{xtypo_dropcap}W{/xtypo_dropcap}hen twenty year old Brad Shine arrived at Swan Districts Football Club, he had already played four seasons of senior football with Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault in the South West Football League.

A cousin of Perth players, Richie and Eddie Rigg, Shine grew up supporting the Demons, but, being zoned to Swans, Bassendean became his football home, and three premierships later he has no cause for regret.

Shine was an outstanding junior at Harvey-Brunswick, and shared roving duties with former Swans player Terry Harris as a sixteen year old, before lining up with the black and whites in 1980. Such was the strength of the Swan Districts league squad that year, Shine spent most of the season in the reserves, winning the fairest and best award, but did make his debut on June 14 in a winning team over Claremont, helping his side cover the losses of Ron Boucher, Keith Narkle, Ian Williams, Simon Beasley, Gerard Neesham, and Stan Nowotny, all of whom were playing at Adelaide Oval for Western Australia on the same day.

In and out of the league side again in 1981, Shine hit his straps the following season, and soon entrenched himself as not only a regular, but a leader of the club. One of the WANFL's toughest players in an era of tough nuts, the five foot nine(175 cm) and 12 stone(78kg) Shine took the game on, with his hard approach to the contest becoming infectious in what was a very good Swan Districts combination.

Not only a fiery competitor, but also a highly skilled player, he was the engine room of the Swans triple premiership, with roles all over the ground. In the 1982 and 84 premierships he was a dominant half forward flanker, but it was his roving performance in 1983 that earnt Shine a Simpson Medal, in a display that attracted the attention of half of the clubs in Victoria.

Deciding on Carlton, Shine arrived in Melbourne amid high expectations.

Unlike most West Australians who excel in the dry conditions here but find it hard to adjust on the softer Victorian conditions, Shine was at his best in the wet, and it was his aggressive style of play that was expected to ensure a successful transition to the VFL. But just the one appearance in his first season was due to the Blues having many similar type players to Brad. It wasn't that he didn't perform, a fairest and best award in the reserves in 1985, followed by a third in 1986 when premiers in that competition, and second in 1987 showing his form was alright. In 1987 he was also tenth in league fairest and best polling, the year he was an emergency for the league grand final

A knee operation after just five games in the 1988 season was the catalyst for Shine's return to Bassendean in 1989 as captain, retiring on a high following Swans 1990 premiership, after a hundred and eleven games with the club, in which he contributed eighty five goals, and twenty three appearances at Carlton.

Brad then went into coaching, assisting Tom Mullooly in a colts premiership, later returning to his home town, where he took over the Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault side, before concentrating on the youngsters, with coaching preceding a stint as President of the juniors.

These days, Brad is a keen fisherman, having seen son Nathan follow in his footsteps at Swan Districts.

Brad Shine was a formidable force in the Swan Districts domination of the early eighties, and one of the hardest and most competitive players in the WANFL during that period. Although his success here didn't transpose into similar achievements in Melbourne, he is well remembered and highly regarded at Bassendean as a hero of triple premierships.