Collingwood 2010 premiership hero Heath Shaw has taken extraordinary aim at his former coach, Magpies great Nathan Buckley.
The Shaw name is football royalty at Collingwood and Buckley is a club legend.
But Shaw was forced out of Collingwood after the 2010 flag and the controversial coaching handover from Mick Malthouse to Buckley.
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It was an interesting period at the Pies and a divisions were certainly created.
Heath is the son of former Collingwood captain Ray Shaw and is also the nephew of Magpies premiership captain and Norm Smith medallist Tony Shaw.
He is also the brother of Rhyce Shaw, who played in grand finals for Collingwood before becoming a Sydney premiership player.
Malthouse had taken the Pies to back-to-back grand finals in 2010 and 2011, famously winning the replay of the drawn 2010 decider against St Kilda, but losing the grand final in 2011 to Geelong.
Despite the fact the team had its flag window wide open, a coaching succession plan was concocted and Buckley started coaching Collingwood in 2012.
Not long after that, Heath Shaw was out, and the gun defender joined the GWS Giants for start of the 2014 season
Speaking on LiSTNR’s Footy Talk podcast, Shaw has brought up the ugly past as a fresh push comes for Buckley to return to AFL coaching ranks and become the inaugural coach of Tasmania.
In fact, during the week on the same podcast, St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt brought up Buckley’s name for the Tassie gig, but noted that the reason “Bucks gets a bad rap as a coach is because of a certain segment of Collingwood players that like to hang it on him from time to time … ‘the Rat Pack’ … they like to hang on it Bucks.”
‘The Rat Pack’ was the name given to a handful of colourful Collingwood players from that era, with the key protagonists being Dane Swan, Alan Didak, Ben Johnson, and Shaw. Dale Thomas and Chris Tarrant are the other names that are sometimes included in the group.
Thomas, who features on the podcast with Shaw and is also a 2010 premiership player, said Riewoldt appeared to be having “a little swipe” at them.
“I know that sort of got your goat a little bit,” Thomas said to Shaw.
And Shaw didn’t hold back, admitting that the line about how a “certain segment of Collingwood players” like to “hang it on” Buckley annoyed him intensely.
Thomas asked: “Is there any falsity in his statement?”
And Shaw said “no”, but added “that’s got nothing to do with the reason why (Buckley) gets a bad rap as a coach”.
“(It was because) his record was no good like for most of the time,” Shaw said.
“Yes, they made a grand final, and yes, they were a kick away (in 2018), but they did progress — after I left, of course — slowly down hill for five years straight.
“(He) took a team from a grand final … and we’re talking about stats and AFL (people) love stats at the moment, but that’s not an ideal stat.”
Thomas asked Shaw if the relationship between Buckley and ‘the Rat Pack’ was generally “misunderstood”.
“I go as far as saying that the general public believe it’s just that they (the Rat Pack) don’t like him because he’s not Mick Malthouse,” Thomas said.
“Rather than my reason for being slightly aggrieved is not only having to leave the club (Thomas later followed Malthouse to Carlton) but also because we thought there was an opportunity to be in contention for three, four, five years … like the Tigers,” Thomas said.
Shaw added: “Who didn’t change their coach.”
Thomas continued: “We were sort of thinking dynasty. A lot of things have to go right, we all know that, but we thought we were in a (premiership) window, so a lot of the frustration and ‘since talk’ about it is on the back of that, rather than a personal agenda.”
But Shaw confessed it was personal for him.
“Yeah, but obviously it is personal as well (for me) because he traded me,” Shaw said.
“The whole team didn’t get traded – it was just you, me, and a couple of mates.
“I think he (Buckley) was the one who had an issue with us because we got the ultimate glory (a premiership).
“At least those two have something in common, Bucks and Nick Riewoldt, they’re not premiership players … that’s probably why they’re hanging out and talking up each other.”
Thomas then asked Shaw if he thought Buckley “would be a good candidate” for the Tasmania position.
“Because I do,” Thomas said.
“I think for all the lessons you learn the first time around as coach, getting your side to a grand final in 2018, and getting another opportunity … I think you learn a lot about yourself as a person and also a lot about what you’ve done wrong,” Thomas said.
“Self-reflection seems to be a piece throughout that 2018 season that was going on a lot for the Pies.”
But Shaw was unsure if Buckley was the right fit.
“It’s a hard gig (being Tassie coach),” Shaw said.
“You’re starting from zero. I’ve been near zero but close to (at the GWS Giants).
“It’s different when you’ve taken over a team that’s played off in a Grand Final …. You’re trying to build up a whole club. In this regard, you’re building up a whole state. The pressure is on from the AFL. You’ve got to win early.
“They need to hit the ground running … you’re not just coaching. It will be a tough gig for whoever takes it.”
Thomas said Buckley was a big enough name and would give Tasmania “instant relevance”.
But Shaw said: “Do we want a big name or do we just want a good coach? … We want a good coach.”
