‘We were just a normal family. We weren’t thinking down the track when the boys started playing footy. We just wanted them to play footy to the best of their ability. There was no pressure.’

—Ray Shaw, November 2017

For 40 years the Shaw family forged an indelible name at Collingwood. The legacy began in 1974, when Ray was recruited from Preston. Standing 175 cm tall, he was a rover with muscular legs and a strong rump. He ran with a lilting gait, a side-to-side motion, almost on his toes. Quick and dangerous around goal, he had thick black hair and a similar moustache. In 1978 he won the Copeland Trophy as Collingwood’s best and fairest. In 1979 he was appointed captain.

In 1978, Ray’s younger brother Tony joined Collingwood. Short at 170 cm, Tony was described as slow and unable to kick over a jam tin. Squat and round, he antagonised the opposition, beating them with persistence and a fierce desire to win. He also captained Collingwood, leading them to the 1990 premiership and winning the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground in the Grand Final.

Neville was the third Shaw brother to represent Collingwood, debuting in 1984. Built like his brothers, he played a similar game but his career was wrecked by a knee reconstruction. He rebounded, however, to win back-to-back best and fairest awards with West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in 1988 and 1989.

Three brothers representing the same club is rare in VFL/AFL football, but the Shaw family has proved to be unique to football in many ways. A generation later, the Shaw name lived on through another set of brothers, Rhyce and Heath, who followed their father Ray to Collingwood. By 2013, when Heath left Collingwood, the Shaw family had racked up almost four decades of continual service to the club. Tony’s playing career ended in 1994, but he served as an assistant coach under Leigh Matthews and was appointed senior coach in 1996. He resigned in 1999, the same year his nephew Rhyce was drafted to Collingwood.

Collectively, the Shaw family played 769 games for Collingwood, including 11 Grand Finals. Only Neville missed out on playing in a Grand Final. Ray and Tony both captained Collingwood and won the Copeland Trophy. Despite playing in five Grand Finals, Ray never won a premiership. The Shaw story doesn’t end at Collingwood – Rhyce and Heath found other clubs. Collectively, the family had played 1001 games of VFL/AFL football by the end of the 2017 season.

Ray started off the Shaw legacy, and he was also the first to get sacked. Collingwood lost the 1981 Grand Final to Carlton by 20 points. It was Ray’s fifth Grand Final in five years. The closest he came to a premiership was the draw in 1977 against North Melbourne. Two days after losing to Carlton, his career was over. Coach Tommy Hafey delivered the news during a short phone call. ‘Your services are no longer required,’ Hafey said.

Ray was just 28. He had played 146 games and kicked 200 goals. When fit, he was a damaging player capable of breaking a game open. He went from captain of a Grand Final side to being sacked. He felt he had more to give and tried arguing with Hafey, but it was pointless. The coach wasn’t sure Ray’s knee was up to the rigours of football anymore, and was known to be ruthless with Collingwood’s list after finals had been lost.

Ray missed 13 games in 1981 with the knee injury. Most of that time was spent on the couch with his leg in plaster. When he came back late in the season, he’d lost fitness and touch. By his own admission, he didn’t play well in the Grand Final, but he didn’t think he deserved to be sacked. Gutted, he talked to North Melbourne and Essendon but turned down both clubs. He went to Preston as captain-coach because he couldn’t stand the thought of playing against his former teammates. Twenty days after he was sacked, Rhyce was born. Ray’s disappointment was tempered by the arrival of his first son. Four years later, when Ray was still playing and coaching in the VFA, Heath was born.

With the Shaw bloodline, Ray’s boys were always going to be interested in sport. The age gap between Rhyce and Heath hardly mattered. From an early age, they played football and cricket in the backyard or front yard. The family lived in St Andrews, about 40 km north-east of Melbourne, and each Sunday they visited Ray’s parents in Reservoir. During those visits, the boys spent time with Tony and Neville, receiving an education about football over dinner.

Rhyce and Heath followed Collingwood – they had no choice. When they were old enough, Ray showed them scrapbooks he had compiled, mostly newspaper clippings about himself and Collingwood. The boys spent hours reading through them. ‘You only put good things in scrapbooks,’ Ray said. His boys can’t recall their life without Collingwood. The club was always there. Although they never saw Ray play, their uncle Tony was captain as they grew up. They loved going to the football. ‘My life was pretty much following Tony until he retired,’ Rhyce said.

As they got older, Rhyce and Heath wanted to hear stories about their dad captaining Collingwood. Ray told them stories about Len Thompson and brothers Wayne and Max Richardson, the men who captained Collingwood during his career. ‘The captaincy was a great honour,’ he said. He told his boys about being sent home from Collingwood’s under-19s because he was too small: ‘They said come back next year. I did.’

Tony suffered the same humiliation and was back again the following year. Ray told his boys that if they persevered, they could do what they wanted. He explained how a boy from Reservoir, 40 minutes away from Victoria Park, had ended up as captain. The boys loved that story. Ray also detailed the disappointment of playing in five Grand Finals without a win. ‘It took a bit longer before the Grand Finals started to take their focus,’ he said. Heath and Rhyce were too young to fully understand loss. That would come, ruthlessly, in time.

As kids, the disappointment of Ray’s Grand Final defeats was erased by excitement. They understood their father had captained Australia’s most famous club. And during the football season, excitement was everywhere. Heath recalls going to the football when Tony was coaching. Hanging out with their cousin Brayden, Tony’s son, they headed to the rooms after the game, getting a footy and kicking it among themselves or with a player if they could interest one. ‘That was my earliest memory of knowing the Shaw family name around football,’ Heath said.

As he grew older, he learned more about Ray’s career, along with Tony’s and Neville’s. He found the history fascinating, but was drawn more to his brother. ‘I wanted to follow in his footsteps,’ Heath said. Whatever game Rhyce was playing, Heath wanted to play too. And their father loved sport, whether it was footy or cricket or basketball. The boys were the same. It didn’t matter if they had a bat or a ball in their hand, they just wanted to play sport. ‘I never pushed,’ Ray said. ‘It was good. You know exactly where they are and what they’re doing.’

