Following 94 games over eight seasons at Collingwood, Shaw could no longer see a future for him at the club his family has so proudly represented over the past three decades, and took a chance on a move to the Harbour City.
On the eve of his 200th game, which comes in his sixth season in the red and white, the 32-year-old said he never would have reached the milestone if he didn’t make the move to the Swans.
“If I had have stayed at Collingwood, I think (my career) would have been over in 12 months,” Shaw told reporters on Tuesday.
“I was in and out of the side a little bit and it’s my own fault I suppose.
“Coming to Sydney changed my whole life, not just footy, but my whole life, and I can’t thank Roosy (former coach Paul Roos) and now ‘Horse’ (current coach John Longmire), they’ve been fantastic.”
After averaging just over 11 games per season at the Magpies, Shaw went on to become one of the Swans’ most consistent performers, and played no less than 22 games in his first four seasons in Sydney.
Shaw was also appointed to the Swans’ leadership group following his first season at the club and has since taken on countless mentoring roles with the club’s younger players.
Shaw said he hoped his experience in the AFL-system could help the Swans’ newest players take the right path in their own football careers.
“For my first three or four years, I probably didn’t take the game serious enough,” he said.
“I wasn’t very professional and did a few things I probably regret.
“I just didn’t make the most of my opportunities and some of the things I try to preach to our younger guys is that you’re in AFL football as long as you want to be.
“If you do all the things right now then you can make the most of it and play for ten years.
“I was lucky enough to stay in the system somehow and was able to get through a few things and play in a Grand Final and win a premiership, so I’ve been very lucky in that respect.”
While Shaw experienced a smooth transition to the Swans over his first four seasons, his career has not come without its setbacks, with the defender enduring an injury riddled 2013 season, which saw him play just six games.
After suffering a seemingly innocuous abdominal injury in round two, Shaw missed three months of football before an anterior cruciate ligament tear in round 23 left the defender questioning whether he could bounce back.
“I’d worked so hard all year to get back from my ab strain,” he said.
“I was out for 12-13 weeks with that and then to come back and do my knee was just shattering because I worked so hard.”
“For (my knee) to go was really hard on me and you have all these question marks about what’s going on and how old you are, but once I got the news that I could have the LARS surgery it was all sweet.
“We did it that Wednesday and got straight into rehab.”
Now back on the park and enjoying a purple patch of form, including a career-best 34 touches against Melbourne last weekend, Shaw said he wasn’t concerned about anything more than playing football each week.
“There’s always a chance (I’ll play next year),” he said.
“Whatever happens at the end of the year happens and I’m not really worried about it.
“I’m just looking forward to playing good footy and I’ve got myself back into a little bit of form lately, so hopefully I can continue that.
“I don’t just want to drift off.
“I want play good footy until the end, whenever that end is, and hopefully I can.”
