Heath Shaw says being sacked was the easiest part of his ‘bloody rough’ post-season
They were known as Collingwood’s ‘rat pack’ — and Dane Swan, Heath Shaw and Alan Didak could be set to reunite in suburban footy next year.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It says something about how difficult Heath Shaw’s worst month of his AFL career was that getting sacked by the Giants was one of the easiest things to deal with.
That decision came at the end of September.
What came across the following month put some perspective on his own AFL mortality as Shaw felt helpless in trying to assist those around him who were struggling far more than he was.
His brother and close mate, Rhyce, was dealing with his own personal issues after he stepped away from North Melbourne’s senior coaching role following the club’s tough time in the Queensland hub.
Exhausted and desperately needing a break, Rhyce came to a settlement with the Kangaroos on October 21.
Then came the devastating news that Giants AFLW footballer Jacinda Barclay had been found dead in her Perth home. She was only 29.
Shaw worked with the Giants’ AFLW squad in a specialist coaching role and losing one of the team rocked him and the club. He rallied around the rest of the side as well as AFLW coach Alan McConnell.
Kayo is your ticket to the best sport streaming Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
That crazy late September-October period proved the most challenging of Heath Shaw’s sporting career, even though footy wasn’t the main priority.
The normally bright and effervescent Shaw was just trying to get through for the sake of those around him.
“To be honest, the month after the season was probably one of the worst months I have had in and around the AFL, and the delisting was the easy part,” he said.
“Everyone says 2020 has been a bit of a nightmare and I suppose mine has been no different to anyone else’s.
“My (delisting) didn’t really matter much. The stuff that went on with my brother and what happened with Jacinda was much harder to deal with than getting sacked.”
Heath knew all about some of the issues Rhyce encountered during the year, as the siblings and their respective clubs stayed in the same Queensland location for much of the season.
But the true extent of the problem was laid bare at season’s end, as the Shaw family rallied around Rhyce.
Making it even more difficult post-season was the fact that border closures meant Heath was still in Sydney while Rhyce was back with his family in a COVID locked-down Melbourne, even though they spoke almost every day.
“It was hard, but the funny thing was Rhyce and everyone else was saying, ‘There’s no point in coming back’,” Shaw said.
“If Rhyce had said, ‘Come down, I need you’, I would have been straight down. But his wife (Lia) and the family and his management did an amazing job.”
The Shaw brothers reunited in Sydney this weekend to celebrate Heath’s 35th birthday.
The emotion surrounding Barclay’s passing reduced Shaw to tears at the club’s best-and-fairest, which had more to do with a sense of loss rather than his own imminent departure from the club he had called home since being traded by Collingwood in late 2014.
“I had a bit of a catch-up with the AFLW (players) with Jacinda (passing away),” he said. “That was pretty tough for everyone.”
“It just seemed like one thing after another. I was really concerned about the girls and for people like Alan McConnell. He has been the strongest of the lot of us, but he was bravely dealing with it more than anyone.
“It was a bloody rough month.”
‘ARE YOU GOING TO RETIRE?’
Shaw played footy on a knife’s edge this year, knowing a new one-year deal for 2021 was on the line.
The dual All-Australian, Kevin Sheedy Medal winner and 2010 Collingwood premiership player had already achieved so much across 16 seasons, but he wanted to play on with the Giants.
The “mixed messaging” he received at times confused him.
He was playing a lockdown defensive role that didn’t suit his strengths, but did so without complaint as he was told it was for the benefit of an inconsistent side.
“I was playing in a position I didn’t really like,” he said.
“I played halfback for most of my career and I’ve always been more offence than defence.
“As Swanny (Dane Swan) always said, ‘The best form of defence is having the ball in your hand’.
“It was tough early, but I got used to it and (coach) Leon (Cameron) said that role is a really specialist role.
“In our team, I was (deemed) the best man for the role. I got used to it, I understood it, even though I didn’t particularly like it.”
For the second year in a row, Shaw played every game for the Giants, and even when he played his final match in Round 18 — his 325th AFL game overall — he wasn’t certain if he would be playing on or not.