Rhyce felt the comparisons early. Whenever he had a kick with mates, he was always Ray’s son, not Rhyce. The expectation was always there. It was made worse when he was held back from junior football. While his mates were playing under-9s and under-10s at Diamond Creek, Rhyce had to wait until he was 13 to play his first game. ‘Mum and Dad didn’t think it was right for me to play before that,’ he said. He was held back because he was skinny and short. A growth spurt at 13 meant his parents could no longer argue.

Rhyce’s first game of junior football was memorable for the taunts. Lining up at full-forward, he was targeted whenever he went near the ball by opponents and people over the fence, suggesting he wasn’t as good as his father. ‘I wasn’t a great footballer,’ Rhyce said. ‘To be honest, I was shithouse that game.’ He just wanted to play. Instead, he was hit with the comparison during his first game. The thrill of finally playing eroded quickly because of his name. ‘That’s the first memory of it affecting me,’ he said. ‘That stuck with me. I was terribly upset.’

After the game he sought the comfort of his parents. Ray told him to ignore it – he could not change who he was. As the season went on, Rhyce kicked a few goals. In most games, the taunts were there. ‘Diamond Valley was pretty ruthless at junior level,’ he said.

Heath was almost ten when he starting playing for Diamond Creek. Wanting to play junior football had more to do with his mates than his father. Simply, he followed several schoolmates to Diamond Creek, where Rhyce was already playing. Ray was still involved in senior football, with Lalor and Hurstbridge football clubs. On Saturdays he coached the seniors and on Sundays he watched his boys. In 1995 the Diamond Creek under-14s needed a coach, and he ended up coaching Rhyce for one season. Having coached seniors, he was able to relax, giving all the boys nicknames to make training more fun. He wanted them to have fun instead of demanding victory: ‘They enjoyed their footy a lot more. The Diamond Creek footy club was really about having fun and giving everyone a go.’

Watching his boys play, Ray felt a mix of fear and excitement. He wanted them to play well without getting hurt or crying. Rhyce was developing quickly and had good skills and pace, a skinny kid sprinting around with the ball. Ray described Heath as a little barrel when he started playing. More aggressive at the ball and opponents, Heath’s speed increased when he lost his baby fat at 13. Occasionally, Ray helped out with Heath’s team as an assistant coach or running the boundary, teaching the boys where to stand and run, and encouraging them to tackle, chase and get the ball. ‘I was really a roving boundary umpire coach,’ he said.

Heath recalls Ray watching alone, in peace and quiet, on the other side of the ground when he wasn’t running the boundary: ‘Dad didn’t like to get involved too much. It was rare that he would give me advice about footy. He wasn’t standing in the huddle, giving me advice and telling me where to stand and where to kick it.’

Rhyce was selected in Diamond Valley’s representative side and made Schoolboys teams. His football was good and he loved playing with his mates, but as his career progressed, the expectation rose. ‘You always thought you were getting looked at a bit more closely than anyone else,’ he said.

Heath didn’t get too much extra attention about being a Shaw. At primary school one of his mates barracked for Carlton, another for Essendon. Great mates became great rivals whenever their clubs clashed. And there was that Shaw name that excited his mates: ‘Obviously they knew that my dad played for Collingwood. It was sort of a big deal.’

Ray coached Rhyce into the under-14s grand final in 1995; Diamond Creek lost. Heath, on the same weekend, played in a winning grand final in the under-10s. Ray said Rhyce took the defeat hard: ‘He was pretty determined about winning and he always wanted to win.’ He felt Heath was more relaxed, hating losing but not dwelling on it. There weren’t many losses Heath had to deal with in junior football: he won premierships each year from under-10s to under-14s. ‘Dad said don’t take it for granted, not everyone gets to play in winning grand finals,’ Heath said. In time, he and Rhyce would heed those words.

As a coach and father, Ray didn’t focus too heavily on tackling or smashing in for the ball. His focus was on skill, teaching the boys to become proficient on their natural side first, then gradually introducing kicks on the wrong side of the body. He wanted them to be confident before being ambidextrous. Each week at training, he ordered exercises that made one skill the focus, such as kicking the ball well to hurt the opposition. The next week would be marking drills; the week after that, handball drills. He taught them to smother, run to support, stick to their opponent and make a contest. ‘All those little things that coaches forever and a day have been teaching kids,’ he said.

Rhyce said Ray was a good coach, making sure the team had fun while learning how to play: ‘I think he got the balance right. It was a very enjoyable year.’ But the enjoyment ended with the season, when Ray’s determination not to interfere with his sons’ careers interfered with Rhyce’s chance of winning a best and fairest. Rhyce recalls finishing fourth or fifth in the Diamond Valley League’s best and fairest, but eighth for Diamond Creek. Umpires lodged votes for Diamond Valley League games, while club best and fairest votes were lodged by club officials, including the coach. Rhyce complained to Ray about his placement in the club best and fairest. ‘I never voted for you,’ Ray said. ‘Thanks very much,’ Rhyce said.

In not voting for his son, Ray was showing his impartiality. He would support his sons and offer advice, but he didn’t want accusations that Rhyce had won an award because the coach was his father.

As Rhyce grew taller and heavier, he found his aggression. Ray said he never coached them to be aggressive: ‘That belongs to them. The tackling and aggression was in the boys. They were able to produce it out on the ground.’

Ray coached just one season at Diamond Creek. Then he remained in the background, watching silently, hoping his boys would play well. He umpired Heath’s 50th game for Diamond Creek, which left Heath at the doctors getting six stitches in his head.

Ray said after a game, no matter the result, the boys wanted a bucket of chips, a can of soft drink and to muck around with their mates. He let them have fun. In the car on the way home, they’d occasionally analyse the game and their performances. The discussion was always constructive – no criticism. If they’d missed targets with kicks and handpasses, Ray offered suggestions to improve. ‘There wasn’t a lot of focus on what they did wrong because they were only young,’ he said. ‘The more you try to put in their head at their age, they don’t take any notice.’

Rhyce and Heath became junior stars. Ray’s approach – offer advice when asked – was working. He was happy the boys were playing organised sport. Where it led was up to them. ‘There was no pressure from him to follow in his footsteps,’ Heath said.

