Despite falling just short of the Tigers at ANZ Stadium on Saturday evening,the Swans claimed their first minor premiership in almost two decades followingthe result and a date with Fremantle in a qualifying final next Saturday.
Speaking to SwansTV after Saturday’s match, Shaw said the loss to the Tigersdid not detract from what the team has achieved so far this season.
“It’s a great effort, don’t worry about that,” he said.
“The boys are really proud of what we’ve achieved this year.
“I think it’s the first time we’ve done it (finish top) for quite a while.
“I’m really happy with the way the boys have gone about it this year and tofinish on top is a fantastic effort as ‘Horse’ (John Longmire) said to us.
“But the season starts right now and this is the most important part of theyear.”
While the loss to Richmond was adisappointing result for the Swans, Shaw said the match itself was a goodpreparation for finals football.
Shaw said the Swans’ effort to fight backafter giving up the first five goals of the match was an encouraging sign,despite the end result.
“We probably let ourselves down in thefirst quarter a bit,” he said.
“It’s fair to say that they jump-startedpretty well and we were behind the eight-ball from there on in.
“But the guys dug deep and got ourselvesback in the game somehow and I think we hit the front late in the game.
“There were a couple of skill errors hereand there that could be executed a bit better, but for our effort to reallypick up after that first quarter was really good and that was a sign that wewanted to see.
“It was a bit disappointing to lose the game, but we’ve got bigger fish to frynow and we’re really looking forward to next week.”
In addition to the Swans’ fight back, Shawsaid the other positive the club would take out the match was that the sidemanaged to get through unscathed.
With the likes of Lance Franklin, JoshKennedy, Ben McGlynn, Craig Bird and Mike Pyke still to come back into theside, Shaw said the coaching staff would be faced with a few selectionheadaches heading into Saturday’s ANZ Stadium clash with the Dockers.
“It’s always good to get through a gamewith no injuries,” he said.
“As for the guys on the sidelines, if theycome back next week that will be fantastic.
“Good luck to the coaching staff to pick ateam for next week because the boys are all ready to go.
“I’m tipping it’s going to be a big week onthe track."
