Premiership Sydney defender and former North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw has become the first person to coach both AFL and AFLW after being appointed the senior coach of the women's Gold Coast Suns side.
While former AFL players have coached at the top flight of women's football, no individual has coached both of Australia's top football leagues, with Shaw's appointment the first of its kind.
Shaw coached North Melbourne for the majority of two years between 2019 and 2020, leading the club for 29 games for a win-loss record of 10-19. The former Swan took over as caretaker coach after the sudden departure of Brad Scott in Round 10, 2019, and won the bid to keep his role the following season.
Shaw then coached the Roos throughout a heavily interrupted COVID year, before stepping down for personal reasons at the close of North Melbourne's 2020 campaign.
The 43-year-old had since joined the Suns in an assistant and development coach capacity, notably developing and recruiting Gold Coast's flourishing academy, including the Suns' most recent top selections in Leo Lombard and Havana Harris.
ADVERTISEMENT
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 24: Interim coach of the Kangaroos Rhyce Shaw reacts during a North Melbourne AFL training session at Arden Street Ground on July 24, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
Shaw will return to full-time senior coaching under a four-year deal, replacing the sacked Cam Joyce who departed after three years in the role.
Gold Coast recorded just one win from their 11 matches in the AFLW last season.
Shaw said he was excited to mark his return to the coaching sphere.
โI feel honoured to be given the opportunity to coach this team and I'm excited by how far I believe we can develop and what we can achieve for the Gold Coast,โ Shaw said.
โI'm a coach at heart and I am very passionate about this football club and making our people and players better.
โThe players who have been here for a while are all looking to take that next step and we've recently brought in some high quality talent through our Academy to help us on our journey.
โThere is no ceiling on what we can achieve, we will have expectation but I'm looking forward to that challenge and so should all our fans."
Gold Coast CEO Mark Evans believed Shaw was the right candidate given his distinguished resume and prior experience at the club.
โRhyce was the standout candidate in our search for a new AFLW Head Coach,โ Evans said.
โThrough his time at the Gold Coast SUNS, Rhyce has worked closely with a number of our AFLW players and dedicated countless hours to developing the next generation of players coming through.
โWe are firm in our ambition to win AFLW Premierships and are confident Rhyce is the coach who can help us take the next steps to deliver on our mission as a football club.โ
Shaw will begin his role as AFLW head coach in May ahead of the women's competition's pre-season, with the 2025 AFLW season starting in August.