In 1997, when Rhyce was 16, TAC Cup team the Northern Knights picked him to play. Ray, having coached his boy, could see his ability. He drove Rhyce to Victoria Park for training but rarely watched. Being at his former football home made him feel sentimental. Training there showed Rhyce what could be possible. ‘I thought he could play, and he did everything right,’ Ray said.

Rhyce was being talked about as a possible father–son combination. But at 16, he was hit by chronic fatigue that lingered for a year. He lost weight, spent weeks off school and was too sick to play football. When he came back the following year, at 17, the Northern Knights were waiting. ‘I was lucky enough to get invited down to the Knights again because I was a father–son prospect,’ he said. ‘That worked in my favour a little bit.’

For the first time in his life, Rhyce didn’t feel any expectation. After having a year off, the coaches had question marks over his health and ability. But Rhyce wasn’t ready to quit because of illness. ‘I had a pretty good pre-season,’ he said. ‘Played the first few games and then got picked for Vic Metro.’ From there it started to become real. Rhyce felt he was a chance to get drafted. Collingwood officials mentioned a possible father–son selection. The chatter got louder when he played for Victoria in the under-18s championships in 1999 in Brisbane. Against Western Australia, he lined up on a wing opposed to Leon Davis. By all reports it was a fantastic duel. During the game, one of his teammates was knocked out. Afterwards, when the team went out for dinner, he stayed in the hotel room with his injured teammate, keeping him company.

Ray spoke to the coaches when he picked Rhyce up at the airport. They said Rhyce had a good carnival but they were more impressed with his maturity and the respect he had for his teammates. ‘He didn’t really get accolades for his football,’ Ray said. ‘But he got accolades for being the type of character that he was.’ After the tournament, Rhyce was named All Australian. A couple of weeks later, Collingwood officials again spoke to Ray, asking questions about Rhyce’s temperament, how he handled victory and defeat, and how he handled pressure.

In the 1999 AFL draft, Collingwood drafted Rhyce at pick 18 as a father–son selection. It was a relief for Ray that his son wasn’t going interstate. He felt immense pride: another Shaw was at Collingwood. ‘You love your son to follow you,’ he said. ‘It’s something you dream about and hope for.’

It was also a bittersweet moment. A few weeks earlier, Tony Shaw had quit as Collingwood’s coach. After being appointed, he had set himself three years to take Collingwood to the finals, but he had failed. He kept his word.

When Rhyce was drafted, he really felt the expectations. During his first interview as a Collingwood player, he was asked about the Shaw name and its history. Just weeks into his first pre-season, he felt immediate pressure. Not only did he have to live up to the Shaw name, he had to create his own history. He debuted in Round 16 2000, as a late inclusion against Hawthorn. Ray remembers a phone call about 7 p.m. saying Rhyce was playing. The game started at 7.40 p.m. Ray was at home and didn’t have enough time to get to Docklands for the start of the match. He figured it would be half-time before he could get there. Rhyce gathered 17 possessions on debut. ‘Unfortunately we watched it on TV,’ Ray said. ‘It was a great honour for Rhyce to be chosen to play for Collingwood.’

Two weeks later he was dropped for the rest of the season. In 2001 he played one game, and he didn’t play at all in 2002. Looking back, he thinks he was affected by the Shaw name and didn’t cope well. When he was drafted, he liked the exposure he received from the name, but after two lean years, it was being mentioned in critiques. ‘It was really tough on me,’ Rhyce said. ‘Once the criticism started, if I wasn’t playing that great it became a real burden.’

Heath was still playing at Diamond Creek when Rhyce debuted. He said he copped abuse for being Ray’s son a few times during his junior career. Mostly it happened off the field, in the schoolyard or hanging out with mates on weekends. Kids taunted him about his father and uncles. ‘I had a few mates to back me up,’ Heath said about defending the Shaw name. ‘We weren’t shy to get into a few scuffles here and there.’

Rhyce admits to being involved in a few scuffles as a kid too, but he learned to ignore the gibes. He felt taunts were more likely whenever Collingwood lost. Mostly, he walked away. He’d always been singled out because of his name: ‘I’d never known anything different. I just learned to live with it.’

After being selected for a representative side, Heath recalls a man pulling him aside and muttering about the Shaw name. ‘The only reason you’re here is because your dad played footy,’ the man said. It may have stung at the time, but Heath shrugged it off. When he played well, the comments ceased.

In 2002 he was selected to play for the Northern Knights. He struggled. His two seasons weren’t ruined by osteitis pubis, but the injury certainly had an impact. He was skinny and getting taller, his body struggling with growth and the demands of footy. His first year as a bottom-ager was hard. He would play two games then miss two games. In his second year, he had to withdraw from the Victorian squad because his groin couldn’t get through three games in a week. Ray said Heath had been playing sport all year round for a long time: ‘It ground him down a little bit.’

In 2003, when Collingwood made the Grand Final, Heath was in his second year at the Knights, training once a fortnight at Victoria Park. On Thursday, the last training session before the Grand Final, he was sitting in the rooms when Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse walked in. ‘Put your gear on, boys, you’re coming out,’ Malthouse said. Heath ran onto Victoria Park, where about 15 000 people were watching Collingwood’s final training session before the Grand Final. Heath had never played or trained in front of that many. Rhyce was running around with the senior squad and would play against Brisbane at the weekend. ‘That was when I knew I wanted to play for Collingwood,’ Heath said.

For Rhyce, the burden he carried would get worse. That year had been his breakout season and he played 19 games. Having beaten Brisbane two weeks earlier in the qualifying final, much was expected of Collingwood in the Grand Final. It wasn’t a contest – Brisbane dominated. With seven minutes left in the second quarter, Rhyce took a mark in the back pocket and played on. He went to kick and changed his mind, dropped the ball and fell over. Alastair Lynch grabbed the ball and hooked a terrific goal to put Brisbane up by 36 points. They led by 42 at half-time and won the Grand Final by 50 points.

In the aftermath, Rhyce was criticised by fans and the media for dropping the ball. It was a bad fumble that had led to a goal, but it hadn’t cost Collingwood the Grand Final. Unfortunately, the way he’d dropped the ball stayed in the minds of many. Rhyce felt he was being unfairly targeted. ‘It was the hardest time in my football life,’ he said. ‘I didn’t deal with it too well.’

