AFL: Hawthorn Hawks and best mates Luke Breust and Liam Shiels detail their extraordinary journey to game 250
Milestone men Luke Breust and Liam Shiels grew up supporting rival clubs but became best mates and key contributors during one of Hawthorn’s great eras.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It wasn’t Liam Shiels’ first impression but it was a lasting one.
This was the night Alastair Clarkson fell in love with the then-first-year Hawk. Former Tiger Will Thursfield probably doesn’t have quite as fond memories.
Shiels dashed down one of the MCG wings but was irate after shanking his kick, with the bobbling Sherrin still within sight.
“I kind of put my head down and there was a big collision,” Shiels said.
“We were coming from different directions and were both kind of head-on and I turned a little bit and got (Thursfield’s) shoulder and he went off with a collarbone injury.”
Every Shiels highlight tape since has included that ferocious passage.
It was his 10th senior match, but Clarkson told him afterwards he would play every week if he kept doing things like that.
Shiels still does it now, 239 games later, ahead of his 250th on Sunday against Collingwood, the club he grew up barracking for and that wanted to draft him 14 years ago.
Making this weekend’s milestone more special is that his great mate, Luke Breust, is coincidentally, or probably not, playing game 250, too.
They arrived at Waverley Park in the same year – Shiels as the No.34 draft pick, and Breust via the rookie draft – and have been inseparable since.
Their wives, Claire and Anthea, are close as well. Shiels became a father in March and the pressure is on Breust to deliver Tommy a little friend.
They played in four grand finals and won three premierships together as part of a golden era for Hawthorn, alongside Sam Mitchell, who is now coaching them.
Mitchell was part of Breust’s own coming-of-age moment, even if it was nothing like Shiels’ one against Richmond.
All the club’s 2008 draftees were quickly thrust into John Donehue’s jiu-jitsu classes in Chadstone, which were an eye-opening experience for a skin-and-bone Breust, who weighed 70kg dripping weight at the time.
In one session, Breust was grouped with Mitchell and Taylor Duryea for a tackling drill, with Shiels watching from nearby.
Mitchell’s job was to corral, then nail Breust in a tackle. That’s not what played out.
“I remember you stepped him and he was like, ‘No, no, go again’ and then you stepped him again and he said, ‘I’ll get you the third time’,” Shiels said.
“He knew exactly where you were going to step a third time around, but ‘Punky’ still stepped him.”
For Breust, it remains one of his strongest early memories and a turning point in believing he could make it at AFL level.
Tigers triple premiership coach and ex-Hawks assistant Damien Hardwick purportedly described Breust’s sidestep as Chris Heffernan-like in those early days.
There were challenging times before that, including one pre-season game where Breust failed to record a single disposal.
“It doesn’t help when you walk in on a Monday morning, and you’re sitting in the meeting and the first thing Clarko says is, ‘Where’s Punk?’,” Breust said.
“You’re sort of already doing these ones (hiding), trying to dodge and weave, then it’s like, ‘Yeah, over here’, and he asks, ‘How many touches did you have?’. It’s not a great feeling.
“You automatically start to doubt yourself. I was 70 kilos at the time, but I fortunately had another go the next week and got a few possessions, so that was nice.”
But while Shiels made an instant impression, sharpshooting Breust, who developed into a dual All-Australian, had to wait until his third season – after piling on double-digit kilograms – to make his AFL debut.
His football opportunity almost didn’t happen at all.
Overlooked in the national draft, Breust was just another wannabe training alongside Jeff Garlett, Riley Milne and Haydn Kiel in the lead-up to the rookie draft.
Garlett was viewed as the superior small forward option back then – and is also Lance Franklin’s cousin – and the Sydney Swans had already ruled out Breust, from Temora in country NSW, as an Academy option.
Carlton swooped on Garlett first, leaving Breust to fall to the Hawks at No.47. North Melbourne later indicated it would have considered him at No.54 but there was no certainty.
“I’d spoken to a couple of SANFL clubs, but I probably would have gone home, gone to uni at Wagga and done a commerce degree, which I’ve finished now,” Breust said.
That sliding doors moment has paid off magnificently for Hawthorn and the man responsible for the recruitment of both Shiels and Breust, Graham Wright.
Wright is the Magpies’ football boss these days, so will have extra interest in Sunday’s contest.
“I’ve been rapt to be a small part of their journey from the start and to see them both develop into three-time premiership players, leaders and outstanding young men off the field,” Wright said this week.
“They’re both stars, humble and level-headed.”
Neither Shiels nor Breust has fully reflected on their extraordinary success at Hawthorn, although the latter pointed out he grew up a Saints fan and doesn’t take his flag glory for granted.
But theirs is a story of friendship and bonds as much as premierships.
They were both in the ‘70s group’ at the Hawks, comprising third-to-fifth-year footballers. Joining them were the likes of Paul Puopolo, Ben Stratton, Duryea, Ben McEvoy and Matt Suckling.
Every player on the list was allocated to a particular development group, but this one was arguably the most influential.
They saw themselves as the heartbeat of the brown and gold, self-charged with energising the rest of their teammates (“I swear, sometimes, other guys on the team would get a bit jealous they weren’t part of it”).
The 70s group would meet pre-game to discuss their priorities, including whether one of the members was out of sorts and needed extra help.
There were also special occasions when they would come together mid-match, like the famous 2013 preliminary final triumph over Geelong, when match-winner Shaun Burgoyne went bonkers in the final term.
Shiels: “There was this huge amount of belief. It was like, ‘We’re right in this game; let’s bring a bit of spark’.”
Breust: “Sometimes, it’s just as easy as acknowledging the situation you’re in.
“Like, it’s a big moment; three-quarter time of a prelim against a rival who we hadn’t beaten for 11 games, so, sometimes, even just saying that out loud nearly makes you relax a little bit.”
They are very different times for the rebuilding Hawks, Breust and Shiels in 2022.
Breust seriously contemplated the Giants’ trade period advances last year and the extra security that would have come with it, while Shiels was dropped after round 1 and has regularly played as the medical substitute.
But Shiels is far from beaten and would ideally like to play beyond this season.
He still lives by former assistant Brendon Bolton’s mantra to, “be reliable, you don’t have to be remarkable”.
“I’ve kind of just said, ‘Yeah, righto, challenge accepted’,” Shiels said.
“I know where the footy club is at and I’m happy to help these young kids develop, if it means Hawthorn’s going to win another premiership in the next two or three years.”
More Coverage
Originally published as AFL: Hawthorn Hawks and best mates Luke Breust and Liam Shiels detail their extraordinary journey to game 250
Gather Round: Crows open again, Ken, Hawks set for blockbuster
One of the biggest moments of the AFL season came after the Power-Hawks final when Ken Hinkley told Jack Ginnivan he wouldn’t be flying to Sydney. Now we know when the rematch is coming.
Ralph: The key Dees developments that could save Goodwin’s job
Melbourne’s public review said it was capable of playing finals, but their game plan had to be refined, now the work begins for Simon Goodwin after a tumultuous 31 months, writes Jon Ralph.