The fact Rhyce Shaw can't remember exactly when he left North Melbourne says a lot about how things have gone on the Gold Coast.
The Suns' AFLW coach will lead his side into an elimination final against Hawthorn at home on Sunday, missing a fourth-placed finish by just one point after last week's defeat of GWS.
Still, their 9-3 season was a world away from the 2-10 campaign a year ago, in Shaw's first campaign at the helm.
They had won just one game the previous season and the Suns had identified the bolstering of their academy as a lever to pry themselves off the bottom of the ladder.
It's why Suns boss Mark Evans and AFL head coach at the time Stuart Dew, one of Shaw's good mates, were so keen to get him to Carrara.
The Collingwood backline staple and Sydney premiership player was an assistant coach at the Swans and then North Melbourne's AFL team, before taking over as interim coach of the Kangaroos in 2019.
They won just three games in the COVID-19-impacted 2020 season, when Shaw took personal leave and never returned.
"Left end of 2019, 2020, can't tell you ... one of those years. and I was a bit lost at the game for a period there," Shaw said.
"Family and my friends, in particular Stuey Dew ... he kept ringing every week, just checking in, checking in.
"The conversations started to change to 'come up here, come up here, come up here'.
"Eventually I came up."
Shaw joined as the Suns' head of development before moving to the academy and then, after some sage advice from father and Magpies great Ray, took the AFLW head-on.
Blessed with an influx of top-end academy graduates, the side transformed and reminded Shaw of a few things.
"To enjoy it," he said.
"It's a great game. It's a game I've been involved in my whole life.
"I've probably deviated a little bit from that at different times, but last year, in the harshest of times, I had players stick fat and stick with it.
"They showed resilience and they showed the joy that's required to play good footy.
"Hopefully you've seen that in the way the girls are playing. You might not have seen that from the way I coach, but I've certainly learned a bit."
On Thursday, a record five Suns - Daisy D'Arcy, Havana Harris, Niamh McLaughlin, Charlie Rowbottom and rookie Ava Usher - were included in the All-Australian squad.
Captain Lucy Single said Shaw, in partnership with new women's head of football Erin Phillips - a WNBA and AFLW great - had changed the dynamic.
"We're definitely all in awe of her, and I still get a bit shy when I'm around her, I'm still starstruck, and I don't know if she knows that, but yeah, I still get a little giddy around her," Single said.
"When you're out on the track and you know Shawy and Erin are watching you, you definitely want to make sure you're doing everything right.
"He's really good with the emotional intelligence side of it, knowing when to crack the whip, but also when to put his arm around you."
