Heath Shaw rules out joining brother Rhyce at North Melbourne after GWS delisting
Heath Shaw says he won’t be joining brother Rhyce at North Melbourne next season, opening up about whether he’s ready to retire after being delisted by GWS Giants.
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Leon Cameron’s desire to inject more speed in his club’s ball movement and blood young defenders saw the Giants yesterday end Heath Shaw’s 152-game career at the club.
The Herald Sun revealed on Tuesday the Giants had made the contentious decision to move him on after he played every game and kept stars including Tom Papley, Izak Rankine and Charlie Cameron goalless.
Despite that excellent season the Giants ranked a competition-worst in moving the ball from their defensive 50 to inside their attacking 50 and needed to change their defensive mix.
Speculation immediately turned to the Magpies premiership player joining the Kangaroos, where his older brother Rhyce is senior coach.
Shaw emphatically ruled out a move to North Melbourne on Wednesday, but admitted he was not fully ready to embrace retirement.
“I have spoken to my brother and I can categorically say that I will not be playing at the Kangas next year,” Shaw said on SEN.
“It sounds silly. I know I said I wasn’t retiring, but it doesn’t mean that I actually want to keep playing … I don’t think the word retirement sits that well with me.
“Whether I play or not, I’m not sure and whether I want to play or not, I’m not sure.
“You can probably park the retirement question, but for me, whatever happens, happens and I’m very comfortable.
“Speaking with the boys yesterday (Tuesday), I said either way … I was very comfortable to float off into the wilderness or, if an opportunity came by to play again, I would have to sit down and have a think about it.
“But right here and right now, I am pretty comfortable with where I am at.”
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Describing his departure from the GWS as the “best break-up” he could have had, the dual All-Australian said he had told Giants coach Leon Cameron he still felt he had more to give.
“I said at this point I don’t want to retire, that’s not what I want to do,” Shaw said.
“We put the question mark on it and the question mark was do I want to keep playing? Do I have the energy and effort to keep playing and, the other side of it was, do the Giants still want me and do the Giants see me having an impact on the club going forward?
“You actually have to have both parties agreeing on that or you can’t go forward. We came to the conclusion the question mark was a no from their side, but still a yes from my side. So we shook hands and we had a hug and that was it.
“To be honest, it’s not a bad break-up … I’m really comfortable and really happy the way that it has ended at the Giants.”
The delisting means Shaw missed a farewell game at the club he joined after a premiership at Collingwood, going on to play seven exceptional seasons as a defensive general.
He will be remembered for his cheeky disposition, game-turning spoil on Nick Riewoldt in the 2010 Grand Final draw and the combustible personality that made his on-field arguments with good mate Nick Maxwell appointment viewing.
The Giants finally came to the decision they needed to make change, which means Lachie Whitfield will play alongside smaller defenders including Lachie Ash, Isaac Cumming, Adam Kennedy and Sam Reid.
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Shaw said on Tuesday he was keen to play on but not given the choice.
“If you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d be a life member, a club champion and two-time All Australian and have played off in a Grand Final at a club that didn’t exist a decade ago, I would have taken a leaf out of Darryl Kerrigan’s book and said, ‘tell ’em they’re dreaming’,” he said.
“I’m a competitive beast so I held on to the thought of another year with the GIANTS to try get us back to where we should be, but sometimes the decision is taken out of your hands which makes it easy.”
Shaw’s manager, Ben Niall, confirmed he was keen to consider his options including the potential to play for a Victorian contender on a one-season deal.
Shaw would presumably need to go to a contender lacking a lockdown defender but can be content with a 325-game career including the 2010 premiership if his career is over.
GWS remains confident that Jeremy Cameron will sign a long-term deal, having told the Giants he wants to stay despite interest from Geelong.
No rival contender would offer a deal of the scope of the Giants deal, with GWS list boss Jason McCartney saying last week the club’s negotiations with his manager were progressing strongly.
He said last night the club had made a difficult call about Shaw given his excellent season.
“Heath is an unbelievable competitor and has done a remarkable job to get himself up to play consistently over such a long period of time,” said McCartney.
“He’s given absolutely everything he has to the Giants and indicated he wanted to play on, however we feel that the time is right for him to make way for the next generation.”
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