Liam Shiels Biography

Liam Shiels announces his retirement after 14 seasons in the AFL.

The popular 31-year-old will hang up the boots after 255 games, including playing a crucial role in Hawthorn's premiership three-peat of 2013, 2014 and 2015.

"It's been a tough decision, and a decision I was always going to leave until the end of the year as I made the commitment to my teammates and staff at Box Hill to play out finals with them," Shiels said.

Ben McEvoy is the Hawks' surprise choice as captain for the 2021 season with Jaeger O'Meara to serve as vice-captain.

James Worpel is a new addition to the new-look leadership group and joins existing members Liam Shiels, Jack Gunston and Tom Mitchell.

"To be voted in by my teammates and receive the support of the club is an honour," McEvoy said.

"This club has given me a lot over the years, and I see this as an amazing opportunity to give back and play my role in ensuring we continue to make the Hawthorn family proud."

Ben Stratton will captain the Hawthorn Football Club for a second-straight season in 2020, with six other players making up the rest of the leadership group.

Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O'Meara have been named co-vice captains, with Mitchell joining the leadership group for the first time.

Jack Gunston was the sole vice-captain last year, but has chosen to relinquish his title. Gunston has remained in the leadership group however, with Isaac Smith, Liam Shiels, Ben McEvoy rounding out the group.

"It's been a big 12 months of development, both for us as leaders and for the wider playing group," Stratton said.

"I'm confident the experience and lessons learned will only strengthen my leadership going forward, and I'm excited to see what 2020 brings."

Ben Stratton will replace Jarryd Roughead as the Hawks' captain in 2019.

Jack Gunston will serve as Stratton's deputy, with Smith, Shiels and newcomers Jaeger O'Meara and Ben McEvoy rounding out the club's official leaders.

"Some of his best qualities will relate to who he is as a person and his values and behaviours," Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said of Stratton.

"He doesn't care so much about himself as an individual as he does about his mates, and that's why it's such an endearing quality that has all his teammates just loving playing with this guy."

Liam Shiels signs a new three-year deal to remain at the Hawks until the end of 2022.

Jarryd Roughead will remain captain of Hawthorn in 2018.

Roughead will again be supported by dual vice-captains Isaac Smith and Liam Shiels, while Jack Gunston and Ben Stratton have also been retained in the leadership group after a player vote.

"2017 provided some really good learnings for me and I feel like I’ve continued to develop and grow into the role," Roughead said.

"Captaining the Hawks is a real honour and to be backed in by your teammates for another year is extra special."

Liam Shiels will be sidelined for up to a month after suffering a hamstring injury in the second quarter of the Hawks' clash against Port Adelaide.

Liam Shiels is set to miss up to six weeks after suffering a hairline fracture in his wrist.

Shiels was injured in the final quarter of the Hawks' NAB Challenge match against North Melbourne.

"Scans yesterday revealed Liam has a hairline fracture in his right wrist,” Hawthorn football manager told Fagan said.

"Liam has had a really good pre-season to date and it’s a disappointing result at this stage of the year."

Liam Shiels could be sidelined for up to a month due to a hamstring strain.

Shiels was substituted out of the Hawks' dominant 62-point Easter Monday win over Geelong early in the third quarter, and scans on Tuesday revealed bad news for the 23-year-old.

"He's had some scans this morning and unfortunately for Liam they're not great," general manager of football operations Chris Fagan said.

"He's got a hamstring strain, so chances are he'll miss three-to-four weeks.

"No doubt he'll be working pretty hard to get back before then, but that's usually the case with hamstrings so we won't rush him."

Liam Shiels re-signs with Hawthorn until the end of 2019.

"It's a long contract and it will keep me here for a while so it was a big decision in that way, but also a pretty easy one because I love it here and have never had a thought about leaving this club," Shiels said.

"I love the club, I love the culture, I have some great mates here and I think we have a lot of things left to achieve.

"Every footballer wants to play in premierships, so hopefully between now and the end of 2019 we can be there on the last Saturday in September a few more times."

Liam Shiels takes over the captaincy for Hawthorn in their 44-point NAB challenge loss to Collingwood at Aurora Stadium.

With a lack of senior players to support him, the tough midfielder collected 23 disposals and delivered four inside 50s to be among Hawthorn's best.

"It was a great learning experience for me," Shiels said.

"It's a pity we couldn't get the win, but I really enjoyed the experience of captaining the boys.

"It's something that I'd love to do, but I've got a long way to go yet."

Liam Shiels will carry a broken nose into Saturday's Grand Final, courtesy of some friendly fire from Luke Hodge.

The Hawk skipper collected his teammate while attempting to tackle a Port Adelaide player early in the final quarter of the preliminary final.

The blow was serious enough to sideline Shiels for a part of the final quarter and he was on the bench for the last four minutes.

Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge has endorsed young midfielder Liam Shiels as a candidate to succeed him as skipper if he continues to lead the Hawks until his playing days are finished.

"[If we made a change] at this stage, we'd probably look at Jordan Lewis or Jarryd Roughead," Hodge told Talking Footy.

"But if I'm going to go a couple more years, depending what way the club wants to go, then Liam Shiels is another one who stands out."

Hawks Liam Shiels and Matt Spangher will be out of action for a month.

"[Shiels] bravely played on in the second half of the game but didn't pull up well," Hawks football manager Chris Fagan.

"He's got a significant AC joint injury in his shoulder and he'll be missing for probably 3-4 weeks.

"[Spangher] hasn't pulled up all that well unfortunately … he's done some significant damage to some ligaments in his ankle.

"It's a bit of a blow for Matt because he was in some great form and he's had a battle with injuries in the past, it's another little stumbling block for him."

Liam Shiels may be a natural possession accumulator but has evolved into the Hawks' No.1 run-with player.

"I tagged Harvey a couple of times in my first couple of years and did OK, so 'Clarko' (coach Alastair Clarkson) wanted me to go with him again when we played the Kangaroos this year," he said.

"I did an OK job, and then the week after that we were playing Port, and we thought [Danyle] Pearce was a similar type of player. It's continued from there."

Hawthorn has locked in another important player, with Liam Shiels signing a contract extension.

"We've got a really good young group coming through with the likes of Savage, Schoenmakers and Bruest. It's really exciting," Shiels said.

"I just want to play with the consistency that I played with last year and play every game if everything goes to plan."

Hawthorn's gamble to appeal the suspension of Liam Shiels, charged with striking Cameron Ling, fails, with the midfielder banned for two games.

Geelong's Cameron Mooney will also miss a match after being charged with rough conduct during the same match.

VCE student Liam Shiels, the youngest man in the league this year, plays his first game for Hawthorn.