""Aaron has had injuries but he is facing his most important pre season. He was played (against Port Adelaide) for a reason - firstly because Steve Alessio was injured and secondly we thought and hoped he would give us mobility and run. He showed some good aggression against Port Adelaide.""
Sam Hunt is another player that has suffered injury interruptions over the past two seasons. Since being drafted to the club in 2000 Hunt has played three senior games and they all came at the end of the 2002 season. Shaw said he is another player that is possibly at the crossroads. ""Sam Hunt is a bit like Aaron Henneman - he has to make a real statement about what he wants to achieve in his football and it comes down to a pre-season,"" Shaw said.
""I am just going to put a brush across a few of these younger guys that have come through the club in recent years. There is enormous talent there, but unless they want to learn from people alongside them like Mark Bolton and Damien Peverill, they might be in trouble,"" Shaw said. ""If Shane Harvey could learn from his brother about work rate, run and pushing yourself - he could do exactly the same as his brother. Talent is not the issue, it is how much these boys want to get to the next level of their footy. We can offer them so much - coaching, John Quinn, gymnasiums, hot and cold, we will give them anything they like, but unless they have that inner drive and that insatiable hunger to play league football they will struggle and question why they aren't getting a game. I think that is where a group of six of them are and I have named some of them and I am not afraid to name them. It lets our supporters know that there is some real talent there, but they need to get off their backsides and make it really work for them.""
Shaw also commented that the coaching panel has been extremely happy with a number of the younger players this season who have taken the next step in their career. Ted Richards and Marc Bullen both received National Rising Star nominations and Shaw predicts a bright playing future for both players. ""There will be no problems with Ted. He is a super-dedicated young man and needs to brush up on his kicking a little bit and then we have to find a position for Ted. He is just six foot three and not quite big enough for the big key centre half forward or centre half back role. So we really have to refine where Ted will play,"" he said.
“Marc came and spoke to the coaching panel earlier in the season and he didn’t particularly like what we had to say. To his credit he turned things around in terms of how he trained, his fitness and his body language and since then we have seen a big improvement in his game,” Shaw said.
A player that has come under intense scrutiny this season is ruckman David Hille. Hille played every game this season and Shaw believes he is close to the club's most improved player. ""Hille has copped a bit of criticism this year, but I think it is unjustified. We have a wonderful developing ruckman, who is 22 years of age. He is under the guidance of Barnes and Madden's and will peak as all ruckman do at 25 - 30 years. He probably needs to put on a few kilograms because he has been brushed aside by a few blokes,"" Shaw said.
""His development and his around the ground play and his strength in his marking is fantastic. He has kicked 21 goals this year as a ruckman, which is the most goals kicked by round the ground ruckman this season. We might have to give him a bit of assistance next year, we might have to do that through the draft or a trade.""
