He took over as coach of Essendon in 1981 and has an impressive record, taking the Bombers to three premierships out of five Grand Final appearances. His coaching has been revolutionary and successful, and it could be said that some of his moves have single handedly changed the AFL. For this reason he receives a lot of criticism, but his record speaks for itself, and ultimately most criticism is dismissed. Possibly one of his greatest contributions to football is his addition of so many aboriginal players to the AFL. The current group of Long, Wanganeen, Cockatoo-Collins and Lewfatt are testimony to this, but Essendon has seen many more Aborginal players come and go throughout Sheedy's reign. He has at least one year to go with Essendon, and most of us hope that he will stay on after the 1996 season.
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