{"id":316643,"date":"2025-11-29T14:52:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T14:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/316643\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T14:52:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T14:52:27","slug":"afl-veteran-dylan-shiel-pours-heart-out-as-he-confirms-retirement-in-classy-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/316643\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL veteran Dylan Shiel pours heart out as he confirms retirement in classy message"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dylan Shiel has officially retired from AFL<\/a> football.<\/p>\n

The veteran midfielder was delisted by Essendon<\/a> at the end of the season despite featuring in 14 senior games for the Bombers.<\/p>\n

At the time, the 32-year-old had hoped to continue his career at another club, but that never eventuated.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

Shiel posted a lengthy farewell message on Instagram, thanking Greater Western Sydney<\/a> and Essendon.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I close the chapter on a dream I\u2019ve been living since I was a boy,\u201d he wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the GWS Giants \u2014 thank you for taking a chance on an 17-year-old kid who didn\u2019t know much, except that he loved this game with everything he had. You gave me a beginning, a family, and a foundation I\u2019ll always be proud of.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo Essendon \u2014 thank you for bringing me home. For seven years you allowed me to pull on the red and black, represent a proud club, and be part of something bigger than myself. The experiences, the supporters, the relationships inside the four walls \u2014 they\u2019ve all left a lasting mark on me.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlong the way, I\u2019ve made friendships that will outlast football. Teammates who became family. Coaches and staff who invested in me as a person, not just a player. And fans who supported me through it all \u2014 the highs, the lows, and everything in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ShielShiel has officially retired. Credit: Instagram<\/p>\n

Starting his career at the Giants, Shiel quickly established himself as one of the game\u2019s best midfielders.<\/p>\n

He achieved All-Australian selection in 2017 before joining Essendon at the end of the following season in a blockbuster trade.<\/p>\n

With the big-money move to the Bombers came extra scrutiny and Shiel battled form and injury issues throughout his time at the Bobmers.<\/p>\n

But through it all, he never gave up and actually enjoyed one of his better seasons in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the truth is this: my journey wasn\u2019t a fairytale. It was hard. It was heavy. It broke me open more than once,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were seasons where it felt like all I did was fight \u2014 for form, for confidence, for a place, for belief.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet every time the game tried to push me out, something inside me pushed back harder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of that. Maybe more than anything else.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause at the end of the day, I\u2019m just a boy who held onto his dream with both hands\u2026 and refused to let go.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019ve learned one thing from all the years, all the bruises, and all the battles, it\u2019s this: \u2018You don\u2019t always get the story you imagined \u2014 but if you keep showing up with heart, you\u2019ll end up with a story worth telling\u2019.<\/p>\n

Shiel finished the post by thanking everyone who believed in him, challenged him, supported him or simply walked beside him.<\/p>\n

He finishes his career with 234 AFL games to his name; 135 with the Giants and 99 with the Bombers.<\/p>\n

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