In his 19th season of AFL football, Shaun Burgoyne continued to prove one of the club’s most valuable players. As he has done for so many years, the 37-year-old played across all lines in 2020. Managing to kick just shy of a goal per game on the season, his best outing of the year was perhaps his first, when he proved a matchwinner with three goals in the side’s win over Brisbane. Although his disposal numbers may have been slightly down on previous years, Burgoyne still recorded the fifth most score involvements of any Hawk this year, highlighting that when the ball was in the veteran’s hands good things would invariably come. In Round 13, against his former side Port Adelaide, Burgoyne’s second goal of the game saw him reach 300 career goals, an impressive feat when you consider how often he has played in the midfield or even in defence. Burgoyne has announced he would be playing on for one final season in 2021, with Hawthorn fans and indeed all football fans hopeful the superstar can become just the fifth player in the game’s history to notch 400 games.
Brownlow Medal: 2 (2020) 85 (career)
Previous AFL clubs: (team/s, years, games, goals) (if applicable)
Recruited from: Port Adelaide (2002-09: 157 games, 171 goals)
Draft history: Pick 12, 2000 National Draft
Player sponsorship: Tassie Hawks Supporters Group (Gold)
Sydney Hawks (Silver)
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