It was the era of mullets and moustaches; a time when tight shorts and lace-up jumpers were the trends; and when footy expansion meant national, not international as it does today.
Remember the ‘80s?
If you can, you will recall it as one of the most volatile periods in Australian football history. It was a time of seismic change which dragged a near-broke Victorian Football League – with its 12 parochial clubs who played predominantly on suburban grounds each Saturday afternoon (often on muddy grounds) – towards the Australian Football League of today – when 18 clubs play in every state and territory at an assortment of times during the day and night (often under a roof).
If can’t recall them, you missed a remarkable decade for the game, and for Collingwood.
But don’t fret; Collingwood Forever plans to transport you back in time each week for a blast from the 1980s past, profiling a player who made an impact for one reason or another during that decade. They might not have all been stars, but each contributed to one of the club’s most tumultuous periods.
Gary Shaw
Gary Shaw arrived at Victoria Park in 1983 as one of the country's most sought-after rovers. He left it at the end of four seasons as one of the unfortunate scapegoats for the largesse of the 'New Magpies', who had staged the most audacious and expensive recruiting campaign in the club’s history.
Shaw's 32 games - and 33 goals - for the Magpies was hardly the return he or those who recruited him expected. Making it even less palatable was the fact his transfer fee alone cost the Magpies more than $300,000 - the equivalent of half a dozen Melbourne suburban homes at the time.
But that he was considered the centrepiece for blame for Collingwood's financial mess by the mid-1980s seems unfair, given other players had also cost the club a small fortune, and that it was the administration - not the players themselves - who were so profligate with their money.
Besides, the speedy and skilful rover - a Queensland native who had dominated in two seasons in the WAFL before signing on to play with Collingwood - failed to make a lasting impression in black and white largely due to a host of injuries he encountered.
As he conceded near the end of his time at Collingwood, "I just can't get a break", explaining the series of setbacks that saw him often on the sidelines or in the reserves trying to break back into the seniors.
Shaw's father had played for Western Districts (now the Western Magpies), in Queensland, and football always played a significant part in Gary’s upbringing.
Always a diminutive rover, he was considered too small for the Queensland under 15s team in 1976, with selectors overlooking him from the team as a result. Yet when he trained for the state’s under 17s Teal Cup side in the same year, he was not only selected, but won the award as the most outstanding Queensland player - as a 15-year-old.
He showed talent from a very early age, playing his junior career with Sherwood (also in black and white colours), where incredibly he never played in a losing side. That winning streak stretched from his first year in the under 9s all the way through to his second year in the under 17s.
It wasn't until he played with Western Districts that he suffered his first defeat, joking later that it was "a new and very ugly experience." By that that stage, according to the club's website, he had "amassed a mountain of representative honours" in an impressive junior career.
He had attracted a little attention as a young rover in the relative anonymity of Queensland, but all of that changed when he moved to Western Australia in 1981 - as a 22-year-old - to play with Claremont in the WAFL.
One newspaper said he was "a little-known, cheeky upstart when he arrived (in Perth)" who went on to become "a sheer sensation in the west."
Shaw more than held his own in what was an outstanding Claremont team in 1981, which included the Krakouer brothers (Jim and Phil), Brownlow Medallist Graham Moss, Stephen Malaxos and a host of other players who would go onto VFL careers.
Shaw had 21 disposals for Claremont in the 1981 Grand Final and was adjudged as joint Simpson Medallist, alongside with South Fremantle's Maurice Rioli.
He was even better the following season, winning Claremont's best and fairest award in 1982, and finishing a narrow runner-up in the Sandover Medal, as he took over Jim Krakouer’s first rover role, with the Krakouer brothers moving to play with North Melbourne.
Shaw also represented Western Australia, and by season’s end, was considered the best rover outside the VFL. It was said he was “as formidable a midfielder as any in the game" and "it was probable … there were few more damaging individuals playing the game anywhere."
"Claremont were very good to me," Shaw would recall. "They gave me my chance."
Collingwood was the club chasing the hardest for his services, desperate for a classy rover. Shaw looked to be the perfect fit.
But he came at a cost. At a time when it seemed as if money was being thrown about in the VFL almost as if it was confetti, Shaw’s transfer fees alone were more than $300,000.
