AFL legend Shane Crawford teases shock new career move with backing of soapie star James Stewart after Dancing With The Stars

Shane Crawford has announced a surprising new career move into show business following his elimination from Dancing With The Stars.

The 49-year-old AFL legend was sent off alongside fan favourites Ben Cousins ​​and Adam Dovile in a brutal triple-elimination bracket on Sunday night.

But despite being their rival on the dance floor, Home and Away star James Stewart (48) positioned himself as a mentor to the other men in the competition, Crawford said.

‘James gave me and Ben acting advice [Cousins] and Adam [Dovile]’ he told Ny Breaking Australia.

“This is what I would do when you’re on camera, this is how you approach it advice,” Shane said. “He had done all his research on all the dances and the previous shows. He was a great person to go to from a knowledge standpoint.”

‘I thought it was so great that at the end of the film he said, “I’m going to get you a part in Home and Away.”‘

James, who joined the cast of Australia’s longest-running soap opera in 2016 and recently confirmed his on-screen romance with co-star Ada Nicodemou, made the footballer an offer of a one-way ticket to Summer Bay.

“I said at first I couldn’t handle it,” Crawford said.

The 49-year-old says he took the TV job because he wants to show his four sons that it’s worth trying.

Home and Away star James Stewart and his dance partner Jorja Freeman have progressed to the final of Dancing With The Stars on Monday night.

Shane Crawford said James Stewart gave himself, Ben Cousins ​​​​(pictured) and Adam Dovile acting coaching…which resulted in a unique job offer.

After considering the offer, Crawford said he would accept the role, but that he would impose some conditions.

‘But I said to him, “If you can write me as a character I might know, like a football coach with some allure, then I’m in!”‘

‘As long as there is not too much acting and talking, maybe my friend is the stoic type, then there is no problem!’

In the 36 years that Home and Away has been on television, it has launched the careers of Hollywood stars such as Heath Ledger, Chris Hemsworth and Isla Fisher.

Since 1988, a short but respected list of celebrities have made guest appearances. Other famous names have also had brief stints on Irene’s Diner, including John Farnham, Sia, Ian Thorpe, Lleyton Hewitt, Ed Sheeran, Jessica Mauboy, Atomic Kitten and most recently Sunrise presenters Matt Shirvington and Natalie Barr.

Producers rarely allow outsiders onto the set of the Seven soap, keeping the circle small.

James Stewart and Ada Nicodemou are two of the longest-running stars on Home and Away, with James telling Shane Crawford he’s ‘going to get him a role’ on the Australian soap.

The football icon, who won the prestigious Brownlow Medal in 1999 and captained Hawthorn from 1999 to 2004, said he always thinks of his sons when accepting TV roles.

After years of entertaining fans on Channel Nine’s The Footy Show and various other entertainment ventures, Crawford decided it was time to step back into the spotlight.

However, his final acting career was not received with much enthusiasm.

Crawford’s 2022 performance as the cheerful Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat in the musical drew criticism from Melbourne’s theatre community, who felt it was depriving young actors of an opportunity.

As for Dancing With The Stars, “I didn’t care if they laughed at me or with me. As long as people can focus for a minute or two and say, ‘He looked like he was trying, didn’t he?’ I’m happy,” Crawford said.

“I have four boys and they’re teenagers. It’s that awkward age where you don’t want to do things that might embarrass them — which I’ve done a lot in the past.”

The retired athlete expressed gratitude for his defeat and heartily thanked his professional dance partner Ash-Leigh Hunter.

“I admire anyone who is willing to try something,” he said, jokingly comparing his own salsa dancing efforts to Australian Olympic breakdancer Raygun.

“Nobody likes negative feedback, but we all get it,” he said. “Hopefully my boys didn’t get too much criticism for it at school.”

The salsa dancers who take to the dance floor on Tuesday nights at Merivale’s The Establishment were Crawford’s inspiration for this song.

The father of four said he often enjoyed watching the Sydneysiders compete on the dance floor and said they thoroughly enjoyed it.

‘I tried to learn as much technique as possible, but most of all I wanted to entertain and make sure that the people in the audience and at home got the same feeling as when I was watching the salsa: “That’s someone having fun!”‘

Lisa McCune, Ant MiddletonJames Stewart, Nikki Osborne and Samantha Jade will compete for the 2024 Mirrorball trophy in the Dancing With The Stars final on Monday night.