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HAWTHORN's veteran captain Luke Hodge will play into a 15th AFL season, after re-signing with the Hawks until the end of 2016.
The club has also locked away gun midifielder Liam Shiels for another four years.
Mitchell signs on for another year
Hodge was at his best last year, averaging 25 disposals a game and winning his second Norm Smith Medal in his third premiership.
He has missed just five games in the past two seasons after struggling with a knee injury in 2012.
He said the decision to extend his career was made easy by how well his body had held up in recent years.
“At this stage, I still think I can help the boys on the field and my body is feeling great," Hodge told the club’s website.
“It’s a great club to be around and we’re in a really exciting time at the moment so there was definitely no argument when they came to us [with a contract].
The champion skipper also hinted he could play on beyond this new deal after a successful pre-season in which he played all three NAB Challenge games.
“I’ve been able to get through the pre-season really well and I guess that’s what it’s come down to.
“Fingers crossed that keeps going for the next two years anyway and then we’ll see what happens after that.”
Shiels committed to the Hawks until the end of 2019 after leading the side for inside 50s last season.
The 23-year-old captained his side during its NAB Challenge game against Collingwood in February.
He told Fairfax Media the already successful group's desire for further glory made his decision to remain a Hawk extremely straight-forward.
"It's a long contract and it will keep me here for a while so it was a big decision in that way, but also a pretty easy one because I love it here and have never had a thought about leaving this club," Shiels said.
"I love the club, I love the culture, I have some great mates here and I think we have a lot of things left to achieve.
"Every footballer wants to play in premierships, so hopefully between now and the end of 2019 we can be there on the last Saturday in September a few more times."
