Interim North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw promises to be his ‘quirky’ self

So much has changed for Rhyce Shaw in the seven months he’s been at North Melbourne but one thing he won’t change is himself.

Rhyce Shaw’s first press conference as North Melbourne’s caretaker coach. Picture: Mark Stewart

Rhyce Shaw is the most popular person at North Melbourne right now.

Everyone wants a piece of the assistant-turned-caretaker, following Brad Scott’s abrupt departure.

From the marketing to merchandise teams to the operations and high performance departments, Shaw is the “it” man at Arden St.

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Shaw, however, in the interim, only cares about the Kangaroos.

The self-confessed “quirky” aspiring head coach spent Tuesday talking to every player on the list, either side of his first press conference in the top job and the main training session.

Anyone missed, will be spoken to on Wednesday.

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Shaw has barely been at the club seven months and yet, already, the 2012 Sydney premiership defender, who only started coaching in 2016, has forged strong player-coach relationships.

He ramped that up on Monday, the first day of the post-Scott era, whisking the Kangaroos away from prying eyes for a kick around and lunch in South Melbourne.

“It has been an emotional time no doubt, it’s totally understandable, that’s human nature, and these guys have been so close to Scotty for a long period of time,” Shaw said.

“(We) had a kick around and went out for lunch, just chewed the fat really, and made sure everyone was comfortable and was able to talk about what they were feeling at that time.”

North Melbourne interim coach Rhyce Shaw oversees his first training session at Arden St. Picture: AAP

Footy clubs, it is often said, are the best place to be when the proverbial hits the fan.

Arden St is no different.

But North is anything but a club in crisis, even without a senior coach for 2020.

The chatter is inevitable and will be relentless, not that it bothers Shaw.

His priority is the Kangaroos, solely and wholly, and defeating Richmond on Friday night.

The rest can wait.

How long for, who knows?

“It could take one day, it could take a week, it could take two weeks for them to get over it,” Shaw said.

“I’m not Brad Scott, the boys know that.

“I’m a little bit different, I’m a little bit quirky, at times, that’s just the way it is.”

Rhyce Shaw has built strong relationships with North players. Picture: Mark Stewart

Asked to expand on the so-called “quirks”, Shaw deadpanned: “my brother”.

“He probably sums it all up,” Shaw said, in reference to GWS Giants veteran Heath Shaw.

“I’m a jovial bloke and I like high energy, I like punchiness, and I like the guys to be comfortable expressing themselves.”

For all the tumult and uncertainty of recent days, Shaw completed the transition into AFL senior coach — sooner than anybody, including himself expected — with aplomb.

“I can’t control any of that stuff (speculation about next coach),” Shaw said.

“That’s outside my area, outside my pay grade.

“I’m here to coach a band of players who are playing some pretty good footy at the moment and we’re looking forward to playing against Richmond on Friday.”