Robert Shaw joined Brent for an in-depth chat about his football journey, who the Tasmania Devils' first coach should be and the role he'd like to have at the club.
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SEN Tassie
Robert Shaw (01/07/24)
[MUSIC PLAYING] Right across Tasmania on SCM Tassie. This is the Devil's Advocate with Brent Castella. Follow us online at SCM Tassie and text any time. 0-4-3-7, double 5-2-5-3-5. My next guest is Tasmanian footy royalty. He's a former VFL AFL player and coach. It's Robert Short, nice to see you, Rob. Nice to see you again. Thanks for having me. This is exciting, we're talking about a Tasmanian AFL team. Can you quite believe it? Well, we've done it a bit, and I'm still like recovering that I've come off the bench after Andrew Dillon, sort of. I thought I might be starting, but that's OK. It's all right. Do you have a high-five on the way out the door? Hell, I did. Hey, we'll talk about Tassie AFL team in a minute, but let's talk about you, first of all. You've had an unbelievable journey in football. Do you sit back and reflect on that? Over time? Yeah, I was very lucky that I think bringing up in a football family, the Sandy Bay family, through mum and dad, and then having my first coach when I was at school, Rodney Olson, and then to be able to play with idols, like Roger Steele, Kerry Doron, Barry Joyce, et cetera, really did cement my passion for the game. And then, of course, the unexpected happened, and I went to Essenen. So, and that, of course, opened up all sort of possibilities and doors and moving to Melbourne, which at that time at 16, 17, was a pretty big issue. So when you say unexpected, what do you mean by that? Did you not know you were going to end up there, or? I didn't know I was good enough, and when I left, I was about six foot one, and 11 and a half stone, a half-word flanker at Sandy Bay, going to play over there. Mum was particularly concerned, quite rightly. I was still at school, and she said, it was Dez Tudnam, and she said to Dez, I don't think he's ready, and Dez said, look, we'll give you another $1,000, and dad in the background yelled out, what time does the plane leave? So, a Tim's grandfather. Yeah, so Bert, he got me on the plane, and a lot of injuries, that was unexpected. I wasn't sure whether I could match it over there, but when I did settle down, I found that when I wasn't injured, I was played, but in the end of '26, I'd had enough, I'd had nine operations, and Kevin Sheedy gave me opportunity to watch opposition, in 1983, the year before I came to Clarence. So, I'd report in, and do all the tactics, and all that sort of thing, and then, of course, I got a hunger for coaching, and no leery ring map, and said, I'm giving it away. There's a good club down here at Clarence. Would you like to, you know, cut your teeth? And, of course, it also allowed me, after a year out of '83, it allowed me to also fit in in a very good team, and without a lot of pressure on me, like I had Chris Rewalt, Sennar Ford, Scotty Adams, Robert Dutton, like Greg Farquhart, Sennar Fack, and Noel at Fallback. So, it allowed me to play and contribute, which was great, but it also allowed me to not have to, and I'll say this the right way, it allowed me not to have to win the game, it's the captain coach. Others did that, where I could coach on the ground, and it was a really good balance for us. - Six games for Tasmania as well across your career. Must have been in such a joy to pull on the map. I know that what the map jumper means to you. - It was extraordinary, we stayed of origin. It was our first time we all came together. All, you know, the eads, and Craig Davis, and the like, there's James, you know, it was just a great thing to be invited into state of origin, 79 and 80, and to represent, you know, the only disappointing thing was, and I know the players were very, very upset about it, we actually wore a version of the map, as you remember, with the Tasmanian, it's not a bad jumper, with the primrose stripes down the side, the traditional green, the colours were traditional, but it was a design for state of origin, and it didn't go over well, and I haven't got an actual state of origin jumper. I've got both of those jumpers, which is great. So I had to wait 'til I came back and played for Tezi against in '84 when we played, I think, visiting Queensland and side, New South Wales, they played in that sort of, so I finally got my jumper. - Yeah, absolutely, yeah, I was wonderful, it was just great, and it's, you know, people talk about the rivalries, but North West and all that, that's wonderful, and it's a great part of Tasmanian football, but I can tell you, once that jumper is put on, those rivalries go out the door, like I was at a great function at Glen Orkey, and through my great mates, Danny Ling, Rollie Curly, Gary Linton, super rival, super competitive. You know, it was on out at KG5, but