SHANE Savage hopes to repay the faith the Club has shown in him after signing a new three-year deal that will see him remain at the Hawks until the end of 2014.
The 21-year-old says that despite a slow start to his career, he’s starting to now feel part of the team, and the security of a new deal is a contributing factor.
“It’s always good to be secure for another couple of years, I’m happy to be here and hopefully I can repay the faith that they’ve showed in me,” he said.
“I’ve gotten some really good experience the last couple of years and I’m starting to feel a part of the team now.
“It was a slow start to my career, but I’m starting to get the hang of it.”
Shoulder reconstructions contributed to the slow start, as the midfielder played three games in his debut season, 2009 followed by no AFL matches in 2010.
Savage bounced back in 2011 though, playing 17 matches while averaging 17 disposals per game.
“Having a couple of shoulder reconstructions I had a pretty slow start in terms of my pre-season and I wasn’t able to get up to the required fitness to play at the top level,” he said.
“It came down to confidence and just having faith in my ability to play at the top level.”
The 185cm midfielder didn’t play any of the Hawks’ three finals matches last season, despite being a valuable contributor throughout the season.
Savage says that missing out on the Hawks’ finals campaign has served as his motivation to perform his role for the team in season 2012.
“It was pretty tough being dropped close to the finals,” he said.
“The injury didn’t help, and poor form as well didn’t help towards the end of the year but that motivated me over the pre-season to really train hard and cement my spot in the side this year.
“If I can keep playing my role for the side, then hopefully I can keep cementing my spot in the team.”
Despite having played 32 matches and every game this season, the New Zealand-born midfielder says he still gets a buzz running out onto the field as an AFL player.
“I still get that feeling every time I run out to every AFL game, especially the MCG,” he said.
“It’s always a great experience to play in front of a big crowd and play the game you love.”
Kate Salemme is a member of Hawthorn Football Club’s Digital media team reporting exclusively for hawthornfc.com.au from the Ricoh Centre
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Learn more about the Club's Seven in Seven campaign and read about the other players that have re-signed with the Hawks
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Learn more about the Club's Seven in Seven campaign and read about the other players that have re-signed with the Hawks 