Rhyce understood football. Players get praised and criticised. He’d been trying to take the game on and it hadn’t worked. Ray said he hadn’t played well, and in the days afterwards he reminded his son that football was about learning and growing, becoming better. ‘You’ve got to forget about it and move on,’ he advised.

It took Rhyce years to move on. That moment in the Grand Final always seemed there. Brisbane kicked 20 goals that day, but none are remembered as much as Lynch’s. As Rhyce got older, that moment became the catalyst for him to become a better, more resilient player. Eventually, at another club, he would put it behind him. ‘If you’re going to crucify a bloke for one thing, so be it,’ he said. ‘I can’t do anything about that.’

A few weeks after the Grand Final, Collingwood officials had a brief, informal chat with Ray about selecting Heath under the father–son rule. Despite the chat, Heath was more concerned about getting drafted than being picked up by Collingwood. ‘It’s not a matter of being the son of a famous player,’ he said. ‘I wanted to make sure I played good footy throughout the year at the Knights so my name wouldn’t come into it.’ He thought Rhyce, being the older brother, copped more scrutiny for being a Shaw. ‘I didn’t have the pressure of being the son of Ray Shaw,’ Heath said. ‘Rhyce had already gone through the hard yards.’

As the draft neared, Ray and Heath were called to a meeting with Neil Balme, Collingwood’s football manager, and Noel Judkins, the club’s recruiting officer. In Balme’s office, Judkins said Heath would be selected as a father–son pick. Ray left the meeting excited but apprehensive. ‘They were taking a bit of a risk,’ he said of Heath’s osteitis pubis. ‘Medical staff said rest and he’ll get over it eventually, he just had to be careful.’

Heath recalls relief rather than elation. As the confirmation sank in, his thoughts turned to opportunity, to hopefully playing for the club that had been in his family for two generations. On draft day, he was selected by Collingwood at pick 48 under the father–son rule. In the same draft, Tony’s son Brayden was also drafted by the same rule. Brayden would never play a senior game because of serious shoulder injuries. Heath didn’t play a game in 2004.

In 2005, Rhyce started the season in great form. Playing the best football of his life, he was confident, providing pressure and run from the backline. Importantly, he was enjoying football again. But during the Queen’s Birthday game against Melbourne at the MCG, Jeff White fell on Rhyce’s knee. He underwent a reconstruction, putting him out of football for a year. During rehabilitation, he learned what it took to be a professional footballer: ‘Before that I was playing on talent, natural ability and a bit of hard work.’

As Rhyce sat out of football, Heath was playing for Williamstown. In Round 17 2005, he played for Williamstown on the Saturday and was a late inclusion for Collingwood on the Sunday. This time Ray was in the crowd, watching his son line up in the backline. ‘I think his first three kicks were smothered,’ he said. Heath had 22 possessions in a 73-point loss against St Kilda. He’d played two games of senior football in two days. It left him exhausted, but he kept his place for the remaining six games.

When the season was over, Heath followed the example Rhyce was setting in rehab and kept training during the off-season. Having had a taste of senior football and seeing the work Rhyce was doing to get back, he knew he had to be fitter and stronger to be a better player. ‘It makes it easy when you’ve got someone going through four years ahead,’ he said. ‘Rhyce was a big part of my development, learning through him.’

In 2006, Heath established himself as a rising star in defence. He could get the ball, was skilful and created defensive pressure. In Round 9 against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG, Rhyce returned from injury. It was the first game he’d played with Heath at any level of football: ‘I had nine touches and I think Heath gave me eight of them.’ He played nine games for the year, including the elimination final against the Western Bulldogs.

But it was becoming clear to him that his position was under threat, and the threat was from his brother. Rhyce had played a lot of football in defence before his knee injury but was now without a position to own. Played on the wing and occasionally up forward, he was getting frustrated. ‘Heath had taken his chance,’ he said. ‘He took my spot and ran with it.’

Ray rarely offered his boys coaching advice beyond basic tips like get the ball and beat your opponent. Collingwood under Mick Malthouse had a bevy of coaches. Ray hadn’t coached senior football in years. He worried about offering advice that might be contrary to what the coaches were saying, so he mostly stayed quiet. There were times when Rhyce was struggling or Heath played a bad game when they reached out to their dad to ask what they were doing wrong. ‘You’d throw little things at them every now and then,’ Ray said. ‘If the boys wanted something, they’d ask. That’s the way they went all through their careers.’

With two boys representing Collingwood most weeks, Ray was a hopeless spectator. He couldn’t sit still, wanting his sons to play well and Collingwood to win. If he saw his boys make a mistake or have a goal kicked on them, it upset him. His wife Lisa often told him to settle down but he couldn’t help feel anxious when Rhyce or Heath went near the ball. He rode the same bumps they did. ‘It is a pretty tough couple of hours being a parent,’ he said. ‘By the end of the game – win, lose or draw – you’ve pretty much always got a headache. You’ve been concentrating on your sons, concentrating on the game.’

Ray reminded his boys that they weren’t going to play well every week. They weren’t going to please the coach every week. All they could do was their best. Self-assessment was the best marker available. Ray said Rhyce worried more about football than Heath did – about whether he was going to get a game, about his opponent, and after the game, about his performance. ‘It probably took a bit away from his natural ability,’ Ray said. He advised Rhyce to stop worrying, reminding him that the best footballers are consistent, but everyone plays a poor game. Back yourself, Ray said.

In 2007 a hamstring injury and form issues forced Rhyce out of the team for the finals. Then in 2008 he and Heath were in great form but the year was marred by a drink-driving incident. Heath crashed his car in Kew on 3 August after a night out with a few teammates. He registered a blood alcohol reading of 0.144. Rhyce and Alan Didak were in the car. Didak took off, and the following morning, Heath lied to Collingwood officials about Didak being in the car. On 4 August, after witnesses said Didak had been there, Heath spewed forth the truth.

