Despite leading at every change and holding a 24-point lead during the second term, the Swans were held goalless in the final quarter by GWS, who kicked away to a five-goal win.
Speaking to SwansTV following the club’s round one loss, Shaw said the Swans lacked desire for the football and were showed up by their cross-town rivals.
“It was really disappointing and the Giants were really good tonight and they were really intense and they showed us up, pretty much,” Shaw told SwansTV after the match.
“There’s not much else to say really other than that they were really good and full credit to them.
“They set the tone and they wanted it more and they showed us up.”
The Swans were outscored eight goals to two in the second half, and squandered a number of opportunities in front of goal, particularly in the final term.
But missed shots on goal were not Shaw’s main concern, with his team’s lack of defensive pressure the most disappointing result from the match.
“We missed some shots on goal early but I don’t think that was the difference,” he said.
“The difference was their attack on the ball and just the way they went about it.
“We just didn’t get with them and all credit to them because they just played better footy.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll be working on a lot of tackling and a lot of contested ball because we got showed up in that area and it’s not something that we’re very proud of.
“We pride ourselves on being a hard football club and we did it in patches but it was nowhere near good enough.”
The defender described the loss as ‘a kick in the guts’ for the Swans and said his team would need to work hard over the next two weeks ahead of their round two clash with Collingwood
It’s really disappointing but we’ve got to re-group and head into our next game with a positive mindset,” he said.
“We’ve got to take it one week at a time, but we’ve got to learn from this and we’ve got to play a lot better.”
