Shaun Burgoyne planning to play every game as he heads into his 19th AFL season

Shaun ‘Silk’ Burgoyne reveals he is planning to play every game as he heads into his 19th AFL season. And he is looking forward to playing alongside fellow former Power star and AFL Indigenous All Stars Summit attendee Chad Wingard.

Shaun Burgoyne looking the goods at AFL Indigenous All Stars training at Park 10 in Adelaide on Monday. Picture: AAP/MIKE BURTON

• Power plays host to indigenous stars
• Wingard on Burgoyne’s path to Hawthorn
• Silk’s road from Port hero to Hawks superstar

Shaun Burgoyne’s press conference was winding up when Bradley Hill crossed the boundary to join the media scrum and quiz the four-time premiership legend.

“So Shaun, you’re going into your 19th season, how’s the body holding up?” former Hawthorn teammate turned Fremantle player Hill asked with a cheeky smile.

When Burgoyne realised who asked the question he broke into laughter but behind the smile was an answer that was deadly serious.

At 36 and after 358 games, Burgoyne said he feels good and has no plans on slowing down.

Burgoyne has not spoken with the Hawks about resting him this season and is preparing to play every game which would take him past indigenous games record holder Adam Goodes (372).

Shaun Burgoyne looking fit and moving well at the AFL Indigenous All Stars Summit training session at Adelaide University oval on Monday. Picture: AAP/MIKE BURTON

AFL Indigenous All Stars training at Park 10 Uni Oval, Monday February 18, 2019, Shaun Burgoyne — pic AAP/MIKE BURTON

“The body is all right, all pre-seasons are hard but they do a very good job in looking after me and I’m probably at the stage where I’m not going to get too much fitter but it’s making sure I do quality over quantity,” Burgoyne said in Adelaide on Monday.

“The young boys come in fitter and stronger every year so I’ll do my best to keep up with them.

“I prepare to play every game, I do that every year, that’s how I head into training and we’ve never spoken about having a rest ever in my career.

“So we’ll see how the team’s going, how my body’s going, but I’ll mentally prepare to play every game.

“We had a trial match last week and I played on ball, that was a bit unexpected, I was preparing to play in the forward pocket so it will be a bit of everything this year — forward, back, sometimes mid.”

Players listen in at AFL Indigenous All Stars training at Park 10 in Adelaide. Picture: AAP/MIKE BURTON

Burgoyne is in Adelaide as part of the AFL Indigenous All Stars Summit which started on Sunday and included an open training session on Monday.

He was joined on the training track by new teammate Chad Wingard who has been managing a calf injury over pre-season but Burgoyne said he should be right for the start of the season.

“He’s settling in quite well, he’s on a modified program at the moment but is back training and will look to get a couple of games in (before Round 1),” he said.

“You can see when he has trained, he’s a star, so I’m looking forward to him finishing off his pre-season and getting stuck into games.

“He trained today, running and doing everything, so it’s about conditioning, and when they pull you out for one week you’ve got to do two or three to build yourself back up.

“We have a game against Carlton this Thursday, then Brisbane and Richmond so I’m not too sure exactly where he’ll go because they’ve got to step up his training programs and it’s a medical decision when they play him.

“He has very good knowledge of the game, he speaks up, and he’s a two-time All-Australian so the boy can play, and passing that on to a lot of our younger players.

“He also wants to push up into the midfield at some stage of his career so he’s very keen to learn.

“He’s a genuine match-winner on his day so we’re looking forward to him adapting to our style and taking his game to the next level. It’s up to him where he wants to go with his career but I’m definitely happy to have him at Hawthorn.”

Former Power player turned Hawk Jarman Impey. Picture: AAP/MIKE BURTON

Burgoyne said the All Stars camp was a great way for older players to connect with the younger generation entering the AFL.

“Obviously I did many pre-seasons here with Port — hard pre-seasons too at the Uni Loop — but it’s good to be back here with a lot of the younger players who were drafted last year,” he said.

“There are a lot of new faces and trying to learn their names is quite hard because there are 75 boys here for the camp this week.

“To come together, bond, share experiences, strengthen our culture which is quite hard moving into cities and doing some of the things we did growing up like camping and fishing, so it’s good to have this every two years.”

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