Don’t take our word for it, her team-mates have confirmed it.
The Jamaican striker’s impact on the team is undeniable, having scored 31 goals in just 40 Barclays Women’s Super League games.
Last season, her 31 strikes across all competitions was a record across a single campaign for our women’s team.
Shaw’s incredible City stats before 2023/24
The theme of this year’s Black History Month, a month-long recognition of the achievements of Black people across all areas of society, is ‘Saluting Our Sisters’.
This means acknowledging those Black women who have shone in their field. Since Bunny’s move to the Joie Stadium in 2021, she’s done exactly that for Gareth Taylor’s side.
With that in mind, we asked several members of the City squad what Bunny meant to them...
Gareth Taylor
“I’m super proud of Bunny and all the players are.
“She understands the support and help she gets here to allow her to be herself.
“I think what she’s done is remarkable, really - to go from the first game of the season scoring and not really have a dry spell at all, maybe a couple of games.
“She’s continued to score goals. She’s certainly a proven goalscorer, but it’s the types of goals she’s getting now and everything else she brings to us in the games.
“Her hold up play is phenomenal.”
Steph Houghton
“With Bunny, we can speak so much about her as a player but I think her journey to where she is today, being from Jamaica and fighting her way to play professional football is special. Everybody has their own stories but Bunny’s is so special.
“We know what she brings to the team as a player but for us as friends and for fans out there to have that representation you can aspire to be.
“When you are in that position, you have a job not just as a footballer but you have the job of inspiring people to do what you do and being that role model.”
Alex Greenwood
“Her goal record speaks for itself, but Bunny is so much more than goals.
“What she brings to the team in terms of play, her work off the ball, and off the pitch - she is a top person.
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“I think she can be the best in the world if she wants to be. She has all the attributes to be the best in the world, I know how hard she works in training.
“It’s the reason she’s flourishing right now, she’s been really strong for us so we just need to keep feeding her, keep giving her the ball and the rest she’ll take care of.
“She’s a great person to be around and a really good friend of mine as well, she is someone I can demand really high standards of, and likewise she can of me and everyone else.”
Lauren Hemp
“Bunny’s hold up play is magnificent. I’ve never seen anything like it before.
“It’s great to have a player like that. Myself and Chloe just know we need to make runs and we’re going to get the ball.
“She’s a match winner and she proves that every single game.
“It’s so nice to play with her because I know where she wants the ball and some of the time I don’t get it to her but she’s pushing me as a player as well.
“I know if I put it in the right spaces Bunny’s going to be there and she’ll score.”
Khiara Keating
“You just know you’ve got guaranteed goals coming from Bunny. She’s just super to be honest.”
“We have a little competition, me and Bun. If we’re doing shooting [drills] how many she can score, how many I can save. She’s good, but I’m winning.
“She’s so nice. On and off the pitch we’re close, we can relate to a lot of things and obviously she’s always there for me whenever I need it.
“On the pitch, she’s such a leader. Her presence and everything about her.
“She sets the standards on and off the pitch. For the aspiring girls she’s someone they can look up to.
“Opponents say she’s hell. The way she moves, she bodies everyone. Her strike is unbelievable, she’s a nightmare to play against, I wouldn’t like to play against her.
“She doesn’t really talk about it, but everyone around knows how much of an impact she has on Jamaica.
“And for the federation she’s such a leader and an example for the little girls in Jamaica [to say] that [they] can do whatever you want.
“She came from a little town in Jamaica and she’s playing at one of the biggest teams in Europe so she should be really proud.”
Sandy MacIver
“Bunny is someone you definitely want on your side rather than coming up against her, especially as a goalkeeper.
“Playing against Bunny in training, you know the qualities she has. She has a very complete game, very strong, good dribbler, good in the box and good at heading.
“For me, I’m very lucky to play with Bunny. She’s a top player and I’m just glad on Sundays I’m not in the other goal.
“Me and Bunny have quite a unique relationship. I like to tease Bunny because I know she likes to bite easily, but she knows it’s all love.
