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Heath Shaw (born November 27, 1985) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League
After being drafted under the father-son rule in the 2003 AFL Draft at pick 48, Heath made his AFL debut in 2005 against St Kilda at the Telstra Dome. He was a solid contributor since making his debut, with his best game being his first. A running defender, Heath has pace and good ball skills which can make him into a good footballer. He played all possible remaining 6 games of the season and kicked his first goal against Adelaide in a game that saw Collingwood lose by more than 100 points.
2006 season
Heath had a stunning 2006 season where he became quickly noted for his ball winning ability out of the back-line and his consistency and reliability which was a key to the success of the Magpies. Heath played 22 games, with his first being in Round 2 against Hawthorn after being a late replacement for Scott Burns. Shaw had played for VFL affiliate Williamstown, where he had 30 touches in wet and windy conditions, only 24 hours before his call up. Shaw kept his spot for the rest of the season, building game-time each week early on to becoming a valuable player to the side. In Round 4 on ANZAC Day against Essendon he had 23 touches and 10 marks, and in the following week he won a AFL Rising Star nomination. Shaw had 16 games with 18 or more disposals during the season, which showed his consistency. He somewhat tailed off at the end of the season, but still was effective with his 1%ers. Shaws ended up having 448 disposals (313 kicks, 135 handballs) at an average of more than 20 touches a game. His best game being against Port Adelaide where he had 27 kicks, 6 handballs, 11 marks and kicked a fantastic goal in a thriller at AAMI Stadium. Heath also had 160 marks and accumulated 2210 Champion Data ranking points at an average of 100, and was ranked inside the top 10 in a game on 13 occasions, including 2 no.1 game rankings.
Shaw played in his first final against the Western Bulldogs, but sadly Collingwood lost. Shaw also came third in the 2006 AFL Rising Star behind Danyle Pearce of Port Adelaide Power and Andrew Raines of the Richmond Tigers. Shaw also polled six votes in the 2006 Brownlow Medal, including a game high of three votes in the Round 12 game against the Sydney Swans. Shaw also placed fourth in the 2006 Copeland Trophy.
2007 Season
Shaw started the season in great fashion. He would have a solid pre-season and then become one of the players of the first quarter of the year; leading the league in kicks (114 @ 19.0) after round 6. He had an extraordinary opening game of the season, where he had 27 touches, and collected two Brownlow votes despite having 13 clangers and giving a 50m penalty which resulted in a Shannon Grant controversial miss. On ANZAC Day, Shaw would put on a show of courage and determination in where he won the ANZAC Day Medal, racking up 23 kicks, 9 handballs and 13 marks against the Bombers. Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy labeled the Shaw boys as trouble and a pair that needed to be stopped. Heath would be on notice by opposition coaches for the majority of the season, with taggers Kane Cornes and Kane Johnson to name a few would be told to restrict his run off half-back. Shaw's All-Australian form would deteriorate with the extra attention, as well as a corked thigh/quad he encountered against Fremantle in round ten. He would be heavily bandaged on his left leg for the rest of the season.
Shaw played an exciting brand of footy late in the season, including a good finals series. He would have 25 disposals in the losing preliminary final in which the club lost to the eventual premiers, Geelong by five points. Shaw would poll seven votes in the Brownlow Medal, as well as finish equal fourth (fifth on the new countback system) in the Copeland Trophy. Shaws absence from the All-Australian squad puzzled the public, but wasn't nominated by the club to selectors. He averaged 19.5 disposals a game
Family Relations
Heath is the son of former captain Ray Shaw, and brother of Rhyce. He is also the nephew of premiership captain and Norm Smith Medallist, Tony Shaw and former Collingwood player Neville Shaw. His cousin, Brayden (son of Tony) was drafted in the same year as Heath, but failed to play a game before being delisted in 2005.
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