Sure, it was probably Karmichael “Hunt the Shunt” and his roadblock defensive tackles that caught the eye at Blacktown during the NAB Cup night, but the real image that stood out the next morning for me in the press was that balding dude.
You know, the one on the boundary, arms folded.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise-style. Kevin Sheedy’s back. Hurrah.
The photo from the Herald Sun website said it all – it’s Sheeds, that bloke who could pass for an NFL coach – talking via ear-muff transmitter on the touchline.
Nobody does footy-as-an-attraction like Sheeds. Heck, he could probably find himself a role as an assistant NFL coach in a Simpsons episode. That’s how vital he remains to the sport of Aussie Rules as a whole. Sherrin fans should be thankful he’s stayed involved for so long.
While there’s all the usual guff about new rules, Twenty20-ish formats, Supergoals and the like, at least there’s one thing we can rely on to be there – Sheeds. And it’s like he’s never really gone away since the announcement of his head coaching role at Greater Western Sydney.
Whether it’s the best place for the AFL to have set up a team (or even whether Giants is the best nickname – the answer is no in both cases as I’d personally have preferred Tasmania or the Northern Territory), you can’t fault Sheedy as arguably the most “right” kind of man to sell the sport to the rugby league-hardened types that remain in the NSW capital.
He’s one of those guys that transcends the sport itself – everyone’s got an opinion on him, and most respect the man even if they don’t barrack for his major clubs Richmond or Essendon. Like Sir Alex Ferguson or Mike Shanahan of the Denver Broncos… You’ve got to admire his longeivity.
Love him or hate him, you can’t deny he’s survived for ages at the top level – and must have done something right.
Add to that his Yoda-like presence as the doyen of the 2010 newspaper Supercoach competition, and he’s kept himself in the frame rather well since retiring from the Bombers’ top job in 2007 after 26 years at the helm.
Even Sheedy wasn’t afraid to admit to reporters after the Giants’ failed opening evening that the young West Sydney lads had a lot of work left to do.
“I spoke to the boys after the first game and said ‘what did you think? I haven’t played for a long time”, he told The Age’s Emma Quayle on Sunday.
“They said it was so quick. You can talk about it, show them on the screen, make all the edits you can ever make, but until you’re out there, you really don’t know.”
Two heavy defeats against the Sydney Swans and Gold Coast Suns couldn’t faze him.
“From our point of view, it’s the best thing we’ve done,” said Sheeds.
It’s also the only thing they’ve done, but that’s beside the point. It’s Sheedy we’re talking with here.
The same guy who described Saturday in his Herald Sun column as like “preparing for a marriage.”
He’s vibrant, obtuse and just plain weird at times. But he’s also the jacket-waving guy – the one who gets worked up about footy with a genuine passion all of his own. His love of the game is on display for all to see.
It was innovative when he first did it, and still somehow looks thoroughly modern now. As does Sheedy.