Kevin Sheedy’s legend kicks on after more than 50 years

One of football's greatest servants, Kevin Sheedy, has been given an official title he earned long ago – Legend of the Game. The icon was elevated at Tuesday night's Australian Football Hall of Fame function

He entered his eighth decade on Christmas Eve last year, yet Kevin Sheedy remains an active part of the football landscape. Just over a fortnight ago, with his beloved Essendon enduring a torrid run, Sheedy noted, “you can turn it around quickly.” Against the odds, the Bombers have won two in a row. Sheedy, feeding a baby goat, had been speaking at an event to promote this years country game, between the Dons and Geelong. The match, which Essendon are aiming to turn into an annual blockbuster to complement the Anzac Day clash with Collingwood and the Dreamtime encounter with Richmond, is a Sheedy brainchild. Never mind that he grew up in a South Yarra terrace in the 1950s, he has a way with bush folk.

More to the point, he has a way with folk in general. Its why his message, often evangelical, has managed to pervade the public consciousness for more than half a central. Ted Whitten will forever be Mr Football, but the moniker would comfortably fit Sheedys name, so great has his influence been on the game.

A disciple of Tom Hafey, the pair shared many traits, albeit not Hafeys teetotalling. Like Hafey, under whom he played in three flags for Richmond, Sheedy has always appeared an eternal optimist. That ubiquitous Sheedy positivity has been drawn upon in recent years, firstly in his tough sell as inaugural coach of Greater Western Sydney, and then on his return to Essendon in an ambassadorial role, coming at a time during the fallout of the drugs saga at which the Bombers were in desperate need of Sheedys sometimes obtuse cheerfulness.

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It was Hafey who famously described Sheedy as a “bloody back pocket plumber” when admonishing his player for “too much finessin”. But Sheedy was better than that label suggested. In Richmonds back-to-back grand final wins of 1973 and 74 he played on a half-forward flank and as ruck rover respectively. In the modern parlance, a goalkicking midfielder/forward. He was good enough to win a best and fairest in 1976 and represented Victoria eight times.

That earlier label suggested ruggedness, yet he was never suspended across 251 games. He may not have been known for neat skills per se, but he was an innovator even as a player, pioneering the “rocket handball” in which the ball spun backwards off the fist, increasing accuracy. He captained the Tigers in 1978 and while he was probably not a truly great player, he was a very good one. He sits comfortably in a back pocket of Richmonds team of the century.

For all his accomplishments in the yellow and black, it was at Essendon where his legend was made. He very nearly did don the red sash for real, when early in his first season as coach the Bombers found themselves with just one win from six games, including a defeat to bottom of the ladder Footscray. It was a hole not unlike modern-day Essendon found themselves in two weeks ago. Sheedy rectified the situation dramatically, the Bombers winning 15 games on the trot and charging into the final five, the first of six successive finals appearances.

With his side embarrassed by Hawthorn in the 1983 grand final, Sheedy challenged his side to channel the pain of that crushing defeat. The Bombers made it back for a return bout in 84, but were staring down the barrel of successive grand final defeats when they trailed by 23 points at the final change. But Sheedy shuffled the deck and out came a perfect hand, as the Dons banged home nine final quarter goals to end a 19-year premiership drought. The coachs role was immortalised in Lou Richards Channel Seven call of the game: “This is Sheedy's Premiership with these tremendous moves he's made.” The Bombers and Hawks played off for the flag again the following season, with Essendon going back-to-back with a thumping victory.

That ability to improve his sides fortunes in a relatively short space of time was a theme that underpinned his two other premiership at the Dons. In late 1992 his Dons lost by 160 points to Hawthorn. Yet within 14 months of that nadir, Sheedy had led his “Baby Bombers” to a flag.

It was the International Year of the Worlds Indigenous people, and fittingly Essendons triumph came on the back of outstanding performances from two Indigenous men, Brownlow medallist Gavin Wanganeen and Norm Smith medallist Michael Long. Sheedys affinity for the lands first inhabitants helped the likes of Wanganeen and Long who became pioneers. In an interview with The Age last year to mark his 50 years in football, Sheedy said the single most important moment of his time in football came when he and recruiting managed Noel Judkins decided to convince Essendon to go after 17-year-old Long from the Tiwi Islands. "I thought that opened the gate," Sheedy said. "Until Michael, the VFL had had 28 indigenous players. Since then, we've had 330."