When Ray found out, he was angry. Drink-driving is a no-no. Unfortunately a lot of people don’t adhere to the rules. Ray said it is always something he is cautious of, and he’d told his sons many times not to drink and drive. Heath faced multiple penalties. He’d broken the law by drink-driving, and lied to Collingwood officials about Didak’s involvement. Ray remembers going to Heath’s house for a meeting with Collingwood officials about what penalty Heath deserved. ‘You’ve gotta be a dad,’ he said. ‘All you can do is go there and support your son. Doesn’t matter who you are, whether you’re a footballer or not, you do some silly things that you regret.’

Heath and Didak were suspended for the rest of the season, including finals, and Rhyce was suspended for two weeks. In the following days, Ray advised his sons to learn from their mistake and show the club how valuable they were. ‘Train hard and don’t sook.’

‘I’ve given Dad a few grey hairs over the years,’ Heath said. ‘I’ve also given him a few grey hairs in public, which is not great.’

Rhyce returned to the side after the suspension, still worried. He had a reasonable year, playing 20 games, but whenever he was criticised in the media, he criticised himself harshly. ‘That was a tough period because we obviously had a bit of trouble off the field, myself, Heath and Dids,’ he said.

The suspension increased the worry. Rhyce had been in and out of the side for years. After Collingwood lost the semifinal against St Kilda, he left the MCG knowing he’d played his last game for them. A few days later, he talked to Malthouse. The chat left him in no doubt that Collingwood were happy to let him go, despite having a year left on his contract. He told Malthouse he would stay if a deal couldn’t be worked out. ‘I was lucky enough to get a phone call from the Swans,’ he said. ‘They were the only club who were interested.’

After Sydney made contact, Rhyce called Ray. He recalls a simple, blunt conversation. Ray didn’t mention anything about Collingwood or the Shaw name or family connection. He knew Rhyce was leaving – so what? ‘You’ve got to do it,’ he said. ‘It’s going to be better for you as a footballer.’

Ray said Rhyce never felt at ease at Collingwood. In and out of the side, his frustration built. He didn’t want to play for Williamstown – he wanted to play in the AFL. ‘That was the reason he decided to go to Sydney,’ Ray said. ‘To get away from Collingwood. Not because he didn’t like Collingwood – it’s just that the opportunities weren’t there. That’s not the way you want to play footy.’

Heath remembers the phone call from Rhyce. He understood the reasons. By 2008, Heath had cemented his own position, but Rhyce was always last in and first out. He wasn’t enjoying his footy. ‘That’s the difference in players and difference in coaches,’ Heath said. ‘Not every coach is going to like every player, and not every player is going to like the coach.’

Malthouse liked Heath and didn’t like Rhyce. It upset Heath and Ray to see Rhyce leave Collingwood. Moving interstate to Sydney made the decision harder. The Shaw family are tight and had been bound together by Collingwood. Now Collingwood had fractured the family. Rhyce went north carrying a lot of disappointment. He couldn’t stop the worry, but understood he was to blame. ‘Being the first Shaw to leave Collingwood was pretty tough,’ he said. ‘I was more disappointed in myself. I hadn’t given myself the best chance to play good footy. That’s the honest truth. I hated getting dropped. That was my fault. I wasn’t playing great and I didn’t act great, on or off the field.’

Sydney would be Rhyce’s second and last chance. He took a lot of worry into the 2009 pre-season. Collingwood traded him for pick 46 in the 2008 draft. As a sweetener, Sydney also received Collingwood’s pick 61. With pick 46, Collingwood selected Luke Rounds, who ended up playing six games. With pick 61, Sydney selected Campbell Heath, who played 14 games.

Sydney won the trade deal. The move north benefited Rhyce. At Sydney, he achieved everything he thought he might achieve at Collingwood. ‘It was the best thing he did for his career,’ Heath said. ‘Just that change of scenery, a different approach to footy and a different approach to his footy.’

Rhyce left Collingwood disappointed, in his attitude and what he’d achieved. When he arrived in Sydney, he began training immediately. First impressions count. He was as fit as he’d ever been after pre-season training wound up. ‘I wanted to be the best trainer,’ he said. ‘I was going to be myself at Sydney and I tried to do that from day dot. And it worked out.’ He said Swans coach Paul Roos gave him confidence the first time they talked. Roos had belief and trusted Rhyce’s ability. ‘What I could do, not what I couldn’t do,’ he said. From that first conversation, Rhyce wanted to play for him.

It seemed the burden had lifted. Rhyce could be himself. There was no real expectation on him as a Shaw at Sydney. The expectation was to play good football. ‘Not Rhyce Shaw, the Collingwood family legacy,’ he said. ‘It was just me. That played a huge part.’

Rhyce was signed on a two-year deal. It lasted seven years. Against St Kilda in Round 1 2009, he tagged Leigh Montagna and played a reasonable game, stemming Montagna’s influence but gathering just 16 disposals. Montagna finished with 23. After his big pre-season, all the worry came back. On Tuesday at training, Roos asked him what was wrong, and Rhyce said he came up short. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Roos said. ‘Just think that while I’m here I’m never going to drop you.’

Rhyce knew about being dropped. He knew if he was playing poorly, Roos would drop him too. But Roos had set the boundary, and Rhyce trained with confidence. He had a point to prove – to himself, to Collingwood, to Ray and to the entire football industry – and Roos was going to let him do it. ‘I wanted to make sure if my career was going to run out, it was on my terms,’ Rhyce said. ‘From that point on I just went out there and played like I knew I could play.’

Roos wanted Rhyce to play to his best ability, not anything else, and Rhyce gave himself every chance. In his first season with Sydney, he finished second in the Bob Skilton Medal to Ryan O’Keefe. He was elevated to the leadership group. In 2010 he proved his versatility by shifting up forward and kicking crucial goals. Sydney finished fifth and won an elimination final against Carlton.

But it was Heath who bore the family’s hopes. Collingwood finished on top in 2010 and carried favouritism into the Grand Final against St Kilda. Grand Finals are never clear-cut when Collingwood are involved, and despite them leading by 24 points at half-time, the match ended up a draw. It was the third and last drawn Grand Final. Ray and Heath became the only father–son combination in the history of VFL/AFL football to play in a drawn Grand Final. That they each played in a draw in their first Grand Final for the same club increases the unique nature of their link to Collingwood. ‘It’s something, anyway,’ Ray said. ‘It’s an unusual thing to have father and son play in a drawn Grand Final.’

