DUAL Hawthorn premiership player Paul Puopolo has signed a two-year contract extension.

Not due to come out of contract until the end of this season, Puopolo will now remain in brown and gold until at least the end of 2017.

A favourite amongst Hawthorn members and supporters, the news of Puopolo’s re-signing was broken by a fan selected by the club on social media at 1pm on Friday, as reward for their ongoing support across all platforms.

Speaking to hawthornfc.com.au about his re-commitment to the club, Puopolo’s decision was an easy one.

“I’m definitely excited. I’m at a great club in Hawthorn and as many years you can spend playing at a great club, it’s a pleasure,” he said.

“Coming here when you get drafted, you feel like you sort of owe the club all you can.

“That’s why I’m definitely grateful that I get to stay here and keep playing because I play for the jumper.”

Much has been said and written about Puopolo’s long journey to the AFL after injury, fitness and even battles with confidence and self-belief.

He had to wait until he was 23 to make his way onto an AFL list – five years later than the draft age of 18.

Fast forward four years and Puopolo, now 27, has played 88 games, won two premierships, become a respected player both club and league-wide and is now ready to enter the next phase of his career.

“A lot of people speak about it [the culture] - we have a great system here and something you want to be part of is a successful team,” he said.

“Having great leaders here too, you can learn a lot.

“Now I’m stepping up and becoming a more senior player, so I can start teaching the younger kids what I learnt from the older fellas.

“That role of becoming one of the leaders of the club gives me motivation as well as just trying to grow as a person.”

It’s maturity that Puopolo is talking about – moving on from focusing on the individual to helping others - and there’s no one in a better position to teach the youth at Hawthorn about never taking an opportunity for granted.

But while the small forward, who is known best for his relentless pressure, is stepping up off the field, he still wants to work on his on-field game.

He wants to take the next step by combining his outstanding defensive game with a more defined offensive presence.

“I also want to keep playing the best footy I can because you’re not going to be playing footy forever, you need to make the most of it,” Puopolo said.

“You don’t want to be a one-dimensional player, you want to be able to play everywhere.

“Sometimes in the forward line you might only get two touches, so it’s good to be able to run into the midfield and get around the ball a bit more.

“In a way you like to get the ball and set up your teammates for goals but playing in the midfield gives me a different opportunity.

“It gets you going a bit more, off the leash a little bit you could say and running amok.

“That’s definitely something I’ll be working on this year.”