Long also played in the fourth and final of Sheedys premierships at Windy Hill. With his position questioned following underwhelming seasons in 1997 and 1998, Sheedy took Essendon to top spot in 1999, only for his men to endure the heartbreak of a one-point preliminary final loss to Carlton, the Dons third finals loss by a the smallest of margins in just four seasons. But from the torment of that defeat came statistically the single greatest season in VFL/AFL history, as Essendon won 24 of 25 games in 2000, blitzing Melbourne in the grand final.

Sheedys latter years as Essendon coach were less glorious. Still, he had presided at Windy Hill for 27 years when the Bombers ultimately decided to head in a different direction towards the end of 2007. To put that in perspective, Alastair Clarkson will this week reach 13 and a half seasons as Hawthorn coach. Hes halfway there. Perhaps the most remarkable statistic relating to Sheedy is that this year marks 50 since the last time Essendon won a final under a coach other than him. Not to mention the unforgettable moments like his jacket-waving exploits after a win over West Coast in 1993, or two years earlier when he'd tied up the windsock at Windy Hill to confuse the same opposition.

Having unsuccessfully applied for the Melbourne coaching job which ended up going to Dean Bailey, it would have been understandable for Sheedy to recede into the background as he headed into his 60s. But that hasnt been the way for a man who turned words like 'marshmallows', 'Martians', 'seagulls' and 'Vladmir' into part of football folklore.

Asked by then NSW-Premier Nathan Rees whether he would consider becoming the inaugural coach of the AFLs 18th club, Sheedy unsurprisingly jumped at the task, leading football into its brave new world. He took the side from the TAC Cup to the big league, and although he won just three games across two seasons with what was essentially a lot of talented kids and a handful of veterans, his salesmanship and standing was priceless. “Dont you ever let any player or club dominate you,” he bellowed at his players in a televised address before the Giants first AFL game in 2012. As a club, GWS have embodied that sentiment, with their players and administrators rarely afraid to stand up for themselves, even in the face of opposition from headquarters. Fittingly, the clubs best and fairest is named after him.

While his words have had the tendency to beguile, genuine controversy has not been a theme. But when you spend more than five decades in football, there are bound to be people who dont like you. Sheedy had a long-running feud with the late Allan Jeans, who never forgave Sheedy for ultimately allegations he made about Hawthorn players sniffing illegal performance-enhancing substances in 1984. Sheedy similarly bickered with Robert Walls, a rift which culminated in an engaging episode of Talking Footy in 2001. Derek Kickett has never reconciled with Sheedy over the coachs handling of Kicketts omission from the 1993 grand final. There was also the neck-cutting gesture Sheedy made towards West Coasts Mitchell White during a game in 2000.

Ultimately though, these schisms are mere blips. Sheedy has been a beloved figure, a man of the people who has been able to spruik the game like no other. He was happy to take the mickey out of himself, be it dressing up in a clown suit, or having his face painted. If the game could be promoted, Sheedy was willing to help. Even in the last 18 months he has been pushing the Dons drive into India, forever thinking years ahead of the play. He was already a living legend. Tuesday night just made it official.

Legend – Kevin Sheedy:

251 games for Richmond, 1967-79, kicking 91 goals.

Eight games for Victoria, kicking one goal.

Richmond premierships 1969, 1973-74.

AFLPA MVP 1974.

Richmond Best and Fairest 1976.

Richmond Captain 1978.

Richmond Team of the Century, Back Pocket.

Essendon coach 1981-2007, 635 games.

GWS Giants coach 2012-13, 44 games.

Victoria coach 1985-86, four games.

All Australian Coach 1984, 1985, 1993, 2000.

Australian IRS coach 2005-06, four games.

Essendon premierships /Jock McHale Medallist 1984-85, 1993, 2000.

Essendon pre-season premierships 1981, 1984, 1990, 1993-94, 2000.

Essendon Team of the Century, Coach.

Australian Football Hall of Fame Inductee – 2008.

AFL Life Member.

Daniel is an Age sports reporter.

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