Heath called Ray during the drive home from the MCG and they had a chuckle about their drawn fortunes. For the first time in a long time, Ray offered advice based on his own experience. ‘Whatever you do, don’t train too hard this week,’ he said. ‘We trained really hard and lost the next week.’

Collingwood defeated St Kilda in the Grand Final replay by 56 points. Heath had bettered his father by winning a premiership. In the rooms after the game, Ray hugged his son and congratulated him. ‘I’ve got one, Dad, and you haven’t,’ Heath said. Ray laughed and hugged his son again. ‘That’s the way Heath is,’ he said. ‘He’s got a lot of lip, and the lip comes from his dad and his uncles. He learned that from me and Tony.’

Heath put the medal around Ray’s neck. He understood how hard it was for his dad, having played in five Grand Finals without a victory, to watch his son win a premiership: ‘You wouldn’t say it to someone who had lost a Grand Final the day before, but you can say it when they lost five Grand Finals 30 years before. There’s a lot of good players out there who played longer than my dad did and never played in a Grand Final. That’s why they’re cherished.’ Ray took off with the medal around his neck. ‘I didn’t see it for a couple of weeks after that,’ Heath said. ‘I understood. Imagine being on the other side five times. I reckon it’d be pretty tough.’

In 2011, Rhyce had his best year of football. The shift to Sydney had shifted his form. The turnaround was extraordinary. But the Shaw name hit the media again, resulting in more public grey hairs for Ray. In late May, Heath gave a mate $10 to put a bet on captain Nick Maxwell kicking the first goal of the game. Maxwell, a defender, was being shifted forward in a rare foray. The AFL launched an investigation and obtained footage showing Heath in the betting agency when the bet was made. In July he was fined $20 000 and banned for 14 weeks, with eight weeks suspended. It meant he could play again in 2011 only if Collingwood made the finals. By giving a mate $10 to bet on Maxwell, he’d broken the AFL’s betting rules. Players are not allowed to use inside information to place bets, and they’re not allowed to bet on games of football. They also cannot provide information to friends and family that might influence betting. Heath said the bet was stupid, but he didn’t think $10 was anything to worry about: ‘I didn’t really think of the consequences.’

Ray, too, thought it was a minor bet and was frustrated by the penalty, believing it was heavy-handed. The AFL is sponsored by betting firms and footballers play a game built for betting. ‘Is betting on someone kicking a goal going to change a hell of a lot?’ Ray said. ‘I wouldn’t think so.’

The Shaw name was dragged through the media again. Heath had been in great form. Collingwood were in great form. As the reigning premiers, much was expected of them. Heath came back into the side for the finals. He was solid through three games, but the suspension robbed him of timing and Collingwood, after losing just two games for the year, lost the Grand Final to Geelong by 38 points.

Up in Sydney, Rhyce finished equal second with Josh Kennedy in the Bob Skilton Medal, with Adam Goodes judged as Sydney’s best and fairest. Rhyce was playing great football, the kind he had dreamed of. And then came 2012.

Rhyce described his careers at Collingwood and Sydney as chalk and cheese. The move changed him. He grew into leadership, making sure young teammates developed confidence in their game and Sydney’s culture: ‘I’d been through so much as a young guy and knew what to do and what not to do.’

Backed by his coach and supported by his club, he enjoyed life outside of Melbourne’s football fishbowl. There are ten clubs in Melbourne, and Collingwood is the biggest football club in Australia. More journalists cover football in Victoria than in any other state. Most people in Victoria follow football, and Rhyce couldn’t go anywhere without being recognised. In Sydney the wider public had no idea who he was. The Sydney Swans Football Club and their 80 employees became his de facto family, the SCG a spiritual home. Sydney was different from Collingwood. Just a handful of players were born in NSW – mostly the list was filled with men from all over Australia. The welfare department, led by Dennis Carroll, worked hard to ensure everyone was happy and accounted for. ‘That was the difference,’ Rhyce said. ‘Sydney is probably the most professional and family-oriented club that I’ve been a part of.’

Sydney finished third in 2012, with Collingwood fourth. In the preliminary final, Rhyce and Heath played against each other, at opposite ends of the field. Sydney won by 26 points. Their opponents in the Grand Final were Hawthorn, who went in as heavy favourites. Ray was at the MCG, twitching, shifting and sweating as he watched. He was apprehensive, worrying about Rhyce losing another Grand Final, worrying about the Shaw family enduring another Grand Final defeat. A strong wind impacted on the game. Hawthorn led by 19 points at quarter-time, and Sydney took a 16-point lead in at half-time. The margin at the last change was just one point. The lead fluctuated, but two late goals to Sydney left them ten points up at the final siren. In the crowd, Ray was pumping the air, proud as hell. In three seasons, both his boys had won premierships.

Watching the presentation and waiting for his moment on the dais, Rhyce felt immense satisfaction for himself, his teammates and the club. He couldn’t wait to get off the ground, to see his dad. Accepting his premiership medal, he fulfilled his lifelong dream. Seeing Heath do it in 2010 had given him a hunger for success like he’d never had. ‘It was fantastic for our whole family,’ he said. ‘It was fantastic for my dad because he’d been a part of all those losing Grand Finals with Collingwood.’

After the victory lap, Rhyce went into the rooms. Ray was waiting for him and gave his boy a fierce hug. Rhyce put the premiership medal around Ray’s neck. ‘This one’s for you,’ he said. ‘You look after that, Dad. I’ll get it off you later.’ Ray wore his son’s medal in the rooms and on the way home, the sash around his neck, holding the medal in his hands, feeling it and remembering all those Grand Finals. ‘Wearing my boys’ medals around my neck, I’ll always remember,’ he said.

According to Heath and Rhyce, Ray celebrated their premiership success as though he’d won those Grand Finals himself, and it took him a few weeks to hand their medals back. ‘So he should’ve,’ Rhyce said. ‘He played a huge part in our careers and spent his whole life at the Collingwood Football Club.’

