HAWTHORN has locked away Liam Shiels until the end of 2015.
The midfielder wasn’t due to come out of contract until the end of next season but has signed a contract extension to secure his future at the Hawks.
The 22 year old joins Jed Anderson, Bradley Hill, Isaac Smith, Ryan Schoenmakers and Paul Puopolo as players to commit in the last three days, while Luke Hodge, Jarryd Roughead, Matt Suckling, Sam Mitchell, Shaun Burgoyne and Cyril Rioli are among those who have inked new deals this year.
Shiels said it was an easy decision to extend his stay in brown and gold.
“It’s really exciting to get it done and it’s good to hear Jed Anderson and Bradley Hill and a few other boys have signed on as well, so it’s a really exciting time,” he toldhawthornfc.com.au
“It was a really easy decision to sign, the culture here is fantastic and I get along with the boys really well so it was an easy decision for me.
“We’ve got a really good group here at the minute, so it’s great to hear boys are signing on and hopefully a few more continue to do that.”
Recruited from Eastern Rangers in the TAC Cup, Shiels was picked up by the Hawks with selection 34 in the 2008 National Draft.
He was one of the lucky ones, drafted to a club just a drop punt away from where he grew up.
From day one he has embraced the culture at Hawthorn, something he says the players and Coach, Alastair Clarkson continue to work on and enjoy every day.
“It’s been great since the day I got here. Clarko is pretty strong in having that good culture in place and people who are recruited to the Club are pretty much engrained with that culture as soon as they get here,” he said.
“I grew up just around the corner, so I was pretty lucky to get drafted here and am very grateful for the opportunity that Hawthorn has given me.
“We’ve got a great culture here, the boys are fantastic and I just love coming to training every day, it’s a really enjoyable place to be.
“This club is like your second home.”
Originally a free-wheeling midfielder, Shiels focused over the pre-season on adding versatility to his game, something that came to the fore in last Friday night’s Qualifying Final.
He has become the player Clarkson turns to when he needs to shut down an opposition player, but is also capable of playing across half forward, a role he performed well in last Friday night’s Qualifying Final win over Sydney.
“It was a focus for me at the start of this year to become more versatile,” he said.
“When I have a shutdown role I’ll do that but also the focus is to play a bit more forward and free-wheeling through the midfield.
“I’ve enjoyed playing different roles but at the moment, I’m just happy to be getting a game.”
Since 2012, it has been his ability to shut down the opposition’s best that has made him an important player in Hawthorn’s premiership aspirations.
He has performed well against the likes of Gold Coast’s Gary Ablett and Port Adelaide’s Hamish Hartlett, but his work on North Melbourne’s Brent Harvey has won him the most fanfare.
He has twice done the job on Harvey, but it was his most recent performance on the Kangaroos veteran that reminded Hawks fans of his importance to the side after missing two months with an ankle injury.
Shiels kept Harvey to three touches in just over a quarter of footy in Round 22 before being subbed out with a recurrence of the ankle injury sustained in Round 14.
He says he enjoys the challenge of playing on the league’s best but loves too, the opportunity to test the lessons he’s learnt from those tasks.
“I really enjoy playing on the superstars in the competition because you learn a bit on where to run and how to run,” he said.
“I try and bottle that and use it when I’m free-wheeling through the midfield.
“I think it has helped my gave when I don’t have a specific role on one of the opposition’s best players because you learn how to run and how to get the footy, so I definitely use that when I’m just playing as a midfielder.”
