Hawks thwart Coast's poach
HAWTHORN will give Shaun Burgoyne every chance to be-come the fourth man to play 400 games after winning the battle for his services from Gold Coast
Burgoyne spent four days on the Gold Coast last week and had strongly considered a three-year deal to play and then coach.
But the Hawks were thrilled to finally secure him for an 11th season at the club where he has won three of his four AFL premierships.
Hawks football boss Gra-ham Wright said the club was elated to secure the four-time premiership star.
With 376 games under his belt, he would need to play ever/ game and two finals next year to reach the magical 400-game milestone.
But the Hawks are open to him going on past 2020 to chase that number if he can re-tain his speed and dodge the hamstring issues that saw him play only 18 games this year.
'We're thrilled that Shaun has recommitted to the Hawks," Wright said.
He has put a lot of time into this decision, weighing up the best option for both he, his family and the club, so we're really pleased with the out-come.
"He's such an integral play-er for us and his influence extends far beyond his on-field ability.
"He sets a great example for his teammates through his work ethic and professional-ism, and he is an incredible ad-vocate for his fellow indigenous players.
"After 18 seasons, Shaun is showing no signs of slowing down which is a testament to both his talent and strength of character."
■ DON Pyke says he quit as Adelaide coach because he's part of the AFL club's prob-lems but not the solution. Pyke, who had a 60.75 win-ning percentage, is adamant he didn't jump before being push-ed out of the job by an external review into all operations at the Crows.
He is the fifth AFL head coach to depart this season, following Brendan Bolton (Carlton), Brad Scott (North Melbourne), Alan Richardson (St Kilda) and Ross Lyon (Fre-mantle).