A new coach and change in fortune

Former Collingwood star Nathan Buckley took over from Malthouse as coach at the end of 2011. The agreement, brokered by club president Eddie McGuire in 2009, caught Collingwood short, but Malthouse, after coaching two consecutive Grand Finals, reluctantly honoured his agreement. Many of his players wanted him to stay.

Under Buckley, Collingwood has regressed each year. Several players didn’t see eye to eye with their new coach, and Heath was one of them. In 2013 he played 20 games. It was a solid year but it was littered with on-field arguments with his teammates. For the first time in his career, he was easily agitated. In the elimination final against Port Adelaide – a game Collingwood had been expected to win but lost by four goals – he threw the football at Angus Monfries’ head. It was clear afterwards that Buckley was unimpressed, but no one could have predicted what happened in the aftermath.

Heath was one of Collingwood’s best defenders, setting up attacks with his pace and skill. During his career he’d finished third in the Rising Star award in 2006 and won the Anzac Day Medal in 2007. He finished fourth in the Copeland Trophy in 2007 and third in 2009. In the 2010 Grand Final replay, he had run 50 metres to lay the ‘smother of the millennium’ as St Kilda’s Nick Riewoldt ran in for what should have been a certain goal.

Now Collingwood didn’t want him. Putting him up for trade didn’t seem to make any sense. It seemed as if Buckley was ridding the club of players who were more loyal to Malthouse than to him. ‘That was a pretty tough time,’ Ray said. ‘Heath wanted to stay.’ Having captain-coached Preston in the VFA, Ray knew a coach couldn’t make his side play the way he himself had played. Everyone is different. Heath had excelled under Malthouse, but under Buckley, his concentration was often broken. ‘That’s the guilty thing about coaching,’ Ray said. ‘I think Bucks has tried to turn his players into robots and drill them to play the way he played, and it just doesn’t work.’

Trade period is filled with uncertainty. Collingwood wanted to get rid of Heath, but they wanted a premium for him. The situation changed daily as rumours flew about. Ray remembers one morning when Collingwood were going to keep Heath but by the afternoon things had changed: ‘I think the coach had come in. Next minute they wanted to get rid of him.’

As the realisation set in, Heath sat down with his manager and Ray and went through a list of clubs. He preferred Essendon or Geelong, and Ray said to pick the club that best suited him. GWS were mentioned. Heath thought about it. His preference was another Melbourne club, but Rhyce had moved to Sydney and found success away from football’s heartland. GWS began to feel like the best option. The club had a young, talented list who would benefit from Heath’s talent and experience, just as Sydney had with Rhyce.

Although GWS loomed as a suitor, negotiations stalled. The night before the end of the trade period, Heath called his father. He was upset and angry. ‘He was crying,’ Ray said, ‘saying Dad, you’ve got to sort all this out.’ Ray hadn’t heard Heath cry for years. When the phone call ended, his anger rose. His own exit at Collingwood had been controversial and upsetting, Rhyce had quit, and now Collingwood were quitting on Heath. Heath said Ray provided a shoulder to cry on, ‘a calming voice to make you understand that everything will be all right’.

Calling McGuire first, Ray let out his anger. He told him Heath would go to Essendon or Geelong if a deal couldn’t be worked out. Ray recalls being aggressive, telling McGuire he was treating Heath as a farmer treats cattle. ‘No respect for him at all,’ Ray said. The next call was to Graeme ‘Gubby’ Allan, CEO of GWS. Ray was still fired up. ‘Stop mucking around,’ he said, accusing Allan of pettiness in trying to get something more out of Collingwood. ‘Stop thinking about the club. Think about the player you’re trying to recruit and what you’re doing to him.’

The following day, North Melbourne made a late play. Geoff Walsh called Heath and asked if he would come to North. ‘Too late,’ Heath said. He ended up being traded to GWS in exchange for Taylor Adams. ‘It wasn’t very well handled by either club,’ Ray said. ‘It was terrible, really.’

For Ray, losing Rhyce to Sydney had been hard. Five years later, to see another son move to Sydney was even harder. He told Heath to learn from Rhyce and do his best. ‘It was a little bit of a risk going to a team that we thought was going to struggle,’ Heath said. ‘Being a competitor and someone who hates losing, I knew that was going to be tough.’ He took the longer view instead of the shorter view. Ray and Rhyce were instrumental in the decision. Heath said, ‘If Rhyce wasn’t up here in Sydney, it would’ve made it a lot harder.’

When his boys left Collingwood, Ray was reminded of his own exit from Victoria Park and that phone call from Hafey, and the bitterness flooded back. Collingwood had treated his sons the same way the club had treated him. Captain of the club and father–son selections meant nothing – Ray, Rhyce and Heath were ultimately considered as surplus.

Having been around football clubs for decades, Ray understood the business, but it didn’t reduce his disappointment. He said Rhyce’s exit, when he told Malthouse he wasn’t enjoying footy, was the point of difference: ‘He was the one who instigated it.’ Rhyce had been in control of his future; Ray and Heath had not. Heath said the reasons didn’t matter: ‘They all ended up in the same result. You don’t want to actually leave like that, the club I grew up with. I was there for nine years and won a premiership and all my mates were there.’

Sentiment in football is often lauded, even though the game sometimes seems bereft of it. Ray and his boys all left Collingwood in acrimonious circumstances, but few footballers get to choose their exit. ‘It’s something that irritates me,’ Ray said. ‘Look at the last four years since Heath left and the amount of players who have left Collingwood in that time – not through poor performances but just wanted to get out of the place.’

Heath and Rhyce had points to prove when they left Collingwood, but they let go of the bitterness. They wanted to play good footy and enjoy it. As the years went on, the better they became. Rhyce rebounded magnificently at Sydney. In five years he played 143 games and had two second-place finishes in the club’s best and fairest. He could tag, play on a small forward or run wild on the wing. He played the football he wanted to play. ‘He worked out really well there,’ Ray said. ‘He’s very well respected in Sydney, as a player, a person and a coach. He really proved his ambition.’

Now it was up to Heath to prove his. At GWS he immersed himself in a talented list, mostly youth but with a lot of depth. He felt the team was capable of playing finals but it would take patience. ‘Which I don’t have a lot of,’ he said.

