DELISTED Essendon midfielder Dylan Shiel has called time on his career after his search for an opportunity at a third club fell short.
The 32-year-old, cut by the Bombers at the end of the season, had expressed interest in playing on into 2026.
WHO'S CALLED IT QUITS 2025's retirements and delistings
But the former Giant has now confirmed his retirement, bringing an end to his 234-game career that spanned two clubs.
Shiel played 135 games as an inaugural player at Greater Western Sydney before crossing to Essendon at the end of the 2018 season, playing a further 99 games over his final seven seasons at the Hangar.
An All-Australian with the Giants in 2017, Shiel played 20-plus games in a season just once for the Bombers.
The club and Shiel mutually agreed to part ways in August, with Shiel saying at the time he believed "the timing is right to explore continuing my career elsewhere if the opportunity arises. If not, I am ready to embrace the next phase of my life."
But after failing to secure a lifeline, Shiel posted an emotional message to his Instagram to announce his retirement on Saturday, saying the game "broke me open more than once".
"Today, I close the chapter on a dream I've been living since I was a boy," he wrote.
"To (GWS), thank you for taking a chance on a 17-year-old kid who didn't know much, except that he loved this game with everything he had. You gave me a beginning, a family, and a foundation I'll always be proud of.
"To (Essendon), 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 - they've all left a lasting mark on me.
"Along the way, I've 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 - the highs, the lows, and everything in between.
"But the truth is this: my journey wasn't a fairytale. It was hard. It was heavy. It broke me open more than once. There were seasons where it felt like all I did was fight - for form, for confidence, for a place, for belief. Yet every time the game tried to push me out, something inside me pushed back harder.
"I'm proud of that. Maybe more than anything else. Because at the end of the day, I'm just a boy who held onto his dream with both hands … and refused to let go.
"Thank you to everyone who believed in me, challenged me, supported me, or simply walked beside me. You helped me become the man I am today."
Shiel's retirement continues a raft of list changes for the Bombers following an injury-riddled 2025 campaign.
Veteran ruck Todd Goldstein has also retired and Sam Draper moved to Brisbane as a free agent, while Alwyn Davey jnr, Ben Hobbs, Jayden Laverde, Luamon Lual, Jye Menzie, Will Setterfield and Oskar Smartt were all delisted.
