MIDFIELDER Liam Shiels says what the Hawks have been able to achieve over the past three seasons has been "pretty special”.
The Hawks secured their third consecutive premiership with a 46-point win against West Coast Eagles at the MCG on Saturday.
Shiels, one of 17 players to feature in the back-to-back-to-back wins, described it as a ‘dream come true’.
“It’s unbelievable,” Shiels said in the rooms post-game.
“As a playing group, to leave this legacy with the club, three in a row, it’s a pretty special thing. I know it means a lot to everyone involved.”
The Hawks became just the fifth group in the history of the VFL-AFL to achieve the three-peat.
Shiels produced a trademark no-nonsense performance on the last day of the season, collecting 17 disposals and laying six tackles.
It capped a season in which he enhanced his reputation as a really important component of Hawthorn’s side.
The Hawks held off an Eagles’ burst early, making the most of their first quarter opportunities to open up a strong lead at quarter time.
The 24-year-old said that had been an important aspect of the game.
“It was a pretty fierce contest early,” Shiels said.
“We were lucky that they missed a few of their opportunities, and we were able to capitalise on ours.
“It’s something that we haven’t been great at this year, our starts, so it was a big focus just to match them early and go from there.”
Touted as a future leader, Shiels said he believes both he and the group can continue to get better.
“I’ve got a lot to learn. The lucky position that I’m in is that I’m learning from the best leaders in the game – Hodge, Mitchell, Lewis, Roughead, Gibson, they’re all fantastic leaders in their own way,” he said.
“The other positive thing is we’ve got a number of boys my age, emerging leaders coming through, we’re all helping each other out. It’s been great this year.”
As far as pushing for a fourth premiership in a row goes, Shiels says the Hawks can “definitely” be in contention again this time next season.
“The amount of depth that we’ve got in our list, there’s a number of boys pushing for spots…. I think the depth is what keeps the boys in the team motivated to keep going.”
