Shaw clan fired up for Hobart hostilities

BROTHERLY battles between Rhyce and Heath Shaw have always been fiercely competitive, but the latter admits Sunday’s contest in Hobart will be particularly weird.

Rhyce Shaw, seeking to improve his unbeaten record as caretaker coach of North Melbourne to 3-0 with victory over GWS, is now plotting the downfall of Giants defender and younger brother Heath.

“It’s great. Obviously a pretty good start to his coaching career ... hopefully that honeymoon period is over this week,” Heath Shaw said yesterday.

“There will be a lot of stuff talked about during the week but when we get into it, it’ll be two very competitive beasts both wanting to get the win.

“Rhyce has already called me a couple of times, which he doesn’t usually do. Trying to get a bit of inside info.”

Heath offered one piece of team news, suggesting teammate Toby Greene should return from a knee injury.

The latest chapter in the Shaw sibling rivalry, which started with the most uncompromising of backyard cricket showdowns, shapes as a fascinating subplot as GWS attempts to shore up its top-four spot after a loss to Adelaide.

The brothers were teammates at Collingwood, then opponents, with Rhyce joining Sydney in 2008 then Heath shifting to the same city in 2013 but becoming a Giant.

“It’s going to be interesting ... it was weird when I first played against Rhyce after he moved,” Heath said.

“But I got used to that. This is a pretty unique situation ... it makes it even more weird. I think we’ll stay away from each other during the game.”