Round 2 08.indd - sanfl

IN THE BIG TIME
IN THE BIG TIME
BY IAN SHUTTLEWORTH
Young Tiger Shane Edwards
cherishes the close knit
environment at Punt Road.
The 19-year-old says team
spirit is strong despite
Richmond’s recent horror run.
The club finished bottom
with only three wins and a
draw in an embarrassing 2007.
“This team is the tightest I
have been involved with,”
Shane said.
“Last year we lost a lot of
games but we all stuck together.
“There are no little groups
within the group.”
Shane was a second round
pick, and number 26 overall in
the 2006 national draft.
“It feels like I have been here
so much longer,” he said.
“The first to four year players
went out every Tuesday for a
meal at a different restaurant
each week.
“That adds up to a group of
about 22 players from our list.”
Shane, a former North
Adelaide player who grew up
at Golden Grove, rents a
house with team mate Will
Thursfield. The Melbourne
lifestyle now agrees with him.
“It was pretty tough to start
with, putting up with all those
Adelaide jokes which I didn’t
like,” he laughed.
Forging an AFL career in the
east has allowed him to
escape the intense media
attention endured by
teenagers drafted to the
Crows and Power.
He has done less than half a
dozen interviews and never
fronted the television cameras.
“I would rather it that way,”
he said.
Shane must improve his
kicking and decision making
under pressure, after playing
16 games in his debut season.
He impressed on the wing
and across half forward.
“A lot of times last year I
stuffed up the kick when I had
time,” he said.
“I want to get more of a run in
the midfield and keep improving
as a crumbing forward.”
With added bulk and a full
pre-season he feels more
confident.
“I have put on 9kg since
arriving at the club,” he said.
“It was pretty daunting at the
start, walking in and feeling
so small.
“I was a featherweight.”
Ball magnet Nathan Foley was
an inspiration over summer.
“I trained with him for a lot
of the pre-season, doing extra
work,” he said.
“He’s always buzzing around
doing more than he has to.”
Shane singled out team
mate Andrew Collins, a
young midfielder who has
struggled with groin
problems, as a player to
watch in 2008.
“Andy has a big season
ahead of him,” he said.
“He’s been burning up the
training track.”
“ It was pretty tough to start
with, putting up with all
those Adelaide jokes which
I didn’t like.”
Shane Edwards
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