MIDFIELDER Liam Shiels has identified the battle in the middle of ground as decisive in who will claim a spot in this year’s grand final.
Tackling Fremantle in Friday night’s preliminary final, the strength of the Dockers’ personnel through the midfield means that its there that the match will be won or lost, according to Shiels.
“I think Freo’s key strength is probably in the midfield, they’ve got the best ruckman in the competition in Sandilands and then the blokes beneath him,” Shiels told ABC Radio’s Saturday Agenda.
“(Nat) Fyfe, Lachie Neale’s had a great year, (Michael) Barlow, then you’ve got (Stephen) Hill out on the wing so I think most of their drive comes through the midfield, so no doubt this week that’ll probably be one of the key areas that we need to focus on is winning that key midfield battle.”
And while the Hawks have had to travel to Perth in both Round 19 and Week 1 of the finals, Shiels says their recent trips west works very much in their favour.
“We’re getting our frequent flyer points up,” he joked.
“We’ve been there three times in the last six or seven weeks so we’ll know how to adapt to the travel and the time difference and the hotel, so we’ll be familiar with the playing ground and things like that as well so (we’ve) just got to look at the positives of being over there a few times this year.”
Playing for a chance to be the first team since 2003 to claim three consecutive premierships, Shiels pointed to the quality of the club’s culture as a significant factor behind their sustained success.
“I think that’s one of the key strengths of our club is our culture and probably has been over the last five or six years that we’ve probably developed it,” he said.
“I think the great thing about our culture is its driven by the playing group, its not driven by admin or the coaching staff. The leadership group really drives that culture and drives the boys to meet those standards.”
As for the role he’ll play in Friday night’s clash, Shiels says he may line up on one of Fremantle’s key midfielders, as well as trying to be a damaging player through the middle himself.
“Its hard to say, I’ll leave that up to ‘Clarko' but I may get a role on a Hill or someone like that, we’ll just wait and see,” he said.
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