“I had some good conversations with Leon,” he said.
“There was some mixed messaging, not necessarily from Leon, but from a few other people at the club (who spoke about) coming on as a playing coach or helping out coaching. That (talk) went quiet late in the year.
“Just before the end of the year Leon asked me whether I was going to retire. I just said no. I read the tea leaves and then (Leon) did the old, ‘We will wait a couple of weeks and see where we want to go’.”
Three days later, he took a phone call requesting a meeting.
“I wasn’t assuming it was going to be a good meeting,” Shaw laughed.
GIANT BREAK-UP
Shaw can still see the funny side of his delisting.
He met Cameron and Giants list manager Jason McCartney under no illusions as to what was happening.
“It was sort of a genuine relationship break-up,” he said. “We were in a cafe … it was very similar to when you are breaking up with your girlfriend … It was like, ‘You don’t want to make a scene, so do it in a public place’.”
As disappointed as he was, and as confident as he was that he had at least another AFL season left in his body, he said it was “as good a break-up as you can have”.
There are no hard feelings, no recriminations.
Shaw went to dinner at Cameron’s house a few weeks later, where the pair had a chat and a few glasses of wine.
Cameron asked Shaw at the cafe if he would seek another AFL club, but Shaw told him he didn’t really want to be a three-club player.
“I said to Leon, ‘I don’t have to play on again. One extra year won’t make or break what I have done in football’,” Shaw said. “I have done more than I ever thought I would and achieved more than I ever thought I could.
“I’ve had some great experiences on and off the field. I’ve had a few tough times off the field. But I have tried everything … there wasn’t much more for me to do.”
Shaw informed the club he had no wish to play at a third club, as he loved the Magpies and the Giants — his two AFL sides — too much.
“I have been sacked by two different clubs, I don’t think I want to be sacked by a third,” he joked.
“I just didn’t want to finish the way we did at the Giants (missing the finals this year). I wanted to help my great mates get the Giants back to where they deserve to be.”
THE FUTURE
Shaw’s loyalty to his teammates — past and present — has been one of his defining characteristics of his always entertaining, highly-regarded AFL career.
A contingent of friends helped him celebrate his 35th birthday in Sydney this weekend.
He is moving out of his Sydney home on Monday and will stay at the Kirribilli home of Giants chairman Tony Shepherd next week as he plots his next move.
He is encouraging Giants captain Stephen Coniglio to dip into his lucrative long-term contract and buy a property, so he can “come and stay” for a while.
Shaw always thought he would return to Melbourne as soon as his Giants career was over.
But there has been a recent development — he has “met a girl” since the end of the season and is now likely to spend some time commuting between the two cities.
He is coming back to Melbourne next week to spend Christmas with his family, which excites him since he hasn’t seen his Mum and Dad since January.
Shaw can’t wait to see more of his Collingwood mates too, especially the “Rat Pack”, who formed part of that famous 2010 premiership unit.
“Hopefully I can see more of my close mates — Johno (Ben Johnson), Dids (Alan Didak), Swanny, my brother and Taz (Chris Tarrant).
“We’re all very similar, but they have grown up a bit. They all have kids now, except me and Swanny.”
Swan announced on Friday he will have his first child in February.
“I’ve got to ask Swanny for some advice on life after footy. He seems to be an expert at living a gap year for five years.”
Shaw plans on staying fit and has even been anonymously playing cricket in Sydney in recent weeks, with few people recognising him.
His sharp wit and good sense of humour will almost certainly see him dabble in the media, while he has also been talked about as a possible candidate for Channel 7’s SAS: Australia, even though he swears: “I never once got into an ice-bath during my footy career.”
Given his footy nous, a coaching future beckons, though he won’t consider that for a year or two.
He has had no shortage of clubs making their pitches for him to play a few games next year.
“I’ve had a mate from Darwin who wants me to go and play there. Diamond Creek (his former junior club) called me. Ben Reid has tried to get to Wangaratta. Broken Hill has been interested and a team in Tassie has also called,” Shaw said.
