Heath Shaw (born 27 November 1985) is a former

Australian rules footballer Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

who played for the

Collingwood Football Club The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

and the

Greater Western Sydney Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS or Giants) are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney Olympic Park which repres ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). Heath grew up in Diamond Creek and played junior sport for

Diamond Creek Football Club The Diamond Creek Football Club is an Australian rules football club located in Diamond Creek – an outer north-eastern suburb of Melbourne. History Formed in 1904, the club was a founding member of the Whittlesea District Football Associat ...

and Diamond Creek Cricket Club.

AFL career

After being drafted under the

father–son rule The father–son rule is a rule that allows clubs preferential recruiting access to the sons of players who have made a major past contribution to the club in Australian rules football, most notably in the Australian Football League. The rule ...

in the 2003 AFL Draft at pick 48 to , Shaw made his AFL debut in 2005 against St Kilda at the

Telstra Dome Docklands Stadium, known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the suburb of Docklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was completed ...

. He was a solid contributor since making his debut, with his best game being his first. A running defender, Heath has pace and good ball skills which can make him into a good footballer. He played all possible remaining 6 games of the season and kicked his first goal against

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in Round 21.

Collingwood (2006–2013)

Shaw had a stunning 2006 season, being quickly noted for his ball-winning ability out of the back-line and his consistency and reliability which was a key to the success of the Magpies. He played 22 games, with his first being in Round 2 against Hawthorn after being a late replacement for Scott Burns. Shaw had played for VFL affiliate Williamstown, where he had 30 touches in wet and windy conditions, only 24 hours before his call up. Shaw kept his spot for the rest of the season, building game-time each week early on to becoming a valuable player to the side. In Round 4 on

ANZAC Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

against Essendon he had 23 touches and 10 marks, and in the following week, he won an

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Bu ...

nomination. Shaw had 16 games with 18 or more disposals during the season, which showed his consistency. He somewhat tailed off at the end of the season, but still was effective with his one percenters. Shaws ended up having 448 disposals (313 kicks, 135 handballs) at an average of more than 20 touches a game. His best game being against where he had 27 kicks, six handballs, 11 marks and kicked a fantastic goal in a thriller at

AAMI Stadium Football Park, known commercially as AAMI Stadium, was an Australian rules football stadium located in West Lakes, a western suburb of Adelaide, the state capital of South Australia, Australia. It was built in 1973 by the South Australian Na ...

. Heath also had 160 marks and accumulated 2210 Champion Data ranking points at an average of 100, and was ranked inside the top 10 in a game on 13 occasions, including two no.1 game rankings. Shaw played in his first final against the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

, but Collingwood lost. Shaw also came third in the 2006

behind

Danyle Pearce Danyle Pearce (born 7 April 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for the Port Adelaide between ...

of and

Andrew Raines Andrew Raines (born 8 March 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club, and Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is the son of Geoff Raines, a premiership centr ...

of . Shaw also polled six votes in the 2006

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

, including a game-high of three votes in the Round 12 game against the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...

. Shaw also placed fourth in the 2006 Copeland Trophy. In 2007, Shaw started the season in great fashion. He would have a solid pre-season and then become one of the players of the first quarter of the year; leading the league in kicks (114 @ 19.0) after round 6. He had an extraordinary opening game of the season, where he had 27 disposals, and collected two Brownlow votes despite giving away five free kicks, including a

50-metre penalty In the sport of Australian rules football, the 50-metre penalty is an additional penalty applied by umpires for an infractions after a free kick or mark has already been paid. The 50-metre penalty is used in many senior competitions, including ...

in the final minutes of the game, which resulted in a Shannon Grant controversial miss. On

Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

, Shaw would put on a show of courage and determination in where he won the Anzac Day Medal, racking up 23 kicks, nine handballs and 13 marks against the

Bombers A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strategic bombing is ...

. Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy labelled the Shaw boys as trouble and a pair that needed to be stopped. Heath would be on notice by opposition coaches for the majority of the season, with taggers Kane Cornes and Kane Johnson to name a few would be told to restrict his run off half-back. Shaw's

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

form would deteriorate with the extra attention, as well as a corked thigh/quad he encountered against

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

in round ten. He would be heavily bandaged on his left leg for the rest of the season. Shaw played an exciting brand of football late in the season, including a good finals series. He would have 25 disposals in the losing preliminary final in which the club lost to the eventual premiers,

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

by five points. Shaw would poll seven votes in the

, as well as finish equal fourth (fifth on the new countback system) in the Copeland Trophy and was considered unlucky not to be selected in the

team. Shaw started 2008 well with a best-on-ground performance against , but found the going tough mid-season when opposition clubs finally discovered ways to curb his influence. Shaw and Alan Didak were suspended for the rest of the season by the club following a serious late-night indiscretion. Hamstring troubles and a suspension for contact with an umpire caused a slow start to 2009. He played only two of the first six matches before returning in round seven against St Kilda and did not miss a beat for the remainder of the year. Was one of the most consistent Magpies in the finals. Finished third in the Copeland Trophy and won the Bob Rose Trophy as the Best Finals Player. In 2010 he was one of Collingwood's best players across the two Grand Finals. He enshrined himself in Collingwood history in the replay by his freakish smother of Nick Riewoldt who meandered to the goal line. Shaw managed to knock the ball free from Riewoldt's hands before it could even touch his boot to save a certain goal and tip the momentum Collingwood's way. By mid-year 2011 he was a popularly tipped by most pundits to be a certain inclusion in the All-Australian team but after he was found to have laid a bet on teammate he was suspended for the rest of the season. In 2013, Shaw's on-field issues were highlighted again during Collingwood's loss to Port Adelaide in the Elimination Final where he played on

Angus Monfries Angus Monfries (born 19 January 1987) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Monfries played as a forward pocket or ...

. During the game, Shaw gave away a crucial free kick in the goal square early in the second quarter and after the siren for half-time rang, he threw the ball at Monfries' head. At the end of the 2013 season, Collingwood agreed to trade Shaw despite signing a two-year contract extension in 2012.

Greater Western Sydney (2014–2020)

In October 2013, Shaw was traded to Greater Western Sydney in exchange for Taylor Adams. In 2015, he won the Kevin Sheedy Medal as Greater Western Sydney's best and fairest. Shaw was recognised for his defensive efforts by earning a place in the back-pocket in the 2015 All-Australian team. He was also selected in the 2016 All-Australian team, this time on the half-back line.

Controversies

Shaw was involved in a late-season controversy in 2008 when he was charged with drink driving after crashing into a parked car and reportedly registering a blood alcohol reading of 0.144. On 4 August the Collingwood Football Club released a statement saying that Shaw had lied to them; teammate Alan Didak was his passenger when the accident happened, but Shaw and Didak denied this and the entire team fronted the media in a show of unity, where Shaw refused to divulge the identity of the passenger under media questioning. He was backed up by captain Scott Burns. However eyewitnesses identified Didak, and after the pair admitted to lying to their teammates and club officials, they were banned until the end of the season. In Round 3, 2009, Shaw pushed umpire Michael Vozzo off-balance after he had paid a free kick to the opposition. This resulted in Shaw being suspended for one game and fined $1950. Shaw was suspended by the AFL in July 2011 after it was found that he had paid $10 to a friend to bet on teammate Nick Maxwell to be the first goalscorer in Collingwood's Round 9 match against

. AFL integrity rules prohibit all players and club officials from participating in any form of betting on football matches. He was fined $20,000 and suspended for 8 weeks, as well as a six-week suspended sentence. During the 2014 off-season, Shaw was detained by Victorian police for drunken behaviour early on the morning of the

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league was then known as the Victorian Football Leag ...

, which his brother Rhyce was to take part in for the

. He was the second Giants player to fall foul of the law in 2014, after teammate

Toby Greene Toby Greene (born 25 September 1993) is a professional Australian rules footballer and the captain of the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Greater Western Sydney Giants with the 11 ...

was suspended for five matches earlier in the season also for drunken behaviour following the team's 111-point loss to in Round 8. In round five, 2017, during the third quarter of the twelfth Sydney Derby, Shaw made an insensitive comment towards

player Tom Papley while being tackled.

Education

Shaw attended Loyola College, Watsonia, in Melbourne's outer north-east suburbs.

Personal life

Shaw is the son of former Collingwood captain Ray Shaw, and brother of Rhyce. He is also the nephew of premiership captain and

Norm Smith Medal The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990, the competition was known as the Victorian Footbal ...

list, Tony Shaw and former Collingwood player Neville Shaw. His cousin Brayden (son of Tony) was drafted in the same year as Heath, but he failed to play a game before being delisted in 2005.