In 2014, Sydney played another Grand Final, against Hawthorn, and the Shaw family experienced another Grand Final loss, this time by 63 points. Ray didn’t say much when his boys lost Grand Finals. In 2003, Brisbane were full of muscle and might, and Collingwood had wilted. In 2011 the Magpies had finished on top but seemed exhausted by September. ‘I’m a big believer that when Grand Finals are over, they’re over,’ Ray said. ‘The more you bring it up, the worse you feel.’ He told his boys to move on – they couldn’t do anything about it: It’s over, you tried your hardest. Have a good break and get back into it.

A week after the 2014 Grand Final, Rhyce spent time in Melbourne with his parents. Ray gave him a hug and said, ‘You’re going around again next year – make sure it doesn’t happen again.’ Rhyce was 32, and 2015 would be his last season. He doesn’t dwell on the loss to Hawthorn: ‘To be honest, I think everyone in that Grand Final has tried to get rid of that day from their memory.’

Across town, in the first year of his five-year deal with GWS, Heath played 18 games. In 2015 he won the Kevin Sheedy Medal (GWS’s best and fairest) and made the All Australian side for the first time. In 2016 he became a dual All Australian. ‘I needed to make sure I was worth that five-year deal,’ he said. At Collingwood, he never won a best and fairest or made an All Australian team. Like Rhyce, he elevated his performance by moving north. The change of club, environment and lifestyle have suited him: ‘If I’d stayed at Collingwood I probably would’ve lasted a couple of years, played out the rest of my contract and then I would’ve been done. I never thought I would’ve ended up with a best and fairest and two All Australians.’

Like Rhyce, Heath had a point to prove. At GWS, he was playing for a club with six years of history, not 135, and found a playing group completely different to that of Collingwood in 2010. He is happy making history instead of being a part of it: ‘When you leave a club like Collingwood, you think your legacy will be left there. At the Giants I’m building my own legacy. Hopefully I can leave a big stamp when I’m done and dusted.’

Regardless of the sackings and trades, the Shaw family has left a huge legacy at Collingwood. Two sets of brothers, combined, have done it all – premierships, captains, losing Grand Finals, best and fairest awards, success and failure. ‘That name is always going to be there,’ Heath said. ‘We’re all unique in the way we go about things, but we’re all competitors and we hate losing. That’s what made us who we are.’

The Shaw legacy at Collingwood is vast. Ray said the name followed his boys everywhere there: ‘That’s probably the biggest burden the boys had to get over. To make a name for themselves and not ourselves.’ Ray played 146 VFL games, Rhyce played 237 AFL games, and Heath, by the end of 2017, had played 262 AFL games. Ray is proud of his sons, as he should be: ‘To have one boy play AFL football is a great honour, a great achievement. To have two boys do it is overwhelming.’

Rhyce and Heath have made their own name in football. Their success can be attributed to hard work and dedication, picking themselves up after disappointment, moving on because they had to and playing better football with new clubs. ‘They’ve done their own thing in footy,’ Ray said. The comparisons came early, when his boys first played junior football. Rhyce, in looks and in the way he kicked the ball, resembled his father more than Heath did. But when Heath gets the ball and goes for a run, he’s got the same side-to-side lilt as his father.

At Diamond Creek, a few people said silly things over the fence, such as You’re not going to be as good as your dad. Ray said it didn’t happen often, and he didn’t hear it too much when his sons played for Collingwood.

The disappointments may linger, but Ray said his life with Collingwood was enjoyable and exciting: ‘It’s been a long history. To be involved with the club for so long, it’s fantastic. Everyone is very proud of what we’ve achieved.’

Two sets of brothers have played more than 1000 games combined. That’s 1000 weekends of football across two eras, and testament to skill, tenacity, dedication and improvement. ‘The story veered off a little from the path it was going down,’ Heath said. ‘But that name will always be there. All the things we’ve achieved over a long period of time are going to be hard to match.’

Heath is the last one left. With one year remaining on his contract, he is desperate for another premiership to really cement his legacy. He may be the last of the Shaw family to play AFL football. If he is, the Shaws will have made one of the best and most famous family contributions to Collingwood and to football.

But the story may not end with him. After retiring in 2015, Rhyce graduated to coaching and spent two years leading Sydney’s reserves. They lost the 2016 grand final by four points and the 2017 grand final by three points. For the Shaw family, grand final losses continue to mount up. In 2018 he was elevated to Sydney’s senior team as defensive coach. Three years into his coaching career, he loves it and has ambitions to coach at senior level. The Shaw legacy is living on.

And it may yet live on into another era. Rhyce has two sons, Fred and Lou. At the moment they are too young to play football, but in 16 years Fred could qualify for the father–son rule. Lou would have to wait two more years. If they’re any good, they won’t be going to Collingwood. Rhyce played 94 games there, but if his boys get drafted under the father–son rule, it will be with Sydney.

If Rhyce’s coaching career progresses well and the Collingwood job becomes available, he says he would put up his hand: ‘That would be unbelievable. The best thing ever for me, no doubt.’ Collingwood is a hard club to shake. Ray was sacked and still follows the Magpies. Heath was traded and Rhyce wanted out. But when a club has always been there, it always will be. That’s the Shaw family, from humble upbringings growing up in Reservoir and always following Collingwood, bleeding black and white. ‘For all of us to play at the one footy club and leave an impact like we have, I’m really proud of our family,’ Rhyce said. ‘Although my colours have changed and Heath’s have too, deep down we’re forever grateful for the opportunity they gave us. Hopefully we’ve given enough back.’

Ray Shaw shrugs off Alex Jesaulenko in the 1979 Grand Final as umpire Bill Deller issues a warning. (News Ltd/Newspix)

Heath told Ray, ‘I’ve got one and you don’t,’ after the 2010 premiership. (Michael Wilson/AFL Media)

Rhyce (left) and Heath (right) both found success after leaving Collingwood in difficult circumstances. (Adam Trafford/AFL Media; Tony Feder/Getty Images/AFL Media)

Rhyce and Heath in the 1980s celebrating a new bike. They grew up playing sport together.