“Even off and on the pitch we push each other to get better and Bunny is a great member of the team and I really enjoy our friendship.
“I have spoke to some opponents in the past and it’s pretty much the same answer how hard it is to defend against her.
“If you get too tight, she rolls you, if you don’t get tight enough, she’ll run at you. I wouldn’t know how to defend against her which is probably why I’m not a centre-back.
“She’s talked about her relationship with [Usain] Bolt quite a bit. He’s given her a lot of advice from more of a physical standpoint.
“She talks to Filippa and I about what it’s like when she’s home and I think Bunny is not only an inspiration for the people here but for so many young girls and boys back in Jamaica.
“For them to have someone like Bun to look up to is incredible and I know she does a lot of work off the pitch when she’s back home.”
Filippa Angeldahl
“She’s unbelievable. She’s such a good player and you know when she plays she’s going to score. You give the ball to her and she will score.
“She’s my best mate here in the team. We always stick together so she’s so funny and we just like to hang with each other.
“Some of my friends [in other teams] don’t want to play Bunny because they know she’s strong and always scores. They don’t say that, but I think they are afraid of her.
“She’s really big in Jamaica. She helps people there and I think she’s a good inspiration for people in Jamaica.”
Ruby Mace
“It’s great playing with her, [I] hate playing against her. She’s aggressive, she’s strong, she works hard and she scores.
“Everything you need from a striker, she’s got it.
“She’s [given me advice on] to turn with the ball, play it to her feet and to trust her. If I try that and I it goes wrong she’s like ‘next one, you’ve got it next time’. She really motivates me.
“Even sometimes I get thrown in at centre-back and I have to be against her, it’s awful.
“It’s like you don’t exist when she’s there, she’s very strong and holds the ball up very well. She’s very hard to play against.
“For me, I’m just a proud friend of Bunny for staying true to herself and doing everything she can to help people.
“In Jamaica, they may not be as fortunate as what she has here and being here may be a completely different environment to what she’s used to.
“For her to have done what she has and create is really good.”
Julie Blakstad
“It’s really good to play with Bunny, she’s a really good player.
“She scores some incredible goals and she also shows that she has qualities outside of scoring goals, keeping the ball, receiving and turning – which I think is really good.
“She’s also a player who puts demands on other players which is good. If a cross isn’t good enough she’ll tell you and if we want to get better it’s important we have players who actually encourage us to do even better.
“She knows what we’re capable of and when she says that to you it’s because she knows your qualities and she wants you to be aware of that which is good.
“She’s funny. When she comes into the training ground, sometimes she brings stories and she can talk for like half an hour without anyone interrupting. I enjoy playing with her and being around her off the pitch as well.
“Playing against her, even in training, must be really hard because you think you have her, especially when she’s facing her own goal, but then she just drops her shoulder and turns the other way and she out of it.
“She’s so strong so it’s hard to nick the ball from her. For opponents, it’s really difficult – especially in the box as well. When crosses are coming in, she’s always sniffing a goal so I think it’s hard defending against her.
“She tells us a lot about how things are in her home country and I remember when [Usain] Bolt came to one of our matches and to me, he is really big star.
“I was like ‘wow’ when she spoke to him and I asked her afterwards if she knew him so I don’t think I understood how big she was in Jamaica before that.
“I then realised she was really big and she knows the big people around there. I think it’s really cool to see and play with such a player who is she is.”
Leila Ouahabi
“Bunny is such a good player. She always delivers good performances.
“She is a fast player and it is so good to play with her. It’s easy to play with her.
“On the pitch, she is very competitive and off the pitch, she is a funny girl. She’s a good person and I can joke with her, she’s funny.
“She a dancer! She loves a Tiktok with Khiara.
“It’s hard [playing against her in training]. She is very strong and very competitive. It’s good for me because I train hard with her and I like that.
“I think she has a lot of influence on Jamaica. She’s an important player for her country and her attitude is very important.”