That wasn't his fault, but the expectation coupled with the price tag put significant pressure on the 24-year-old - who once described himself as "a bit of a clown" – when he moved to Melbourne.
From the outset, there was talk of locker-room discontent at Collingwood, with at least one player saying before the first game in 1983: "These New Magpies seem to have forgotten all about the players who've been here for any length of time."
Playing second rover to Tony Shaw, and described as "fast and smart", Gary Shaw kicked two goals in his first game for Collingwood, having 14 disposals.
While his form wasn't outstanding, he fitted in well to the Magpies' team in his first seven games - kicking a goal in each of his first five matches and nailing three in round four game against Essendon.
But a stress fracture in the shin ruined the rest of his debut season, costing him almost three months. By the time he won his way back into the senior team, it was the final round of the 1983 season.
Shaw started the following year well with 25 disposals against Melbourne in round one, but suffered a significant hamstring injury a week later against the Saints. He missed six weeks.
On his return, he managed the next 17 games straight, as he acknowledged the difference between the free-flowing game in Perth and the more contested, physical style in Melbourne.
Shaw would say: 'It's a different game. Perth is a more open, running game, and Victoria is more pressure and contact. I think I go in harder and I'm more desperate now.''
One of his best games came against North Melbourne, in round 16, in 1984. Having trailed by 18 points at half time, the Magpies needed a lift, and Shaw helped to provide it. He gave his team the lead with his first goal of the game at the 30-minute-mark of the third term, and finished with five for the game, as he "got on the end of four pieces of nice play for four sealers".
He polled two Brownlow Medal votes in that game.
Shaw managed 19 games that season, kicking 21 goals, and played in all three of Collingwood's finals matches in 1984. He had 20 disposals in the First Semi-Final win over Carlton, but like most of his teammates, struggled in the Preliminary Final thrashing at the hands of Essendon.
Shaw approached the 1985 season with a plan to get fitter under new coach Bob Rose, knowing he had to shake the perception that he had under-performed and that his body had let him down.
He told the Queensland's Courier Mail in early 1985: "I realise I've got to produce the goods this year ... it's a whole new feeling. Training has been much tougher - just what we need."
Frustratingly, a groin tear ruined those plans. On his return from the injury, he couldn't break his way back into the seniors, and had to see out the year in the reserves.
He was recalled early the next season, in round four, 1986, and had 28 disposals, kicking three goals. It was the first of five straight games before his injury curse struck again - this time from some not-so friendly fire in the form of a tackling drill with gym and boxing instructor Ray Giles.
Shaw ended up with a dislocated joint in his shoulder when Giles tackled him to the ground. "Ray is a tough bloke and I don't think I will be picking him again during tackling training,” he said.
By season's end, it was clear Shaw’s time at Collingwood was over. He was one of three Magpies who the club had nominated as being made available to the newly formed Brisbane Bears.
Resilient in mind, if not in body, Shaw resolved to keep trying at his new club: "I won't say I've failed until I've had one full season."
"Every time I've started playing well I've been hurt. I still think I'm good enough. All I want is a fair chance to prove it."
He agreed to a three-year deal with the Bears, but lasted only one. He played six games in 1987 before his body again failed him, this time with a back injury, before playing out most of the season with his old club Western Districts.
The Bears tried to convince him to play on, but Shaw had finally had enough. The grind of all those injuries, and the weight of all that pressure, finally got to him, and he retired at the age of 28.
The Electrifying Eighties
Written by Glenn McFarlane and Michael Roberts
A lasting impact: Greg Phillips
A loved rover's big year: Matthew Ryan
A comet in the Magpie sky: Phil Walsh
Sweet sixteen and a senior debut: Terry Keays
Quiet, no fuss and got the job done: Ron McKeown
A man for all seasons: Jamie Turner
Almost ahead of his time: Bruce Abernethy
Hawke's rise and fall: Paul Hawke
Our first Indigenous Magpie: Wally Lovett
Mr Reliable: Michael Taylor
An impact beyond Collingwood: Tony Burgess
Another Shaw thing: Neville Shaw
What could have been: Russell Dickson
A flash in the pan: Darren Collins
It's not just about the name: Paul Tuddenham
