Collingwood's Shaw dynasty knows all about grand finals.

And more specifically, about grand final heartache.

It's a record star defender Heath Shaw is keen to redress in Saturday's AFL decider against St Kilda.

Father Ray played in five grand finals in five years from 1977-81 for the sorry record of a draw and four losses - two of them as captain.

Older brother Rhyce was a member of the Magpies team thumped by Brisbane in 2003.

At least uncle Tony got to lift the cup aloft as skipper in 1990 as the Magpies ended a famous 32-year drought, although he was also a member of the losing 1980 and 1981 outfits.

"With dad and Rhyce there's not the best history with grand finals, but uncle Tony did get the win," Shaw said on Monday.

"I suppose they might have a little bit to say to me during the week.

"I spoke to my dad last night and he just said `enjoy it, enjoy the buildup, enjoy the opportunity you've got.

"... Dad spoke about any grand finals.

"I was lucky as a junior, I played in four winning grand finals in a row and it doesn't mean a hell of a lot.

"But he always used to say to me `don't take it for granted' because he lost five.

"It's a good effort to get there, but it means nothing finishing on top of the ladder or winning a preliminary final, it's all about Saturday and definitely you don't want to be on a losing side in the grand final."

The hoopla of grand final week is a million miles from where Shaw found himself in late 2008, when he and teammate Alan Didak were suspended by the club for the remainder of the season for lying about their roles in a car accident.

But Shaw, 24, stopped short of describing the fallout from that incident as the catalyst for the club's on-field re-emergence.

"You learn from your mistakes and maybe that experience has helped other players who have come into the system or come into the club to learn from the mistakes that we made," said Shaw, who is now a member of the Magpies' leadership group.

"But as an internal group we were always building a group that we thought might be able to win a premiership and that's taken four or five years.

"I don't think that incident has brought us together any closer but it might have helped out a few people along the line."

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