SHANE Savage was born in New Zealand in January 1991 and moved to Australia as a two-year-old – beginning his junior football career at Noble Park (Stephen Milne’s junior club).
A dashing forward-flanker and wingman, Savage was drafted to Hawthorn with pick No.75 as a bottom age selection in the 2008 AFL National Draft.
After spending the vast majority of the 2009 season finding his feet at Box Hill and recovering from a shoulder reconstruction in the VFL, the youngster was rewarded with a senior call-up in round 20 against Adelaide at the MCG.
He held his spot for the remaining two weeks of the season, impressing against Richmond in his second game - collecting 19 disposals and laying four tackles in Hawthorn’s 42-point win.
2010 was a year which Savage would rather forget. Despite Hawthorn finishing seventh after a 1-6 start to the season, the midfielder failed to break into the senior line-up - although he was named as an emergency on numerous occasions and played in the NAB Cup.
2011 was a vastly improved year for Savage, who played 17 games before another shoulder injury derailed his season on the eve of a finals campaign in which Hawthorn went down to Collingwood by three points in the preliminary final.
Despite the unfortunate finish, it was a breakout year for Savage – who booted 16 goals and averaged 18 touches and two clearances per game. His raw pace and penetrating right boot began to turn heads, and his rapid improvement earned him a NAB AFL Rising Star nomination against St Kilda in round eight.
On this occasion he took a career-best 14 marks, had 26 disposals, kicked two goals and laid five tackles in a best afield display.
After another solid pre-season, Savage’s 2012 was also productive although he failed to replicate the consistency he showed throughout 2011. While he still managed to hit the scoreboard, the flanker didn’t get as much of the ball and was dropped on the eve of Hawthorn’s finals campaign.
However an injury to Jordan Lewis gave Savage another chance, and he donned the green vest as the substitute for all three finals, culminating in a 10-point defeat to Sydney on Grand Final day.
This year Savage played further afield, roaming the wings and even spending some time in the midfield – especially throughout the middle of the season.
Just like his NAB AFL Rising Star nomination in 2011, Savage’s finest game was against the Saints – the 22-year-old collecting 30 disposals and taking nine marks in the round 20 clash.
However a month later he found himself out of the Hawthorn team and playing for Box Hill in the VFL. The Hawks possessed an almost non-existent injury list in the back half of the year and Savage was one of the deserving team members pushed out of the senior team for the qualifying final against Sydney.
He never returned in the brown and gold, but did play a significant role in Box Hill’s VFL Premiership victory over Geelong at Etihad Stadium a week prior to the AFL Grand Final. Ultimately, Alistair Clarkson elected to go with Jonathan Simpkin when Brendan Whitecross was ruled out with an ACL injury.
On October 10, 2013, Shane Savage was traded to St Kilda along with pick 17 in the AFL National Draft for ruckman Ben McEvoy
Bains was full of praise for the exciting young playmaker after the announcement:
“He provides some outside run, is a very good kick, and we think he can add a point of difference to our midfield and complement the other young players we’ve got coming through.”
VIDEO: Savage's career highlights
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