Coaching legend Sheedy urges Tassie to hold ‘think tank’ with expansion club masterminds

Coaching legend Sheedy, who guided Essendon to four premierships in a 27-year tenure before mentoring the Giants for their first two seasons, said he would be willing to be involved in the process.

The Giants endured some lean years in their infancy as they built the team with a host of high draft pics upon their entry in 2012, winning just three of 44 games under Sheedy.

As the team got more experienced it went on to play in preliminary finals in 2016 and 2017, and a grand final in 2019.

The AFL will be keen to ensure Tasmania is competitive from the start. Gold Coast also did it tough early, finishing 17th in their first two seasons in 2011 and 2012, and are still yet to play finals.

Contacted for an impromptu chat on Tasmania’s pending team, Sheedy said it has an ideal chance to learn from the successes and mistakes of previous masterminds of fledgling clubs.

“Personally I reckon they should organise a panel to sit down and discuss all the concerns and issues over the handling of the Giants, the Brisbane Bears, the Swans, Gold Coast and so on,” Sheedy said.

“You’d go across the board and talk about where they got in wrong in some areas, and where they got it right.

“They should put a panel together and have a real good discussion, and it might take a few days.

“It might be people like (former AFL CEO) Andrew Demetriou, (former AFL commissioner) Bill Kelty, other previous commissioners and CEOs and a couple of coaches like myself.

“If they thought that I would be a worthwhile person (to participate) I’d consider it, no problem.”

Sheedy was headhunted to lead the Giants, with his huge profile an asset to help promote the new team, with Leon Cameron taking over in 2014.

Experienced players like Callan Ward and Chad Cornes were recruited to take the youngsters under their wing, but a lack of many older heads meant there was some short term pain.

“We had fantastic guys like Luke Power and Chad Cornes, they were great for developing players while they were out on the ground,” Sheedy said.

“But you do need about half a dozen of those guys, and a few more with about 100 games.

“They need an experienced coach, but it doesn’t have to be a high profile coach. An experienced guy with good ideals that can leave a good legacy (would be a good fit).”

The Giants were given draft and salary cap concessions in their fledgling years, but it remains to be seen how much assistance the AFL affords Tasmania when it enters the league in 2028.

GWS had one season in the second-tier NEAFL (now defunct) before joining the AFL, while Tasmania will have three years solely in the VFL from 2025 before stepping up to the big time.

“That’s when you’re trying to sort out which players you could go on with, and which ones aren’t good enough,” Sheedy said.

“Players are always there, you’ve just got to dig hard. Sometimes you turn over a rock and find a gold nugget.”

Sheedy said the north and south of the state need to shelve their rivalry and work together to make the franchise a success.

“It’s the greatest opportunity for Tasmania to get together. If we can achieve that in football and make it a success, that’s fantastic,” he said.

“Whatever you need to do to build bridges, football is an all encompassing game that brings football together.”

As for what the team should be called? Sheedy believes people power should prevail.

“I think that’s a great debate for people to be involved in,” he said.

“There ae plenty of teething problems for any franchise, people just have to be patient.

“Five years will go in a blink.”

Originally published as Coaching legend Sheedy urges Tassie to hold ‘think tank’ with expansion club masterminds