GREATER Western Sydney veteran Heath Shaw is shelving retirement plans, confirming he'll return in 2020 as the Giants plan redemption for their Grand Final nightmare.
The 33-year-old defender was set to call it quits on his 306-game career if the Giants claimed their maiden premiership.
But it all went horribly wrong as the Giants were thumped by 89 points by Richmond on Saturday at the MCG.
Injured Giant Stephen Coniglio (r) consoles a tearful Brent Daniels. Picture: AFL Photos
Giants chief executive Dave Matthews wasted little time in imploring Shaw to pull the boots on for one more season.
"I spoke to Dave Matthews when I was walking off the ground, and he said, 'Mate, you can't go anywhere, you have to come back for one more year'," Shaw told reporters.
"I said to a few of the boys that if we won a premiership, then I'd retire, but we didn't win it, so we'll figure it out in the next couple of weeks.
"But I'm not going anywhere and I've got a little bit of unfinished business."
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While Shaw is definitely returning, the Giants are likely to have at least a couple of list changes during the upcoming AFL Trade Period.
Swingman Adam Tomlinson is a free agent and has been linked to St Kilda, while ruckman Shane Mumford is expected to retire.
The Giants are set to welcome Adelaide big man Sam Jacobs on a two-year deal as his replacement.
Having beaten the Western Bulldogs, Brisbane and Collingwood in consecutive weeks to reach the decider, the Giants were riding a wave of momentum into their maiden Grand Final.
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However, they were no match for a rampant Tigers' outfit that kicked away midway through the second quarter.
"It's a tough pill to swallow," Shaw said.
"You forget about the previous 25 weeks because of the one week was so disappointing.
"The three previous weeks were really good, but for a quarter and 10 minutes, we played the way we wanted to, and then, the Tigers took over.
"When they went to the next level, we didn’t."
Shaw said it was important the Giants used the pain of the defeat in a positive way moving into next season.
"This group is amazing and unique," Shaw said.
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"As much as it's hurting now and everyone's getting around their families, we'll get together, we'll stay together and next year, 2020, we want to go one better.
"It's not an easy thing to get back to this spot, but this group is good and we'll get there."
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