GIANTS farewell Sheeds

The Round 23 match against the Gold Coast Suns match was Sheedy’s 1030th match as a player and coach at VFL-AFL level since making his debut for Richmond in 1967.

After playing 251 games and three premierships with Richmond, Sheedy coached Essendon to four flags over 27 years before being appointed the inaugural Head Coach of the GIANTS.

Chief Executive David Matthews thanked Sheedy for his contribution to the club. 

“In many ways Kevin Sheedy is the father of the GIANTS,” Matthews said.

“Kevin Sheedy has been instrumental in building this club with the enormous contribution he has made on and off the field.

“He has helped guide the players through their first two years in the AFL and it is fitting that his last game was against the other expansion club, the Gold Coast Suns.

“Kevin now hands over to Leon Cameron and his coaching panel to take the group forward into 2014 and beyond but we will always be grateful for what he has done during these important years for the club.”

Leon Cameron played 256 games for the Western Bulldogs and Richmond from 1990 to 2003. He was an assistant coach at the Bulldogs from 2004-10 and Hawthorn in 2011-12 before being appointed Senior Assistant coach at the GIANTS in October 2012. 

“We have no doubt that Leon is ready to assume the role as Head Coach after 10 years as an assistant coach at the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn and the past year working with Kevin at the GIANTS,” Matthews said.

Matthews said the club was in discussions with Sheedy about his future role at the club.

“We have made significant progress as a club with 12,705 members and average home crowds of more than 10,000 in Sydney,” he said.

“We still have a lot of work to do and hope Kevin can be part of this as we continue to make progress on and off the field.”