Australian Football

When fit, Adelaide’s Shaun Rehn was arguably the finest ruckman in the AFL for much of the 1990s. Unfortunately, he suffered repeatedly from knee injuries, undergoing no fewer than three complete knee constructions, so his best was only somewhat sporadically displayed. 

Drafted from West Adelaide, where he had played just two senior games in 1990, Rehn made his AFL debut in 1991 and by season’s end was being touted as a future champion. At 203 cm and 106 kg it was no surprise that he was strong overhead, but allied to this he showed considerable ability at ground level. In 1994 he achieved AFL All Australian selection and won the Crows’ best and fairest award, but the following year saw him sustain the first of two serious knee injuries in as many seasons, effectively halting his progress for two years. After resuming, his importance to the Adelaide cause was starkly demonstrated in the premiership years of 1997 and 1998 when his consistently commanding all round performances were integral to the club’s success.

Rehn’s last two seasons with the Crows were cruelly undermined by a third major knee injury, incurred in 1999, and he seldom recaptured his best form. After 134 games and 55 goals for Adelaide he crossed to Hawthorn in 2001 where he added 33 games and seven goals over the final two seasons of his AFL career.

In 2003, Shaun Rehn was appointed non-playing coach of West Adelaide, steering the side to a losing Grand Final against Central District in his first season. He resigned a couple of games from the end of a dismal 2005 season that yielded the club’s first wooden spoon since 1979. The following year saw him at Brisbane, where he assumed an assistant coaching role under Leigh Matthews. He later also had an assistant coaching role at Port Adelaide (AFL).

Author - John Devaney