Sheedy Fires Up A Couple Of His Guns

The Age

Tuesday March 26, 2002

Jake Niall

In his 497 games as an AFL coach, Kevin Sheedy has tried all manner of motivational ploys: he has concocted confectionary wars, invited dozens of guest speakers to Windy Hill and is ever monitoring media, even the Internet, for slights against his team.

Mark yesterday's wind-up to Mark Mercuri and Joe Misiti as No. 167 in the Sheedy motivational arsenal.

Sheedy suggested that, by not offering Essendon much in the way of draft picks or players, the rival clubs that passed on Mercuri and Misiti during the trading period had indicated they didn't rate the tradeable pair too highly.

But Sheedy, as ever, has found a positive spin: that these shunned Keilor boys - neither of whom commanded early draft picks - have more to prove. Not simply to the club that dangled them as bait, but to the 15 clubs that couldn't find the salary cap space or picks.

``I think it's a great opportunity for Mark to really let the football world know how great a player he can be," Sheedy said of Mercuri, who was well short of his sublime best in 2001.

``So what does Mark think about that? And Joe Misiti? So, here we've got Joe Misiti and Mark Mercuri and no one wanted them. So that's letting our two players know what the other clubs really think of them . . . when you know that the other 15 clubs don't want you and you're a very, very good player - that goes for Misiti also - then really it's giving us all a message, the players both included.

``They wouldn't give up a first-round draft choice," said Sheedy of the Pies.

``So that's Collingwood's fault, that's it - that was the decision. If they gave up a first-round draft choice, they would have got Joe Misiti and they didn't."

Mercuri said the trading period ``dents the ego" and was keen to atone for his season, which was marred by injury and ended in a poor grand final performance by the 1999 best-and-fairest and Brownlow Medal runner-up.

``From a personal point of view, I have probably got a little bit to prove just to myself and the people at Essendon footy club," Mercuri said. ``You know if you've played well or you haven't - I know last year wasn't great personally."

The Bombers will wait to see which of their rookies stands out over the next month to add to their list to replace Dean Solomon, who will miss the season because of a knee reconstruction.

``Ken Hall, Scott Howard and Marcus Kenny (all rookies) would be the three players we'd be considering at the moment," Sheedy said.

The coach said Dean Rioli, who has gone home to the Northern Territory for family reasons, might miss two games.