailed a powerful and in-form Hawthorn by just seven points at quarter time.

When Clarkson made the move, Griffen managed only 12 more disposals for the game and Hawthorn ran out victors by 72 points.

By trade, however, Shiels is a free-wheeling midfielder blessed with an aerobic capacity that can challenge the best runners in the competition.

His talents as a ball winner in his own right were best illustrated in the opening term of Sunday’s game, as he was Hawthorn’s most prominent midfielder, with 11 disposals to him name at quarter time.

He says the ability to keep an open mind, to adjust his mindset when his coach and his team requires him to play the run-with role is key when he gets that tap on the shoulder.

“I played it a fair bit last year (the run-with role), so I guess I’ve got to find that balance between when Clarko wants me to do that and when he wants me to go with my own footy as well,” he said.

“I’ve just got to keep open minded and change that week-to-week.

“(But) It is a little bit hard to keep that balance.”

The Club’s midfield coach, Brendon Bolton has played a key role in Shiels’s development and ability to successfully change his mindset.

Shiels says Bolton provides him and his midfield teammates with a clear focus heading into a game or a role change in the middle of battle.

“Once I got put onto Ablett, I knew he’s such a superstar player so I had to lock him down for a start and your focus is pretty clear then,” he said.

“Brendon Bolton gives me a pretty clear focus when I go and hunt the football as well, you’ve just got to adapt to it during games and switch your mindset pretty quickly.”

Shiels has played every game so far this season, but rates his 23 disposal, eight mark and four tackle effort while playing on and nullifying Ablett as his best performance so far.

“It was one of my better performances for the year, I still have a lot of improvement left to do because I haven’t been playing great,” he said.

“It was definitely one of my better ones for the year but I’m just happy to be playing my role for the team.”

He knows he can’t tackle the competition’s best players on his own though, and that’s where his teammates get involved.

The Hawks have the reputation as a side willing to work hard for one another, something that has been instilled into the group by its strong culture and mateship between the players.

Shiels knows whenever he is given the tough job of nullifying a gun opposition player, his teammates will do everything they can to help him but blocking his opponent and giving him a chop out when opposition players attempt to help their star break the tag.

“I can’t do it by myself, I had plenty of help (on Sunday) and I do have that every time I have a run with role,” Shiels revealed.

“The boys are pretty good like that, they’ll cover for me if my man gets away from me and their voice and instruction out on the ground around the stoppages is fantastic.

“We’ve got a focus to work for each other and when we communicate out on the ground, we all know what we’ve got to be doing.”