Statistics

:''Statistics are correct to the end of 2020''Heath Shaw's player profile at AFL Tables
/ref> , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 39 , , 6 , , 1 , , 0 , , 66 , , 24 , , 90 , , 40 , , 11 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 11.0 , , 4.0 , , 15.0 , , 6.7 , , 1.8 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 39 , , 22 , , 9 , , 4 , , 313 , , 136 , , 449 , , 160 , , 54 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 14.2 , , 6.2 , , 20.4 , , 7.3 , , 2.5 , , 6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 39 , , 25 , , 2 , , 4 , , 361 , , 126 , , 487 , , 164 , , 68 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 14.4 , , 5.0 , , 19.5 , , 6.6 , , 2.7 , , 7 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 39 , , 18 , , 6 , , 5 , , 247 , , 119 , , 366 , , 125 , , 33 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 13.7 , , 6.6 , , 20.3 , , 6.9 , , 1.8 , , 5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 39 , , 21 , , 2 , , 3 , , 295 , , 187 , , 482 , , 118 , , 43 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 14.0 , , 8.9 , , 23.0 , , 5.6 , , 2.0, , 5 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" , scope=row bgcolor=F0E68C ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

^# , , , 39 , , 23 , , 5 , , 3 , , 345 , , 144 , , 489 , , 129 , , 53 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 15.0 , , 6.3 , , 21.3 , , 5.6 , , 2.3, , 5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 39 , , 17 , , 2 , , 2 , , 282 , , 95 , , 377 , , 116 , , 60 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 16.6 , , 5.6 , , 22.2 , , 6.8 , , 3.5, , 3 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 39 , , 21 , , 9 , , 2 , , 318 , , 105 , , 423 , , 107 , , 58 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 15.1 , , 5.0 , , 20.1 , , 5.1 , , 2.8, , 1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 39 , , 20 , , 1 , , 6 , , 278 , , 113 , , 391 , , 114 , , 60 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 13.9 , , 5.7 , , 19.6 , , 5.7 , , 3.0, , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, style="text-align:center;" style="white-space: nowrap;, , , 23 , 17 , , 0 , , 3 , , 275 , , 82 , , 357 , , 83 , , 30 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 16.2 , , 4.8 , , 21.0 , , 4.9 , , 1.8 , , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 23 , , 22 , , 1 , , 2 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 420^† , , 97 , , 517 , , 145 , , 61 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 19.1^† , , 4.4 , , 23.5 , , 6.6 , , 2.8 , , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 23 , , 24 , , 1 , , 0 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 503^† , , 77 , , 580 , , 183 , , 61 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 21.0^† , , 3.2 , , 24.2 , , 7.6 , , 2.5, , 2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 23 , , 25 , , 0 , , 4 , , 393 , , 122 , , 515 , , 151 , , 37 , , 0.0 , , 0.2 , , 15.7 , , 4.9 , , 20.6 , , 6.0 , , 1.5, , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 23 , , 20 , , 0 , , 2 , , 361 , , 84 , , 445 , , 115 , , 53 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 18.1 , , 4.2 , , 22.3 , , 5.8 , , 2.7, , 0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 23 , , 26 , , 0 , , 1 , , 419 , , 103 , , 522 , , 177 , , 60 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 16.1 , , 4.0 , , 20.1 , , 6.8 , , 2.3, , 0 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 23 , , 17 , , 3 , , 1 , , 162 , , 47 , , 209 , , 78 , , 38 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.5 , , 2.8 , , 12.3 , , 4.6 , , 2.2, , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 325 ! 42 ! 42 ! 5062 ! 1667 ! 6729 ! 2017 ! 781 ! 0.1 ! 0.1 ! 15.8 ! 5.2 ! 21.0 ! 6.3 ! 2.4 ! 34 Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Heath 1985 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Collingwood Football Club players Collingwood Football Club premiership players Greater Western Sydney Giants players Northern Knights players Kevin Sheedy Medal winners All-Australians (AFL) VFL/AFL premiership players People educated at Loyola College People from Diamond Creek, Victoria People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Sportspeople involved in betting scandals