FAMILY ties will be put aside when brothers Rhyce and Heath Shaw line up against each other in Saturday night’s clash between the Sydney Swans and Collingwood at ANZ Stadium.

A veritable army of more than 40 family and friends, led by proud parents Ray and Liz, will be on hand to watch the two sides do battle.

With the Magpies gunning for a fifth straight win and a top-four berth, and the Swans aiming to get their stuttering season back on track, both Shaws said there was plenty at stake.

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has even labelled Saturday night’s clash “the biggest in game in the history of the Collingwood Football Club” and Heath agreed – to a point.

“In the history of this year, it is. It’ll be five wins in a row for us. That will put us in the top four and that’s where we want to be at the end of the year,” he said.

“It’s a huge game for us. We went into the split round building confidence and we just need to continue that.”

Rhyce said the game was equally important for the Swans, who have lost their past six games against the Magpies, but he said playing against his younger brother wouldn’t be a distraction.

“It was pretty much a dream of ours to play together and I do miss it,” he said.

“He’s always been my little brother and I’ve never played against him in anything. It’s going to be weird going up against him and all my old mates down at Collingwood but I’m really looking forward to the challenge.

“Before the game, he’s my brother and after the game, he’s my brother but out on the field, he’s another player.”

Heath said the move to Sydney was the best thing that Rhyce could have done for his career after a strong 2008 season with the Magpies.

”He thought it was the best thing for him and his career to move and Sydney gave him that opportunity. This year, he’s followed on last year’s form and he’s playing really good football.

“There’s no doubt it was the right move for him and for his career and we’ll be doing all we can to make sure he doesn’t have a good game against us.”

The Swans have tapped into Rhyce’s knowledge of the Magpies as they prepare for this game and Heath hoped his brother’s memory had faded since moving north.

“I hope he hasn’t listened to the coaches the last nine years he’s been at Collingwood but I’m assuming he did,” he said.

“He’s going to add some information about Collingwood, some inner sanctum stuff that’s going to help Sydney but if we go out there and just play our natural game and try and beat Sydney the way we want to, it’s up to us in the end.”

For his part, Rhyce said his input to the Swans’ match-day tactics against Collingwood had been minimal.

“The coaches are pretty good with their knowledge and their outlook on the game,” he said.

“I just give them a few inside tips on certain players and certain things that Collingwood like to do, and that they’ve done to Sydney over the last couple of years. Hopefully that helps and we get the four points.”