News Rhyce Shaw and North Melbourne part ways effective immediately

Sep 7, 2005
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No longer a 'scandal and rumour' so deserves a thread on the main board.

NMFC have announced Shaw has departed the club, effective immediately.

Wish him well moving forward, and good to see that this issue has been treated with the respect and sensitivity it deserves.

 
Apr 20, 2001
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Here is the letter


[TD valign="top"]

The North Melbourne Football Club and senior coach, Rhyce Shaw , have come to a mutual decision to part ways, effective immediately.

We fully support him and have been in constant contact since the conclusion of the season. At all times, our focus has been on the health of wellbeing of Rhyce and providing adequate care for him and his family.

Since taking on the role as caretaker coach in the middle of the season in 2019 and then senior coach for 2020, Rhyce has given his all to the club.
He has been an exceptional leader and is a man of the highest integrity. His work ethic is unparalleled, and we are truly grateful for the time, effort and energy he’s put into the role.

We will continue to work with Rhyce to ensure he has all the support he needs.

I’d like to thank you, our members, for your patience and understanding as we’ve worked through this delicate issue.

I’d also like to thank the media again, for the care and sensitivity they’ve shown. I hope this becomes a new benchmark for the way we deal with similar issues in the future, should they arise. We continue to ask that Rhyce’s privacy and that of his family, continue to be respected.

As for the next steps, over the past few weeks we have had to plan for several contingencies. One of those was to prepare to be on the hunt for a new coach and that search begins immediately.

We will establish a coaching panel setup and its aim will be simple: to identify and appoint the best coach available.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to continue to build towards the next era of success at Arden St and work with one of the most talented groups of young players in the league.

We will head to the draft with two first-round picks (currently 2 & 9) and will look to add more young talent through the trade and free agency periods.

I have great faith in those leading the football department in Brady Rawlings , Scott Clayton, Mark Finnigan and Glenn Luff, to create something special and believe there’s a great nucleus of youth to build around and add to including the likes of Jy Simpkin , Tarryn Thomas , Nick Larkey , Curtis Taylor , Luke Davies-Uniacke , Bailey Scott , Cameron Zurhaar , Aiden Bonar , Ben McKay , Kyron Hayden , Flynn Perez, Jack Mahony , Tristan Xerri and Charlie Comben.

Mix in some seasoned players in Todd Goldstein , Jack Ziebell , Robbie Tarrant , Ben Cunnington , Josh Walker, Jared Polec , Aaron Hall , Kayne Turner , Taylor Garner , Luke McDonald , Jed Anderson and Trent Dumont , and we have a great list full of flexibility and a lot of excitement.

I will be back in touch in the coming weeks once we are in a position to communicate more about our search for a new coach, but again want to thank you for your support, loyalty and patience.[/TD]
 

Coaster2012

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Jul 10, 2012
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all the best to him. But I wonder what happened? Was he having mental issues before he took the role and hid it well? Was coaching just a harder gig than he had expected?
 
Aug 4, 2003
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Probably deserved its own statement seperate from the ‘we have a great list’ propaganda bullsh1t.

Agreed, what the hell was that?

Rhyce Shaw press release or job advertisement?

I know they are hard up surely could have afforded a separate ad...
 

TheKanga

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all the best to him. But I wonder what happened? Was he having mental issues before he took the role and hid it well? Was coaching just a harder gig than he had expected?

Probably a bit of both.
Disastrous first season coaching made pre-existing mental illness worse.
Either way best of wishes to Shaw on his recovery, thanks for you're service to NMFC.
That win against Richmond last year when he took over was a great win.

I feel things could have gone different this year, if not for Covid.
It just completely stuffed our season.
 

Collingwood 4 eternity

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Is ther currently or should there be a mental health evaluation run by the AFL that each coach or asst coach must take or should take before they are appointed by their club going forward ?
 
Is ther currently or should there be a mental health evaluation run by the AFL that each coach or asst coach must take or should take before they are appointed by their club going forward ?
I mean it’s the first time a coach has ever departed on MH grounds - and the only other real example is Bomber. That’s 2 of however many senior coaches there have been.

Maybe at assistant level? Or make it part of the senior coach course?
 

Geoff

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May 13, 2004
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All the best to Reece going forward. He was a breath of fresh air in his caretaker year and let’s hope we see him around in the future.

Reece’s departure has given the number one coach in waiting the opportunity to show his wares. Come on down “Peter Sumich”.


Sent from my iPad using BigFooty.com
 

Coaster2012

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Lets leave him alone ...

I wasn't badgering the guy. Where is my pitch fork? No need to start turning this into you being a defender of all that is good in the world. I said all the best to him and was curious as to the circumstances. That's perfectly okay in a thread such as this.
 
Jun 7, 2007
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I wonder if the new coach might want to keep Ben Brown around

Who would be the options as I can't see North going thw untried coach route again. Voss?
 
all the best to him. But I wonder what happened? Was he having mental issues before he took the role and hid it well? Was coaching just a harder gig than he had expected?
It's pretty well documented in the scandal thread.
 
Jun 4, 2013
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Why did the AFL pick up Scotts deal, not North?
At least the costs of sorting out the current misfortune should be covered in the current financial year ending next week.
They didn't. The AFL literally employed the bloke, which lessened the amount we have to pay him out (which is spread out over three years anyway).
 

remfan101

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Oct 23, 2015
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Probably deserved its own statement seperate from the ‘we have a great list’ propaganda bullsh1t.

Totally agree.

absolutely bizarre to spruik the list and the club in the same statement. Tone deaf

There is a seperate statement, on the club website. That is a letter to the members, hence the talking up the future: fans deserve and need some light at the end of the tunnel.
 
Aug 13, 2006
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I don't want to see this as attacking North or Shaw, or speculating on the nature or severity of his illness but....

If you had a physical illness you'd be given time to recover before deciding whether you can keep coaching or not.

If you have a mental illness where almost certainly one of the major symptoms is impaired judgment then shouldn't you be given at least the same if not more time to recover and be able to make decisions once full healthy?

I don't think Rhyce Shaw should ever coach North again with a terrible list, in the middle of a pandemic, with the club cutting costs, stuck in a hub. That's fairly obvious. And I believe the statement where he's agreed to stand down. Because clearly the job this year wasn't good for his health and almost certainly he feels he's better off not carrying that burden right now.

What if he's given a senior assistant, a mentor, restricted to a healthy amount of working hours, has a more stable footy department and players and spends the vast majority of time in his home state not stuck in a QLD hotel?

Or if that's too much why not be really bold and leave open the possibility of him rejoining the club as an assistant.

It just doesn't seem right to me that so soon after falling ill he's walking away from a job.
 
Aug 13, 2018
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Too young and inexperienced.
Shouldn't have been appointed in the first place
Not his fault but bad decision by the club.

So Adam Kingsley next coach?
Him and Blakey would make a good team imo.
Kingsley has been an assistant for 10 seasons. Thats a good innings.
 
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