On Saturday night against the Western Bulldogs skilful St Kilda defender Shane Savage plays his 50th game for the club after crossing from Hawthorn at the end of 2013.

During 2015 and 2016 Savage has played 35 of a possible 38 games for the Saints and has provided considerable drive off the half-back line with his running ability, penetrating kicking and efficient ball-use.

Whilst 25 year-old Savage has now cemented himself in St Kilda’s best 22, and became the ninth player on St Kilda’s 2016 list to play 100 AFL games earlier this season, it was a long journey to establish himself in an AFL club’s best 22.

Savage was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1991 and moved to Australia when he was two years of age. After playing 20 games as a midfielder for the Dandenong Stingrays in 2008, Savage was selected by Hawthorn with pick No. 75 in the 2008 National Draft.

At 18, Savage debuted against Port Adelaide in Round 20, 2009. He played predominantly as a half-forward and wingman at the Hawks, playing a total of 56 games in brown and gold.

During the 2013 trade period Savage was traded from Hawthorn to St Kilda along with pick 18 (used to select Luke Dunstan) in exchange for ruckman Ben McEvoy.

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In a role as a half-forward and wingman Savage played six of St Kilda’s first seven games of 2014 but only had more than 15 disposals in two of these games and was dropped to the VFL for an extended period to work on aspects of his game.

St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson decided to shift Savage to the half-back line in a move that reinvigorated his career. He was recalled in Round 14 and adapted well to his new role at half-back, having at least 20 disposals seven times from eight games before missing the final two games of the season due to fracturing his right arm in two places at training. 

After being moved to half-back Savage hasn’t looked back and has improved in all three seasons at St Kilda.

Savage returns to the Saints line-up for their Round 18 game against the Western Bulldogs tomorrow after missing last round’s game against Melbourne due to suffering a concussion in Round 16 against Essendon.

Savage is enjoying the best year of his seven season AFL career, having played 15 of a possible 16 AFL games in 2016. He is averaging a career best 21.3 disposals per game, has been superb with his ball use – having a disposal efficiency of 85.0 per cent and ranks third at the club for metres gained behind fellow defender Leigh Montagna and midfielder Jack Steven.

Limited Edition History Book: Celebrating 50 Years 1966-2016 The Archives Edition