Didn't Tony Shaw run head first into a tree one pre-season?

As a response to that, a few teammates early one morning dumped a whole lot of sawdust onto his lawn and left a sign saying something along the lines of - "we got the bastard for you Shawy".

Initially, nothing was said by the Collingwood Football Club. Matthew Hogg was interviewed after we defeated the Pies in round 4 of 1997, stating that the Blues knew all of Tony Shaw's set-plays such as the Hiroshima (the long bomb) and pretending to kick long and kicking short. Hoggy claimed the Blues also knew when Nathan Buckley kicked out and held the ball in his left hand he would kick to the left side and in his right, to the right. If he held the ball with both hands, the kick would go up the middle.

The Pies put 2 and 2 together (a difficult task for Collingwood people) and summized that Trent Hotton must have been the culprit as he had been given the chop by Shaw at the end of 1996 for turning up to training in an inebriated state. It then grew into the the urban myth that it has that Trent had photocopied the 'playbook' and shared the Collingwood secrets.

It must be remembered though, that it would be another few years before Trent would end up at Carlton.

While he might have enjoyed a drink and a laugh as a youngster, Trent Hotton is one of the most streetsmart and booksmart people I've ever encountered. In 2008 he was made CEO of Leading Teams Europe, and only recently returned to Melbourne to start up his own business - 'Team Effect' - loosely based on the Leading Teams methodology.

Trent vehemently denies having anything to do with the leaking of the Collingwood playbook. And good mate Craig Kelly agrees. Hotton captained Mansfield in the GVFL and Kelly played under him. It was merely an excuse used by Tony Shaw who's team performed well in the early part of the season, but were horrible in the latter part of the season.

Shaw's playbook may have been leaked, but it wasn't leaked by Trent Hotton. More a case of the astute Brittain/Parkin coaching combination had worked Collingwood's set-plays out.

Initially, nothing was said by the Collingwood Football Club. Matthew Hogg was interviewed after we defeated the Pies in round 4 of 1997, stating that the Blues knew all of Tony Shaw's set-plays such as the Hiroshima (the long bomb) and pretending to kick long and kicking short. Hoggy claimed the Blues also knew when Nathan Buckley kicked out and held the ball in his left hand he would kick to the left side and in his right, to the right. If he held the ball with both hands, the kick would go up the middle.

The Pies put 2 and 2 together (a difficult task for Collingwood people) and summized that Trent Hotton must have been the culprit as he had been given the chop by Shaw at the end of 1996 for turning up to training in an inebriated state. It then grew into the the urban myth that it has that Trent had photocopied the 'playbook' and shared the Collingwood secrets.

It must be remembered though, that it would be another few years before Trent would end up at Carlton.

While he might have enjoyed a drink and a laugh as a youngster, Trent Hotton is one of the most streetsmart and booksmart people I've ever encountered. In 2008 he was made CEO of Leading Teams Europe, and only recently returned to Melbourne to start up his own business - 'Team Effect' - loosely based on the Leading Teams methodology.

Trent vehemently denies having anything to do with the leaking of the Collingwood playbook. And good mate Craig Kelly agrees. Hotton captained Mansfield in the GVFL and Kelly played under him. It was merely an excuse used by Tony Shaw who's team performed well in the early part of the season, but were horrible in the latter part of the season.

Shaw's playbook may have been leaked, but it wasn't leaked by Trent Hotton. More a case of the astute Brittain/Parkin coaching combination had worked Collingwood's set-plays out.