“A mate of mine who is connected to the Northern Bullants left a message for me, so he maybe wants me to do what my dad did.”
Shaw’s father, Ray, a former Magpie skipper, captained-coached the Preston Bullants to VFA premierships in 1983 and 1984.
One plan is also to reunite the ‘Rat Pack’ for a few games at local level in 2021 — for fun.
“I wouldn’t mind having a kick with them,” he said. “If the opportunity arose to play a few games with Swanny or Johno or Dids or even Rhyce, that would be fun.”
Just imagine the after-match bar tab.
COLLINGWOOD CONTROVERSIES
“It was a little bit of naivety from my end. I don’t want this to sound arrogant, but I thought I was a good player. So I never thought I would get sacked, although there were threats around it. As much as it was a shocking time, I felt bad for those I had let down.
“Mick (Malthouse), on his day, is the most brutal man going, but the next day, he has his forward thinking cap on. Eddie (McGuire) was the same. He was going to kill me then the next day, he is like, ‘This is what we need to do … if you need anything let me know’. I got great support from people like Mick, Eddie and Geoff Walsh, and from my best mates, who are guys you would go to war with.”
‘SMOTHER OF THE CENTURY’
“I never thought I’d be remembered for something like that. I wasn’t into defence, I was more an offence type of player. A few years ago, Nick (Riewoldt)’s brother came up to me in a pub and we had had a few too many. He introduced himself and said: ‘I’m Nick’s brother, would you like a beer?’ I said: ‘Let’s make it a champagne instead.’ I think I repaid the favour later that night.”
THE 2010 FLAG
“It was the best time. We had a period through the middle of 2010 and for most of 2011 where we had an air of invincibility. The disappointing thing was that we only won one premiership. Still, one premiership is pretty bloody good.”
ON BEING TRADED TO THE GIANTS
“When you are told you are being traded when you have two years left on your contract, the writing is on the wall. That is not really a mutual decision. I’ve said it a million times, it was the best thing for me to come to a brand new club and to create history pretty much week in and week out.”
RELATIONSHIP WITH BUCKLEY
“I have bumped into him, but I’ve had no real conversation about what happened. It is gone now. We have both gone through a fair bit in football terms since then. Although it was a forced decision for me, the Giants was the best club for me to go to, even though there was interest from a couple of other clubs. The Giants took a risk with me and I took a risk with the Giants, and it ended up being good for the both of us.”
THE 2016 PRELIM LOSS
“That was the one that hurt the most. We missed opportunities and sort of threw it away a bit, even though (the Bulldogs) played really well. That one took me a long time to get over, even the 2011 Grand Final loss (when Collingwood lost to Geelong) wasn’t as bad as that. The Grand Final loss to the Tigers (in 2019) was a lot easier to get over as they beat us easily. I am not someone to dwell on losses but that (2016) one hurts the most. I didn’t even watch the Granny that year. I was out of there.”
GIANTS’ FUTURE AFTER EXODUS
“They lost a few players they wanted to keep which hurts a bit, but they will get some players in next year. Don’t forget a lot of players were out of form this year and a lot didn’t play because of injury. In the same breath it is hard to replace a guy who kicks you 50 goals every year. Jezza (Cameron) is the biggest loss. The other ones were pretty standard because none of the guys are from Sydney. Jez and Aidan Corr could have gone home in year two, year four or year six, but they stayed for 10 years with Jezza and eight years with Aidan. So I would say let’s celebrate what those guys have done for the club.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Heath Shaw says being sacked was the easiest part of his ‘bloody rough’ post-season
Breakout Bulldog? Young gun steps up to fill Treloar void
Just days after Adam Treloar’s injury, a young gun at the Dogs has staked his claim for a spot in their midfield, as Luke Beveridge waits on scans that could cause another selection headache.
‘Worried I’d never return to normal’: My battle with concussion
Just days after her third concussion, award-winning journalist Eliza Reilly fainted in front of Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir. Six months on, she tells her life-changing, emotional battle with her brain.