EFNL 2024: Triple AFL premiership star Liam Shiels signs at South Croydon

Three-time AFL premiership winner Liam Shiels has landed back in the Eastern league following his retirement from the big-time in August. Latest here.

Liam Shiels played 255 games for Hawthorn from 2009-22 before 33 with North Melbourne across 2023-24. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

The offers flooded in from far and wide – but the triple AFL premiership Hawk has returned to where it all began.

Recently retired AFL star Liam Shiels is back in the Eastern league, signing at Premier Division club South Croydon.

The midfielder played junior football at The Basin before winning his way onto an AFL list via the Eastern Ranges in 2008.

Local clubs came calling once his 288-game career in the big-time drew to a close at the end of this season, following 255 matches for Hawthorn and 33 for North Melbourne across 15 years, winning flags in 2013, ’14 and ’15.

But a connection to South Croydon player and former Ranges teammate Jayden Cass was enough to seal the deal.

“It’s been in the pipeline for a bit – we knew potentially it was going to be retirement for him this year but it all just had to become official,” South Croydon senior coach Brendan Allen said.

“He’s really good mates with a few of the boys that he’s played with over the years and Jayden Cass is one of those – we have to put Jayden out there as one of the big instigators of getting the deal done.

“They always wanted to play footy together and it’s come to fruition.”

Liam Shiels is chaired from the field by Luke Breust of the Hawks and Luke McDonald of the Kangaroos after his final AFL match. (Photo by Steve Bell/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

Shiels’ phone ran hot from clubs this time last year when his AFL future was undecided, before signing a one-year contract extension at North Melbourne.

But the race to secure the 33-year-old quickly picked up again after his retirement in August.

“We’re really lucky to have someone of his calibre choose us over plenty of potential suitors,” Allen said.

“I think Jayden (Cass) said last year that he had 50-odd clubs when he wasn’t sure if he was going to go (at AFL level) again … he would’ve probably had more than that this time hassling for his services.

“We can’t be more grateful and rapt to have him running around in a South Croydon guernsey next year.”

Allen said the prized recruit would likely slot into the midfield.

“That’s more a discussion for when we have a look at what our team looks like and where it all fits, but I’d say somewhere around there,” he said.

“He was still running around in the midfield for North Melbourne towards the end there doing jobs on players and whatever was required.

“With the AFL experience he’s got, I think you utilise it as best you can.”

Shiels arrives at South Croydon as former AFL Demon Max King departs.

The ruckman tied for the Eastern league’s Chandler Medal in 2022 as the best and fairest in Premier Division, and has linked with MPFNL club Mornington after relocating to the area.

But an announcement on a star ruck signing to fill the void is imminent.

“You don’t ever want to lose a Chandler medallist, there’s no two ways about it, and what Max offers is off-field as well – he’s really well liked around the group,” Allen said.

“He’s one of the guys that makes footy fun, but if you look at it in isolation the last two years, we really haven’t had him. He didn’t play all of 2023 and he had a lot of injuries this year.

“We learnt what life was like without Max and we won a fair few games of footy without Max … but we’re not as frightened as what you’d be if it came from nowhere.

“We wish him all the best and he’s still a South Croydon person.”

South Croydon bolted up the ladder this season after narrowly avoiding relegation at the end of 2023.

It finished the home-and-away season in fifth with a 12-6 record before turfing Vermont from the premiership race in a come-from-behind elimination final victory.

Allen said Shiels’ signing added to the momentum.

“It brings a bit of excitement around the place, obviously 18 months ago South were nearly relegated and now we’ve crawled back and won a final and there’s a bit of excitement,” he said.

“Hopefully we’re putting some building blocks in place to challenge next year … all things being equal, we think we’re going to be up there when the whips are cracking.”