Ok, I’ve changed my Buddy mind. Since Kevin Sheedy signed on to coach the western Sydney AFL club (they didn’t even have a name then), there have been plenty of things to come out of his mouth I haven’t agreed with.
At times I thought he tended to dumb down the game for Sydney people – intentionally or not – instead of giving them more credit for understanding the game as much as those south of the border.
At other times I thought he would go a little over the top with some of the promotion of games, but I get it, that was part of the role in promoting the new club.
On the flipside I doubt any other AFL coach could have had anywhere near the publicity and media impact Sheedy has managed to attract for the Giants as they battled through their first two seasons.
It is never lost that he is an ornament of the game, and whatever he does says, usually has merit.
But among all the pearls he has produced over the past three and half years, the piece of wisdom he produced on the weekend, is one which truly resonates, and should be listened to.
Sheedy told Fairfax Media the retention of Jeremy Cameron should be the club’s number one priority in the coming years.
While all the scuttlebutt in recent weeks has been about the supposed $10 million offer the Giants have made to Lance Franklin, and Buddy’s stunning eight-goal bag against Essendon would have nobody questioning the price tag, it was impossible to miss what happened the following afternoon at the MCG when Cameron again showed how potential is rapidly turning into star quality.
While Cameron is already signed through to the end of 2015, Sheedy realises that with experience and more experience around him, Cameron could be worth literally millions when his GWS contract ends.
As Sheedy said: “What’s the good of building him and losing him at that age (22)? It wouldn’t be doing the game any good, I can assure you. He’d be the No.1 priority, let’s be honest.”
And there has to be some concern if the Giants use up a huge chunk of their cash to secure Buddy, what will be left to spread among all their talented youngsters when their potential blossoms.
It was only six weeks ago I questioned whether Buddy should stay at Hawthorn or should go to GWS. I said at the time I thought he would stay, but hoped he would go. I still think he will stay, but having thought about it a lot more, perhaps that may be the best result of the Giants.
Let’s face it, Buddy would be sensational publicity, a constant in the media, but I’m starting to think it would be better to get a few stars on a lower rung of the talent ladder, guys like for instance a Ben Reid or a Chris Yarran, instead of tossing all the eggs into the Buddy basket.
The number one draft pick – aka Tom Boyd – carries a lot of currency this year, and the Giants should take full advantage of it by adding some more experience to their young, but rapidly maturing, list.
In Cameron they have a future star. But let us not forget, the wraps on his forward partner Jon Patton, have been even greater. Maybe it’s best to just lock up those two for a long, long time, and use the left over Buddy money to add elsewhere?
Everyone is saying the Giants need a drawcard like Franklin right now to get their brand out there regularly in the Sydney media. Sure it would be good for their exposure, but wouldn’t wins be even better?
But nobody wants to come to GWS I hear you say, and if Buddy came, he might attract more.
Well nobody thought Gary Ablett jnr would leave Geelong for the Gold Coast, but he couldn’t be happier with his move now. Maybe the Giants just need someone with the the same sort of courage to back themselves as Gaz did.
I’d love to see Lance Franklin at GWS. But more than that, I would love see the Giants winning.
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