Hawthorn midfielder Liam Shiels says the senior players of the group must recognise their responsibility to continue to build the culture that the club has built over the last decade.
The Hawks line-up has taken on a new-look in 2019, with the likes of James Worpel, Mitch Lewis and Jack Scrimshaw building the nucleus of an emerging group of youth.
Shiels said the Hawthorn spirit could only live on by educating the younger players about the various experiences of being a part of the football club.
Asked how much importance he places on this role, it was clear in his answer that the 27-year-old is acutely aware of this duty.
“An enormous amount,” Shiels told SEN on Wednesday.
“We try to relate to the younger guys as much as possible - it wasn’t long ago that I was looking up to the likes of Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Josh Gibson and Jordan Lewis – those who were in the leadership group back then.
“Now that’s us.”
The three-time premiership Hawk said something as simple as storytelling was an extremely effective tool in this process.
“We need to educate this younger group and part of that is telling stories of what we used to do when we were in their position.
“Whether that’s catching up for a five-minute chat before the game or little moments through the week.
“So, that’s up to us senior guys to really drive the culture of the footy club and make sure that’s happening both on game day but also throughout the week.”
