ALASTAIR Clarkson’s relationship with soon-to-be 300-gamer Shaun Burgoyne extends beyond a dozen years.

The four-time premiership coach and four-time premiership star initially worked together at Port Adelaide – Clarkson then an assistant coach, Burgoyne a young player starting to make his mark.

“He was just a really exciting talent, he could play any position on the ground,” Clarkson said.

“He came into the game and played a lot of footy as a forward pocket/full forward type of player at Port Adelaide in the early years, and then moved to a half back flank and then played a lot in the midfield and became a high quality midfielder in the back end of his Port Adelaide time.”

Burgoyne played 157 games for the Power – many of them alongside his brother, Peter – in nine seasons at the club which included a premiership, an All Australian guernsey and international duty.

“He got to live his dream a little bit, he got the chance to play with his brother and they achieved some success together by playing in a premiership together in 2004, which would be really, really special for the Burgoyne family,” Clarkson said.

At the end of 2009, with a knee injury hampering his ability to commit to regular midfield minutes, Clarkson brought Burgoyne to Hawthorn on a three-year deal.

Any doubts about Burgoyne’s longevity have been cast aside by the man himself, a man Clarkson describes as ‘elite’.

“That excitement about an adventure and going to live in Melbourne for a period of time, I thin resonated with both Amy and Shaun and their kids,” he said.

“That three-year benchmark has turned into seven years – and who knows how much further he can go.

“There was a real question mark over the time that we did recruit him to the club, over whether his knee would stand up to the rigours of the game for a long period of time.

“He and (fitness boss) Andrew Russell sat down together and worked out a program that was tailored to his needs… It was all geared around playing being able to play as many games as he possibly could.”

Now in his seventh season at Hawthorn, Burgoyne has played 142 games – and has been one of Clarkson’s go-to men in times of need. A leader both on and off the field.

“The most remarkable thing about him is he steps up when we need him the most.

“When there’s a crisis, that’s when you usually find that Shaun Burgoyne’s at his very best.

“We’ve been in that situation a fair few times – when you’re playing big games and big finals and things aren’t always going your way, quite often you need something to change and someone to influence that change, and Shaun Burgoyne has been that so regularly over his journey here, and at Port Adelaide too.”

No situation stands out more to the Hawks’ coach – and Hawks fans alike – than the 2013 preliminary final against Geelong.

“Being able to inject him into the midfield at crucial times of games has been really, really valuable for us. He’s been a game changer on several occasions,” Clarkson said.

“None more so than that preliminary final against Geelong a couple of years ago where we were 20 points down at three-quarter time and he went into the midfield. He and Sam Mitchell more or less jumped us into a grand final as a result of their efforts in the last quarter.”

Burgoyne has picked up the nickname Silk – “because of his skill level and his capacity to do really good things with the ball” – but it’s the other side of his game which Clarko labels “phenomenal”.

“He and (Cyril) Rioli are two of the best players that I’ve even seen in terms of the pressure they place on the opposition,” Clarkson said.

“Their tackling pressure, their chase pressure and their ability to strip the ball from the opposition when it looks like they’re going to carry the ball down the field, it’s just been phenomenal.

“I haven’t seen two players make an impact on the game in that space like those two have.”

It’s an impact Clarkson hopes the star Hawk can continue to have for a little while yet.

“He’s been a decorated servant of two really good footy clubs. It’s no coincidence that both those clubs in the period of time that he’s been at them, have had some success. A lot of it has got to do with the contribution he’s made to both clubs,” he said.

“We’re hoping he’ll play a few more years yet before he hangs up the boots.”