Sam Shaw says he’s ready to begin a new chapter in his career and put his frustrating injury woes behind him.
After joining the Crows via the 2009 National Draft, Shaw made his AFL debut for Adelaide in early 2012 and immediately made his mark at the top level, chalking 14 senior games for the season.
But recurring hamstring injuries have since derailed his progress. A hamstring avulsion identified in his junior days, which led to the gradual deterioration of his hamstring tendon, has seen him on and off the Club’s long-term injury list in recent seasons.
The issue has meant the 193cm defender hasn’t had an extended opportunity to showcase his potential. Since 2013, Shaw has managed only eight AFL games from a possible 53 matches. He’s also played just 15 SANFL matches in that same period.
Shaw played his first game in 287 days on Saturday afternoon for Adelaide’s State League side in what was also his first outing since undergoing radical hamstring surgery in a bid to resurrect his career.
The 24-year-old passed his first test with flying colours, collecting 23 possessions, nine marks and a team-high five rebound 50ms in a promising display across half-back.
Shaw said it was a relief to finally rejoin his teammates out on the field.
“The last couple of years have definitely been frustrating,” Shaw said.
“It’s been a long road to get here, but I really enjoyed being out there with the boys. It’s been a long eight months for me in rehab following the surgery.”
Shaw settled into the game against Central District with ease but did admit to a few pre-game nerves.
“I tried to stay as relaxed as possible, but I started to get a bit nervous when I rocked up here at the ground,” he said.
“I was fortunate to get a couple of touches early on which sort of helped me relax. There are still a couple of things that I need to fix up, like a few disposal and ground ball issues, but otherwise I was pretty happy with it for my first game back.
“But to be honest I was just happy to be back out there more than anything.
“That took over any other emotion.”
The 2012 AFL Rising Star nominee hopes to reclaim a spot in Adelaide’s senior side in the long term, but says his immediate focus is on getting his body right.
“I just want to get back to peak fitness,” he said.
"Today was step one in that, and now hopefully I can get a bit of consistency and push for an AFL spot.”
Shaw won the first kick of the day at Elizabeth Oval and passed off to fellow left-footer Rory Atkins, who was also playing his first game of the year after a long-term injury layoff.
The returning duo continued their chemistry all afternoon and played a big role in helping the Crows transition from defence to offence.
“We had a little word at quarter-time and said ‘you look after me, and I’ll look after you’,” Shaw laughed.
Atkins finished with a career-high 32 possessions and 10 clearances to be among Adelaide’s best.
“He really impressed me, I thought he starred today to be honest,” Shaw said.
“He’s done a lot of hard work getting back. We’ve been doing a lot of our training together getting to today. I was really happy to see him play well.
“He can be pretty damaging with that left foot on the wing. I reckon he’ll be a bit of a weapon for us going forward.”