respected mates because we got the opportunity to play for Tasmania together. - Yeah, and that's what you also big on Tasmania's AFL team wearing the map, you quite big on this, aren't you? - I'm big that up, not as big as I was, and I'll tell you why, because if you look at clubs now, like Tasmania, we will have, and off the top of my head, we will have a home, a jumper and a way jumper, we will have a class jumper, that's three, we will have an ANZAC jumper, we will have a Dreamtime jumper, I'm up to six, we will have a diversity pride engagement jumper, that's seven. So, to people that worry, that's the nature of the game now. I want to see that jumper on a national stage, it deserves it for all the reasons, fabric, pride, history, and continuity with our kids playing in that jumper. I can, I'll balance myself back to it, look, I would be delighted, one game, Tasmania versus Collingwood at the stadium, wear it, North, Tasmania versus St Kilda for the Bulldog Stuart Cup, a game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in that jumper, and maybe a game in Sydney to take that jumper. So, I would like to take the jumper on tour, but I'm not absolutely hell-bent on it being every week, because it can't be, because of the nature of different type of jumpers. So, if we got it four to six times a year on special occasions, let's make wearing that a special occasion. - Yeah, I don't mind that. - Yeah, you're right, there's a lot of different jumpers, how is it there? - We have to wear them, we'll be designing jumpers every week, and there might be a, like Essenen, through Adam Ramanaskis, have the gold stripe on their shoulder, cancer, recognition, awareness, clubs have heritage jumpers, even though the heritage round has gone. So, that way, it comes down to practicalities of four to six times, so hand pick those games, hand pick them. - You live in Victoria these days, how is the feeling about Tasmania's entry on the mainland? - Yeah, family's there, career was there, you know, you wake up this morning, and I looked out the window, there's a beautiful covering of snow, not a lot, there's not a cloud in the sky, and you just wonder why the ignorance of people, why would you come and live here? Why would you play football there? How's that going to work? You'll need a roof because of the snow and the rain. No, you need a roof because you might actually get the rolling stones here or pink or indoor cricket, you might have the great passion. Imagine the jack jumpers playing in the stadium, they've done it at Marvel. - Absolutely. - They put the floor down, and 20, as you know, more than I do. If it's 23 stadium, 1,000 to watch the jack jumpers, tickets sold in five minutes. - Big five, absolutely, yeah. - So, it's a glorious part of the world, and I do miss it, but I've got my daughters and all that, and 12 grandkids in Melbourne, and in quite semi-retirement, but can't wait to get home and can't wait to be somewhere involved in this, so, yeah. - And there's a lot of excitement about Tesla. - Well, that was to answer my quick, there is, and it's not just expats. I think Alistair Lynch on the board, as director of football, is doing an amazing job, a wonderful job in communicating and uniting and bringing the expat players together. We've got a dinner, we've had one big dinner, with about 25 of us. Board members, Henderson, all the players, and Lynchian, James Henderson, got up, and they're providing respect to the past players, and we've got another one Thursday night at Southbank. - Oh, brilliant. - With another group of players, so we try and get together, and we're not after jobs, we're not after in pose, but we're there, if you want to pick up the phone, which they do, which Katherine McCann's done, with myself and Rodney Ead, James Henderson, Lynchy. So there's a really good line of communication between former state players and local players, and the new board. It's working really well. - Robert Shores, my very special guest on the devil's advocate here in the studio. You were in St. Helens, I think, on launch night back in March. Did you have a tear in your eye that night? - That was a fantastic function. One of, what I found with the launch and all that, you meet great people, and you understand what Jack Riwatt was attempting to find, about the fabric of people, and that's why we do get a little bit upset by the naysayers, and the negative people. I went to a function at Glynorkey. Two years ago, Glynorkey were nearly gone, as you know. There was 197 people there, this function. Me and Rodney Ead were there. There was a lot of Clarence people interacting. David Lewis brought a couple of tables. It was just a wonderful function. Football can be, it's not, but football can be alive and well, and this is the catalyst. I know there's a lot of work to do, and you know it more than I do. At Grassroots, at State League, we're still discussing the State