Sheedy to join Tigers in AFL Coach Swap Scheme | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Sheedy to join Tigers in AFL Coach Swap Scheme

Tiger in a Tube

Richmond Redeemer
Sep 11, 2003
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www.puntroad.com
from www.puntroad.com/content
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The AFL will formally approve a change to regulations surrounding coaching in an effort to remove from the game an area where clubs can gain a fair advantage over another; the quality of their coaches. The proposal is for better performing clubs to have their coach removed and replaced with a coach of lessor quality.

If the scheme was to be introduced today, Leigh Matthews would be forced to coach V.A.F.A club Old Ivanhoe while Brisbane would be required to take either Richmond coach Danny Frawley or Umpires Boss Jeff Geischen. Grant Thomas would be the new Fremantle coach while Hawthorn would end up with Dennis Pagan.

AFL boss Andrew Demetriou said "Look, let's not get into a situation where the club that can afford the best coach going around is also a good chance to win the flag year after year. My remit from the AFL Commission is to look for ways to even out the competition and this is a pretty clever way of doing it."

Demetriou said that the coach swaping wouldn't be limited to current AFL coaches. "For example, Robert Walls is a pundit in the media, but it struck me that he's away with the (glen)faries sometimes with respect to coaching. He'd be great for bringing St Kilda back to the pack."

When PuntRoad.com asked Demetriou for his thoughts on Wall's coaching ability and his incisive articles on the back page of the Age, he quiped "What do the Richmond Football Club and Princess Diana have in common?........ They were both *smile* by Walls! (and that's off the record - capish?)"

He went on to say that his one legged fat aunt could have coached Carlton to the 1987 Grand Final, when he had the likes of Kernaghan, Silvagni, Bradley, Johnston and Bosustow all playing at their peak.

Said Demetriou, "The fans won't come if the Saints or the Lions are going to give their side an absolute caning. Even a State of Origin All Stars side couldn't have beat the Bulldogs, if they had Walls coaching them.

The AFL have now approached the Richmond Football club to extend upon the idea and have asked them to provide some other former Richmond coaches as advisors to other dominating AFL clubs that are in the Top 8. There are now plans for Kevin Bartlett to be sent to Melbourne, Tony Jewell to Port Adelaide, Paul Sproule to Geelong, and Francis Bourke to Sydney.

And in an effort to boost the Tiger's performances for the rest of the season, while ensuring that the Bombers don't win another game, Frawley will swap with Sheedy.

Demtretiou said that the Richmond board for the past 20 years had done an outstanding job in consistently employing useless coaches. They had to look no further than Richmond to find a pathetic list of candidates who could help truly even out the competition.

(props to Gerard Kennedy)