The story behind Shaun Burgoyne’s move from Port Adelaide to Hawthorn

SHAUN Burgoyne — Port Adelaide’s vice-captain — stunned the club and fans when he requested to be traded to Hawthorn at the end of the 2009 season.

AFL 2nd Qualifying Final. Hawthorn v Geelong at the MCG. Shaun Burgoyne . Pic: Michael Klein. Friday September 5, 2014.

SHAUN Burgoyne — Port Adelaide’s vice-captain — stunned the club and fans when he requested to be traded to Hawthorn at the end of the 2009 season.

“There is no turning back,” Burgoyne’s then manager Ben Williams said at the time.

Winning the 2004 AFL Grand Final was sweet for Burgoyne and his brother Peter. But the humiliating 119-point thrashing by Geelong three years later, in the 2007 grand final, caused players to slit into factions.

And Burgoyne felt caught in the middle as part of the leadership group.

Power coach Mark Williams was shattered at the news. “We love him; he knows how much we need him,” he said.

And as well as his brother’s decision to retire from football, Shaun had to get out of Alberton.

Sources close to the now 31-year-old have since revealed the tension within the team was one of the major reasons the star midfielder decided to walk away after eight seasons with the Power.

Publicly, Burgoyne said it was a family decision, that he needed a change.

But there was more to the story.

The disenchantment and friction within the playing ranks had grown since 2007 and was weighing heavily on Burgoyne.

Ever since the Power’s public humiliation, the finger-pointing had intensified and a schism had developed within the ranks. One source described it as a modern version of William Golding’s novel Lord Of The Flies, in which a group of schoolboys is stuck on a remote island and they struggle to govern themselves. The book focuses on the power struggles that develop and how self-interest and a desire for the common good clash.

At the centre of the discontent at Alberton, as in the novel, the same players were picked on and criticised each week by their teammates who enjoyed a better standing in the group.

Burgoyne was said to feel he was stuck between the factions — loyal to those who felt they were being blamed for losses while not being listened to when he raised those concerns. It caused on-going frustration.

So he left.

An intricate deal was done — including Essendona and Geelong — to get Burgoyne to the Hawks. It was a huge career gamble and it paid off.

He was given former club champion Shane Crawford’s No. 9 jumper and played 16 games in hist first year at the club.

In 2011 he showcased his hard running in the midfield and was part of the team that bowed out of a preliminary final to Collingwood.

Burgoyne had another good year in 2012 and was part of Hawthorn’s losing side in the grand final.

Last year he became a dual-premiership player when the Hawks beat Fremantle in front of more than 100,000 fans at the MCG.

Fast forward to 2014 and Burgoyne will face his old club on Saturday afternoon at the MCG for a spot in the 2014 grand final.

FIVE OF THE BEST FOR PORT ADELAIDE

Round 13, 2002 v Collingwood

13 disposals

5 goals

3 Brownlow votes

Burgoyne runs onto the ball

Round 21, 2005 v Brisbane

30 disposals

8 marks

3 Brownlow votes

Round 12, 2006 v West Coast

34 disposals

7 tackles

2 goals

3 Brownlow votes

Footballer Michael Braun tires to catch Burgoyne.

Round 22, 2007 v Fremantle

20 disposals

4 goals, 4 behinds

3 Brownlow votes

Burgoyne tries to escape the grip of Robert Haddrill.

Round 20, 2008 v Collingwood

33 disposals

6 inside-50s

3 Brownlow votes

FIVE OF THE BEST FOR HAWTHORN

Round 16, 2010 v Brisbane

30 disposals

6 inside-50s

3 Brownlow votes

Burgoyne looks for an option.

Round 21, 2010 v Fremantle

37 disposals

4 goals

2 Brownlow votes

Round 22, 2012 v Sydney

26 disposals

3 goals

3 Brownlow votes

Burgoyne celebrates kicking a goal as Daniel Hannebery looks on.

Round 2, 2014 v Essendon

30 disposals

7 inside-50s

Round 7, 2014 v St Kilda

33 disposals

2 goals

6 inside-50s

Burgoyne leaves St. Kilda's Billy Longer and Clint Jones in his wake.

Originally published as The story behind Shaun Burgoyne’s move from Port Adelaide to Hawthorn