Toast Liam Shiels Retires

[threesixpio]

Not a surprise

Well done mate on an amazing career. Deserved every flag

 

[Bugs1977]

Great player and career. Underrated during the 3 peat years but would have been one of the first picked every week. Great clubman and teammate. All the best pup

Yep his relentless tackling pressure along with Cyril's would've been a knight mare for he opposition

 

[HairyO]

Incredible career. Maybe not as flashy as other mids but he was every bit as corageous and committed and ferocious and relentless as any.

Id be amazed if half a dozen clubs arent sounding him out for a midfield assistant coach position.

Even this year knowing he would be at BHH for most games he still gave his all.

 

[number23]

Underrated, tough and reliable. A great contributor to the Hawks most successful period in history. Well done Pup.

Tough? I remember this bump when he was just a kid. I knew that we had a player after seeing him go after the ball in this incident:

 

[CaptainWorpedo]

Congrats Pup, i hope to see Tommy in the Brown and Gold in 17 years. B2B2B #AlwaysHFC

 

[Turtles all the way down]

Hopefully this is not another Hodge moment and is next year playing at North.

First thing I thought of too.

 

[killerspud]

What a great career.

Role player, could be used as a stopper, great and tireless gut running mid. Dependable and there when you needed him.

Three time premiership player.

A champion of the Hawthorn Football Club nothing more to say

Thanks for all your efforts and best wishes to you in your future life

 

[CHUBBSS]

Absolute champion and has been pivotal in helping us transition to the new wave, leaves at a time when the club feels in safe hands.

 

[Hawthorn2023]

Fantastic career!

Well done Pup!

 

[extractasam]

Definitely not a player that had all the bells and whistles and a highlight package to boot - however you could find him in the pissing rain in Launceston at 5pm on a Sunday burrowing in under packs in a game that was over in the 2nd QTR.

 

[badgrill]

Bye, Pup - you will always be remembered well as a stalwart clubman, dependable, reliable, tough and hell 3 x flag hero.

Here's Liam with my son at 2012 Family Day:[

 

[B&GBlood]

So many times we lost games when he was out. Whatever he was doing for the team it was critical for success. Congratulations Liam on a great career. Thank you!

 

[cryptor]

An under the radar retirement for a player who spent the vast majority, if not his entire career under the radar.

Who remembers back in July 2015 when we went on a rampage and absolutely crushed Carlton, Freo and Sydney in consecutive weeks and then Sportsbet paid out all premiership bets on us early? Well Liam Shiels

14

Liam Shiels

Age

32

Ht

184cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

20.2

5star

K

11.7

4star

HB

8.5

5star

M

3.6

4star

T

5.9

5star

CL

3.4

5star

D

17.4

4star

K

10.4

4star

HB

7.0

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

4.1

5star

CL

1.9

4star

D

12.2

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

3.8

5star

was ranked the #1 player in the comp over that period by Champion Data.

 

[BlackHawk72]

Champion of our Club, bleeds Brown and Gold. Thanks Pup for your dedication to this great club

 

[KermitJagger]

An under the radar retirement for a player who spent the vast majority, if not his entire career under the radar.

Who remembers back in July 2015 when we went on a rampage and absolutely crushed Carlton, Freo and Sydney in consecutive weeks and then Sportsbet paid out all premiership bets on us early? Well Liam Shiels was ranked the #1 player in the comp over that period by Champion Data.

I remember that, it's part of the reason why I was behind the list revitalisation idea. Shiels looked like he was ready to take that next step.

 

[Jables]

Tackling machine in the big games, Shiels got a lot out of himself considering he wasn't super athletic, will be a fair while until we get someone like him again.

 

[The German Hunter]

One of my very favourites.
100% clubman
As blue collar as you’ll ever get.
I’ll be having a frothy for you tonight Pup

 

[Nick the Pig]

That's a wonderful video the club and Liam posted on the Hawks website.

Fantastic clubman. Very unlucky to miss out on the Captaincy after Rough retired.

 

[Dewnior]

Congrats on a great career Pup!! An unassuming player who went about his business with no fanfare. Enjoy the reunions, and all the best for life after elite footy.

 

[MillerHawk]

Can look back at his career at Hawthorn with pride, put his body on the line for club and team mates over and over again. Was still doing the same at BoxHill when I saw him get concussed at Preston City Oval this year. Epitomises the selfless player. I loved seeing him kick a goal though, because he missed plenty. Hawthorn through and through. I don’t think he’s going to play anywhere next year.

 

[moginie]

The viola of our three-peat orchestra. Often un-noticed until he wasn't there. Great tackler - his effort against West Coast in the H&A game in 2015 is etched in my mind. His desperation was one of the main reasons we won.

 

[Titch3Votes0MooreAA]

He is the definition of the perfect clubman. You always knew he was going to give 100% every time he went out onto the ground. He could have left the club around 2015-16 for greater personal success, but he sacrificed himself for the club. Thank you for the memories, Pup, and enjoy your retirement and future endeavours.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

One of those players who can look himself in the mirror after he retires and be total assured he got every last drop of ability and effort from himself over the journey.

3 premierships and 250 odd games is a resume that 99% of AFL players would take.

Actually thought he was pretty decent when he played this year as well so like Big Boy he is going out with fuel in the tank which is a good way to go.

 

[Symons]

I think this quote really sums it up: "Liam was a player's player, sacrificing his game for the greater good of the team."

Individual brilliance is key to the most watchable passages of play. Cyril, Franklin, Mitchell, Hodge, Roughie etc have hundreds of moments which would make highlight reels over and over. But it's a team game, and individual brilliance also needs support from others - players who back you up in the structure, who run to the right spots, who play teammate-first footy, who are dependable with a good work ethic - and in his prime, Shiels was a tackling machine.

Shiels has been underrated because the most remarkable thing about him was that he was entirely unremarkable. Unlike Cyril, Franklin et al, you're not going to see him strongly featured in highlight reels - but he was still an important part of our continued success.

 

[SA HAWK]

Happy he has retired as a 1 club 3x premiership player.