Kevin Sheedy

For the association footballer who played for Everton and Ireland, see Kevin Sheedy.

Kevin Sheedy OA (born December 24, 1947) is the current coach of AFL club Essendon, and a former player for Richmond. He is an Australian rules football legend as both a coach and player.

In 1969, Sheedy was drafted into the Australian Army and served for two years in a construction squadron. He was, however, not assigned to travel to Vietnam to fight in the Vietnam War.

Playing career

Sheedy, labelled the "back-pocket plumber" by his then coach Tom Hafey, was a tough, no nonsense player, who played 251 games for Richmond between 1967 and 1979. Sheedy won the Richmond best and fairest award in 1976, was captain of the side in 1978, and played in three premierships (1969, 1973 and 1974). He represented Victoria eight times in state of origin football.

Coaching career

Sheedy's greatest impact on the game has been during his time as coach of the Essendon Bombers. Sheedy has held down the role continuously since 1981, during which time some other sides have had over a dozen different coaches. Essendon has won four premierships during Sheedy's time as coach in 1984, 1985, 1993 and 2000, as well as finishing runner-up three more times in 1983, 1990 and 2001.

As of the end of the 2005 season, Sheedy had coached the club in 591 games, a record for Essendon, and the third most by any coach in the history of the game.

He has never been a passive coach, and is well known for trying what commentators have often described as bizarre tactics. Sheedy has always believed in trying his players in as many different positions as possible, and also in giving discarded players from other clubs a second chance. These moves haven't always paid off, but sometimes they have been crucial. Sheedy made several moves in the last quarter of the 1984 grand final, when Essendon looked out of the game, and the side scored a come-from-behind victory. On the recruiting front, prior to the 2000 season, Sheedy lured ruckman John Barnes back to Essendon (a side that had traded him many years earlier) after he was let go by Geelong. Barnes proved to be a valuable player in the premiership side that year.

On Round 9 of the 2006 AFL season, Sheedy coached his 600th VFL/AFL game. However, the milestone was not one to be remembered, as Essendon went down by 60 points to Port Adelaide (a fate that also befell Jock McHale, who lost his 600th game as coach of Collingwood). The loss marked a low point in Sheedy's career, with the Bombers likely to miss the finals in 2006 and heading for their lowest finish under Sheedy.

Public persona

Sheedy is also noted for his quirky antics, outspoken nature and wry sense of humour. For example, strong rumours suggest that before a game against West Coast Eagles at Essendon's former home ground, Windy Hill, he tied the windsock down on the School End outer terrace so the opposition would not know which way the wind was blowing. He is also fond of talking about how Martians cost his side the game in post-match press conferences, an oblique reference to the umpires, as AFL rules forbid coaches from criticising umpiring decisions. Such stories perpetuate the eccentric Sheedy myth and enigma to trial anything for success.

Another of his most memorable stunts came in 1993. In his excitement at winning a close match, with ruckman and forward Paul Salmon kicking a goal after the final siren against the West Coast Eagles, he waved his jacket in the air as he came rushing from the coaches box. To this day, the supporters of the winning club wave their jackets in the air after the game when the two teams play.

Another example of his ability to build up and promote matches was in 1998 when he labelled Kangaroos executives Greg Miller and Mark Dawson "marshmallows", referring to how soft they were. This caused a tension between the two camps and came back to bite Sheedy, with the Kangaroos defeating the Essendon Football Club in a finals match that season. After the match, Kangaroos supporters were provided with marshmallows, which they threw at Sheedy. Unfazed by this, Sheedy then promoted the rematch in 1999 as the "marshmallow" game.

Sheedy has long been an ambassador for the game throughout Australia, taking it upon himself to promote both the game in general and the Essendon club in particular. He has also done a great deal of work with Aboriginal communities in the northern parts of Australia, encouraging young Aboriginal people to take up the game, and being a vocal supporter of anti-racial vilification laws in the game. He has also encouraged foreign players to train with his side such as a former American footballer, a skilfully athletic Ethiopian immigrant and more recently two gallant Japanese try-outs.

In the build up to the 2005 International rules series, as coach of the Australian side, Sheedy promoted the game by light-heartedly mentioning that supporters could attend the International rules game and be in for a high-scoring clash, or watch the Melbourne Victory game which was on at the same time, and see a scoreline of "0-0, or 1-0, or 1-1".

Sheedy has racked up numerous appearances on television and radio, including appearing on FOX FM's Friday morning football tipping with Tracy Bartram and Matt Tilley in 2003 and 2004. He is also currently the spokesman for Aquamax Australian water heating systems.

Sheedy is married to Geraldine, and they have four children.

External links

* Essendon Football Club profile for Kevin Sheedy
* Official AFL website profile for Kevin Sheedy
* Kevin Sheedy - 25 years of coaching