Hawthorn captain Ben McEvoy expects demoted midfielder Liam Shiels to force his way back into the team but warns there could be tough times ahead for the Hawks’ veterans.
Shiels turns 31 in April and is 243 games into his career but finds himself in the VFL this weekend after winning 25 disposals in Hawthorn’s round 1 victory over North Melbourne.
Luke Breust, who tested positive to Covid-19, and McEvoy return from the AFL’s health and safety protocols at Shiels’ and concussed ruckman Max Lynch’s expense for Saturday night’s clash with Port Adelaide.
McEvoy didn’t expand on the specific reasons for Shiels’ axing but said he was a victim of several players being in form and that those on “the wrong side of 30” were vulnerable in a developing side.
“It’s a challenging one for Liam because he wasn’t in particularly poor form, but it’s just that’s how tight it is for spots, which is a really healthy thing for our club at the moment,” McEvoy said.
“It’s not like he’s not doing things up to our standards. He’s a much-loved player at our footy club, highly respected and we love playing with him.
“But, unfortunately, you can fit only 22 in and that’s the way that the cards have fallen this week.
“He’s a grown man and he’s got good awareness. I know it’s very challenging for him, from the conversations we’ve had, but he’s up for the fight, so he’ll be back in sooner than later.”
McEvoy, who turns 33 in July, said coach Sam Mitchell and co. had to at least consider rewarding younger players in close selection decisions witxjmtzywh the bigger picture in mind.
“It’s about how do we best get ourselves in a position to win another premiership,” he said.
“At some point, I suppose, if you want to put it that way, you’re going to have to play some young players over some older players. And that can happen to any of us at any point.”
McEvoy, who turns 33 in July, is one of only five players aged 30 or older left at the Hawks, including Jack Gunston (30), Breust (31), Shiels (30) and Kyle Hartigan (30).
But he said that group wasn’t lacking motivation as they neared the end of their career.
“For me, and I know some of the other guys, we take great pride in doing everything we can to try and develop these young guys and make sure we’re leaving this club in a better place than when we started,” McEvoy said.
“So, that’s actually what gets me out of bed in the morning; is knowing you can do something for someone else and we might not get the benefit from it. Hopefully, some of us can.
“But if we don’t, then we’re more than happy with that. That’s actually a motivating factor for me, anyway.”
