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Andrew Slevison • July 16th, 2025 12:37 pm
Shane Crawford has reflected on the time in his career when he seriously considered leaving Hawthorn.
Crawford retired after winning the 2008 premiership with the Hawks, finishing up after 305 games, a Brownlow Medal, four All-Australian selections, four best and fairests and 121 games as captain.
But it almost didn’t get to that.
Early on in his Hawthorn playing days, the Finley product was heavily courted by Port Adelaide who offered him the captaincy, McDonald’s franchise opportunities and as much as $800,000 a season - which back in the mid 1990s was astronomical money.
The Power would eventually recruit superstar Gavin Wanganeen as their inaugural AFL captain, which worked out well, but there was plenty of interest in Crawford.
“I got an offer from Port Adelaide early on, which was true,” Crawford said on SEN Breakfast.
“Gavin Wanganeen ended up being that type of player to go (joining the Power in 1997).
“(They offered) leadership role, captaincy, McDonald’s franchise possibilities. This was not outside the salary cap but, ‘Hey, there might be an opportunity to get involved in some way’.
“Trust me, every time I drive past a McDonald’s I start crying. I’m like ‘You idiot!’. Not only that they had great success early on.”
It wasn’t only Port who were keen on Crawf.
Now 50 years of age, the loveable former Hawk also reflected on his brief flirt with the Sydney Swans.
Crawford recalls the constant struggles of the Hawks and how it almost led him to walking out on the brown and gold.
“I met with the Swans a month before they won the (2005) flag and I was pretty much done because I was so bitter and disappointed with Hawthorn and where we were at,” he continued.
“I thought I had to go, I’d put everything into Hawthorn, I thought it was time for them to rebuild. I didn’t want to be a part of that.
“So I met with the Swans and thought I needed a change. A month later they won and then I said, ‘No, I’m not going to go’, because I just thought they’ve achieved what I wanted to be a part of which was hopefully premiership glory.
“We were a basket case (at Hawthorn). I wasn’t contemplating (moving), I was out.
“If I went to Sydney I would have been part of a Grand Final the next year (in 2006), they lost by a goal, so you think could I have helped in some way.
“You do reflect on a lot of those things, but to be honest, I’m glad I was a one-club player. It’s all about the journey.
“I hated being part of a team (that struggled so much). There were a couple of years where we just knew that even at our very best on days against some of the better teams we weren’t going to win.
“It’s very hard to keep fronting up. That’s why I admire players who play really well in teams that struggle because it’s not that easy to mentally keep applying yourself and keeping the focus.”
In the end Crawford stuck around with the Hawks, finishing with that fairytale flag in ’08.
But he did think long and hard about the money that was offer many years before.
“Sydney wasn’t about the money, Port Adelaide was a lot of money,” Crawford said further.
“It was lots. It was around $600,000 to $800,000 back then. It was a long-term deal.
“I was at the stage where I had new friends, I’d come from the country, I wanted to stay with Hawthorn, I wanted to be a part of it, so I’m happy to play for a pie and sauce.”
Crawford was on Tuesday unveiled as the coach of the All-Stars team for the Legends Game which is back and bigger than ever in 2025.
Listen to Crawf on SEN Breakfast below:
