Football, family and farming have always been part of two-time Adelaide premiership ruckman Shaun Rehn’s life.

But it’s family and farming that has been keeping him busy for much of the past nine years.

After hanging up his AFL boots at the end of 2002, Rehn spent 11 years still heavily immersed in the football world - first as a senior coach with SANFL team West Adelaide, before working as an assistant with Brisbane and then Port Adelaide.

However, after growing up on a farm near Arno Bay, South Australia, it was only natural for Rehn to return to country life - this time in Byron Bay where he farms macadamias and cattle, while also managing other farms nearby.

Speaking to AFC Media, Rehn said he missed coaching a little bit but was enjoying the country life.

“We had a property in Byron Bay that we had since 2009, then I was lucky enough to coach with Ken (Hinkley) but then when that was over, we came back home,” Rehn said.

“I do a bit of mixed farming, I contract to Mecca farms close by, plus I have macadamias on our property and the rest of the property is cattle.

“I was involved with football for 12 months as president of the Byron Bay Magpies until my son decided to play soccer.

“But ever since then I have not had any deep involvement in football other than going to watch the local games.

"I don't miss the game playing-wise, I absolutely loved coaching and do miss that. But that was in a previous life I suppose."

Rehn’s post-playing coaching career, meanwhile, are memories the former ruckman says he will always cherish.

“To work underneath Doug Thomas at (West Adelaide) who was a good friend of mine, he’s no longer with us now, was great and it was great to give back to the club that gave me my start,” Rehn said.

“The opportunity to work under Leigh Matthews was something I was pretty keen to do and I loved the opportunity to coach under him.

“I tell this to people, the two most impressive people that I ever had the privilege of coaching in any form were Nigel Lapin and Chris Scott.

“I then got to Port Adelaide at a time when they drafted a lot of talented kids and they were just starting to come on, so to be honest I really enjoyed watching their development.”

It is, however, Rehn’s playing days that Crows fans will remember him for the most.

He was one of 10 highly-skilled South Australian teenagers picked as part of the final piece of the puzzle in establishing the state’s first AFL team.

The 203cm ruck made his AFL debut at 19 years old in 1991 and played six AFL games that season.

“I was doing a pre-season with West Adelaide when the Crows came in and I was a supporter of the brand new team when they played their first trial game against Essendon,” Rehn said.

“I went from being a country kid the year before, to doing a pre-season with West Adelaide and then being selected to be on the (Crows) list, so it was a pretty exciting time.”

Despite suffering three knee reconstructions throughout his career with the Crows, Rehn went on to become one of the Club’s most decorated players.

His accolades include winning the Club Champion Award in 1994, as well as an All Australian jacket that same year, being part of the 1997 and 1998 premierships, another All Australian induction in 1998, before becoming an Adelaide Football Club Life Member in 2000.

But after 134 games with the Crows, Rehn decided it was time for a fresh start and was traded to Hawthorn at the end of 2000.

He helped lead Hawthorn to a Preliminary Final in 2001, before making the decision to retire the following year.

Despite playing for two clubs and coaching two, Rehn, who has three children - Tom, 26, and twins, Tori and Angas, 19, says he will always be a Crow at heart.

“I (support) Adelaide and I have watched nearly every game of football they’ve played the past few years,” he said.

“I enjoy watching football and still watch from a perspective of how they’re playing and I’ve been enjoying watching the development of the young kids the footy club has drafted.”