IT WAS after a particularly brilliant round that legendary South African golfer Gary Player was asked to what he attributed the luck he had on the course that particular day. Player's response was quick and to the point, and has only been repeated about a million times since: the harder you work, the luckier you get.
It was a lesson that held true for Tony Shaw throughout his glittering AFL career.
His footy CV is glittering, replete with captaining Collingwood to a premiership, a Norm Smith Medal, club best and fairests, state representation and a host of other honours.
But without working harder at his footy than most, his career would have come to nought.
From the time he first lobbed at Collingwood to play in the under-19s, Shaw was always being told that he was too fat, too slow and too bad a kick to play league football.
"I knew my limitations," he said in an interview to mark his induction into the AFL Hall of Fame. "So I probably had a little different motivation than the blokes who were better than me."
So for Shaw, the key was an incredible work ethic and a desire to become really fit. Nobody at Collingwood and few in the AFL, prepared themselves better to play. Only then was he able to run, scrap and continually get the best out of himself.
"I knew my role within the group and I knew what the team wanted from me. And once I did that, I always knew that I would survive," he said.
"You have this belief in yourself when you play in consistently good sides and when you start playing well, you think to yourself that you belong in the side."
Self-deprecation comes easily to Shaw because yes, you can't deny that he was a bit slower and bit chunkier than many others in the game. And it must be said, his weren't the silkiest of skills.
But now, Shaw's contribution to the game and his club has been recognised by the Hall of Fame committee and, in that, there is pleasure. "I was told I wasn't good enough when I was 19 and had to return to the Diamond Valley League, so yeah, there is a sense of satisfaction."
"Every time I went over the white line I believed I was better than the other guy until I was proven wrong," he said.
Shaw was a warrior. He would finish most of his 313 games for Collingwood feeling battered, bruised and looking very much the worse for wear. But that's how it was when you played Collingwood. After he took over as coach in 1995, Leigh Matthews grafted a side with only a moderate amount of flair and skill, but with a work ethic second to none.
Shaw's ability to get to every contest and to help determine its outcome in some shape or form made him an inspirational captain. He took over as skipper in 1987 and his finest hour came in 1990 when he had 32 touches in Collingwood's 48-point win over Essendon in the grand final.
Shaw was everywhere that day, at the bottom of the packs, directing traffic and even the several scuffles that broke out during a fiery afternoon. He won the Norm Smith Medal for his performance. The decision was a no-brainer.
Because it was such a momentous, drought-breaking victory by Australia's most popular sporting club, Shaw was elevated to hero status thereafter. His face was all over the newspapers and the TV news for weeks afterwards and not surprisingly he was named the next King of Moomba. The Moomba organisers, like the newspaper and TV editors of the day, knew that Collingwood sells, and Shaw has since parlayed that into a fine career as a TV and radio commentator and host.
In a club full of great families, the Shaw family is revered. Tony Shaw's oldest brother Ray captained the club and was a Copeland Trophy winner, while younger brother Neville also played. Another brother, Kelvin, played for the under-19s. Heath Shaw represents the family in the Collingwood team of today.
"To be involved in it for 17 years as a player and four years as a coach, was half my lifetime. They were fantastic to me and I enjoyed every minute," he says.
"I always say the club owes me nothing. I owe the club everything because I lived the dream."
Tony Shaw - By The Numbers
313 - games for Collingwood
22 - finals played in
62 - career Brownlow votes
123 - games as captain
4 - games for Victoria