League, and the three, all that. That's still ongoing, stadium, the high performance. There's a lot of debate on issues, but there is no debate on mainland passion, non-Tasmanians, they actually love the fact, 'cause they're sick to death of the money going north. They're sick to death of what Gold Coast have got. In promoting northern states. And we are a very, very popular football team. No question about that. You've been a coach at the highest level before? What's the makings of a good coach, and who do you think should be, our inaugural coach here in Tasmania? That's a great question. And I'm with an emerging coach. I know our board and that are thinking the gray-haired people and all that sort of thing. It's hard to explain. Like, you've interviewed, let's not embarrass him, but let's use the Zane Little John model, Taylor Whitford, who's it right, let's use their model. By the time our team comes in, or the VFL team comes in, they're nearly 10 years into an apprenticeship. That we haven't just plucked them out in North Launceston. They've coached their own team. They've gone and done development. They've gone and done assistant coaching. They've done the whole model of an apprenticeship. And they will grow with the, this is the thing to me. They will grow with the team, with this young team. The older type, Clarkson, Hinkley, Chris Scott, Ross Lyon, et cetera, in their own right, superstar coaches. But in my opinion, they're not for Tasmania. They are not for Tasmania. We need any, and I'm not trying to be critical. I'm just using the two models, and you ask me my opinion. And then you get an aide and a Fagin to support that. We have got serious talent. Jeremy Webley is doing a wonderful job. He might make the coach of the team, but he'd make an outstanding development coach of an AFL club. So why are we having to, you know, support the superannuation payments of blokes that want to come down here? I said to the Glenauky people, you don't want a bloke that's coming here to do a job. You want a bloke that'll come here and engage themselves, immerse themselves in our state, in our culture. And you don't have to be a Tasmanian, as Scott Ross shown, but you do have to follow the Scott Roth model of engagement, community. And fortunately, our board, very fortunately, are on the path, as you know, about community. So I want to, I do want a Tasmanian coach that knows Smith and that knows the people of Scottsdale, that's happy to get in his car and go and take training in the middle of winter at Oaklands, right, and be part of us. And not an overseer, not a hierarchical person that'll dominate or control. Last time before I let you go, 'cause I could sit and talk to your old day. I love your passion. What role would you like moving forward with the Tasmanian football club? - I like the job you gave me, 'cause I think people is so important. If we get the right people, we'll be an outstanding success. If we get the wrong people that see it as a stepping stone or a job for a job's sake, or beam down into Tasmania to do a job, just to look at it and then go somewhere else, I would like to be with Alistair Lynch on some sort of, but this is Brendan Gales' decision now. And what a decision that is? - Yeah, magnificent. - To get Brendan Gales at a Richmond in a team that hasn't even started or hasn't even got a training ground is superb. So to answer your question, don't want a job. I will continue to live in Melbourne. So with Lynchy, his footy subcommittee, I'm big on getting the right people. So if there's a group of people that decide or interview or research coaches, staff, and to ensure that Tasmania are well-represented for the right reasons, that's the role for me. - Well, it's great to see you Rob. As I said, love your passion for all things Tasmania, particularly with me. - Is that a good job for me? - Magnificent, signing you up now, I say. - Absolutely. I'm out here, Jack. That's my role. That's, you know, I work with Lynchy, Rodney Ead, you know, this little veteran group that are sort of like, they're sounding like I'm a smart ass, but like a bit of quality control. You with me, a bit of quality control officer. - There we go. - No, son, we don't know June, have a spell, you know? - I don't mind it. I hope the footage was listening. - As I said to the function, Tassie people will see through you. If you're not here for the right reasons, - Absolutely. - They'll see through you. So let's get the right people at the start. - Thanks, mate. - And can you put me on before Andrew did it? And that was a little bit of a, you know. - Well, I'll get my people to talk to your people next time. - Thank you very much. - Robert Shaw, joining me here in the studio on the Devil's Advocate. We're off to our final break. Coming back after this, to whip around the country to see how our Tassie players over the weekend. Thanks to Battery World here on The Devil's Advocate.