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Sheedy is wary of Swans in full flight
By Linda Pearce
April 29, 2004
Mark Johnson returns from injury for Essendon, to play Sydney.
Photo: Ray Kennedy
The last time Sydney, or South Melbourne, beat Essendon at the MCG, Stanley Bruce was prime minister, Suzanne Lenglen the Wimbledon champion, Turkey about to become a republic and the first issue of Time magazine had just appeared on newsstands.
The year was 1923, the occasion the second semi-final, and the Dons, soon to be premiers, led at the end of every quarter except the last.
Overall, the teams have met only 11 times at the MCG, but Essendon has won 10, most recently in the 1999 qualifying final, by a whopping 69 points. Since then, games have been at the SCG, Telstra Dome and Telstra Stadium, and the Bombers have prevailed four times out of five.
On Saturday, two of the league's foundation clubs return to Jolimont, with the Members' Stand and half of the Northern having been demolished, and a gaping hole on the city side of the famous ground that the Sydney players will see, on game day, for the first time.
"When we came down here from Windy Hill the other week, it was very, very new," Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy said before training yesterday. "It was quite strange to see the MCG the way it was, so early doors we struggled. But the last couple of weeks have been good for us to play here... out in the open with all the different weather patterns, so that's been pretty handy, I'd say."
While Joel Reynolds has been placed on the long-term injury list as he recovers from glandular fever, Essendon will regain the Johnsons, Jason and Mark, from hamstring injuries, their return welcome against the fifth-placed Swans.
Indeed, Sheedy believes the present version of Paul Roos's team is superior to that which finished an unexpected third last season. "They're probably better," Sheedy said. "I think they're playing more confidently.
"I mean, you look at their losses. They hardly got beaten in Brisbane and they only just went down against Melbourne, who are in really good form."
Swans coach Roos joined the mutual fan club yesterday, noting there were several excellent players in Essendon's side.
"You've probably got the best forward in the competition in (Matthew) Lloyd, you've got almost one of the best all-round players in Hird and you've got the best defender in (Dustin) Fletcher," Roos said.
"They've got three of the elite players in the competition. A lot of the focus is on James (Hird) and rightly so, because he's a super player, but I can't afford to (focus solely on Hird), otherwise I would put five players on James Hird and make sure he doesn't get a touch. But Essendon can still win the game even if James doesn't touch the footy, I believe."
.... . . James Joyce had just written Ulysses, Stanley Bruce was the new Australian prime minister and Suzanne Lenglen was Wimbledon champion.
According to Sheedy, the game played in the shadow of the St Kilda-Brisbane match deserves to be billed as one of the matches of the round. But he refused to predict a likely opponent for the in-form Hird, quipping that Roos "is ahead of us on the ladder, so I'm not going to give him any information. I don't need to and they made the top four last year, so we're sort of just basically just crawling up the ladder trying to get there at the moment."
Roos said Heath James would be considered to line up against 191-centimetre Lloyd, and Brett Kirk might get the job on Hird when he spends time in the midfield.
Three consecutive wins have alleviated the pressures of a 0-2 start for Essendon, but Sheedy again refused to discuss the progress of his contract negotiations or any prospect of a return to his original club, Richmond. Instead, he expressed confidence in Danny Frawley's ability to turn the ailing Tigers around.
"I lost five of my first six games, or four of my first five games, or whatever," Sheedy said.
"It happens and you can only get better, and so therefore that'll happen, they'll turn it around."
By Linda Pearce
April 29, 2004
Mark Johnson returns from injury for Essendon, to play Sydney.
Photo: Ray Kennedy
The last time Sydney, or South Melbourne, beat Essendon at the MCG, Stanley Bruce was prime minister, Suzanne Lenglen the Wimbledon champion, Turkey about to become a republic and the first issue of Time magazine had just appeared on newsstands.
The year was 1923, the occasion the second semi-final, and the Dons, soon to be premiers, led at the end of every quarter except the last.
Overall, the teams have met only 11 times at the MCG, but Essendon has won 10, most recently in the 1999 qualifying final, by a whopping 69 points. Since then, games have been at the SCG, Telstra Dome and Telstra Stadium, and the Bombers have prevailed four times out of five.
On Saturday, two of the league's foundation clubs return to Jolimont, with the Members' Stand and half of the Northern having been demolished, and a gaping hole on the city side of the famous ground that the Sydney players will see, on game day, for the first time.
"When we came down here from Windy Hill the other week, it was very, very new," Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy said before training yesterday. "It was quite strange to see the MCG the way it was, so early doors we struggled. But the last couple of weeks have been good for us to play here... out in the open with all the different weather patterns, so that's been pretty handy, I'd say."
While Joel Reynolds has been placed on the long-term injury list as he recovers from glandular fever, Essendon will regain the Johnsons, Jason and Mark, from hamstring injuries, their return welcome against the fifth-placed Swans.
Indeed, Sheedy believes the present version of Paul Roos's team is superior to that which finished an unexpected third last season. "They're probably better," Sheedy said. "I think they're playing more confidently.
"I mean, you look at their losses. They hardly got beaten in Brisbane and they only just went down against Melbourne, who are in really good form."
Swans coach Roos joined the mutual fan club yesterday, noting there were several excellent players in Essendon's side.
"You've probably got the best forward in the competition in (Matthew) Lloyd, you've got almost one of the best all-round players in Hird and you've got the best defender in (Dustin) Fletcher," Roos said.
"They've got three of the elite players in the competition. A lot of the focus is on James (Hird) and rightly so, because he's a super player, but I can't afford to (focus solely on Hird), otherwise I would put five players on James Hird and make sure he doesn't get a touch. But Essendon can still win the game even if James doesn't touch the footy, I believe."
.... . . James Joyce had just written Ulysses, Stanley Bruce was the new Australian prime minister and Suzanne Lenglen was Wimbledon champion.
According to Sheedy, the game played in the shadow of the St Kilda-Brisbane match deserves to be billed as one of the matches of the round. But he refused to predict a likely opponent for the in-form Hird, quipping that Roos "is ahead of us on the ladder, so I'm not going to give him any information. I don't need to and they made the top four last year, so we're sort of just basically just crawling up the ladder trying to get there at the moment."
Roos said Heath James would be considered to line up against 191-centimetre Lloyd, and Brett Kirk might get the job on Hird when he spends time in the midfield.
Three consecutive wins have alleviated the pressures of a 0-2 start for Essendon, but Sheedy again refused to discuss the progress of his contract negotiations or any prospect of a return to his original club, Richmond. Instead, he expressed confidence in Danny Frawley's ability to turn the ailing Tigers around.
"I lost five of my first six games, or four of my first five games, or whatever," Sheedy said.
"It happens and you can only get better, and so therefore that'll happen, they'll turn it around."
