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Greater Western Sydney’s Kevin Sheedy wants to deliver two experienced AFL recruits to his club at the end of his 29th and final season as a head coach.
Lance Franklin and Jack Riewoldt have been bandied about as potential marquee signings for the Giants, who need a drawcard and boast cash to splash after Israel Folau’s departure to rugby union.
GWS’s general manager of football Graeme `Gubby’ Allan and list chief Stephen Silvagni have driven much of the expansion side’s recruitment to date.
But Sheedy vowed on the eve of the Giants’ clash with West Coast that he would become more active in dealing with trade targets and out-of-contract stars.
“I’m a little bit more heavily involved in recruiting I’d say at the present time than I have been in the last couple of years,” Sheedy said on Friday.
“I’ll get more heavily involved in recruiting (at the end of the season), there’s no doubt about that.”
Sheedy said age was of no concern in his search for a big-name player, and that his shopping list was simple.
“I think we could definitely afford two (out-of-contract experienced players) and … we definitely need a key forward, a key back and a key ruck,” the four-time premiership coach said.
“We’ve got enough small players.
“Kurt Tippett we didn’t get …. sooner or later, there’s going to be someone that will come up (to western Sydney).”
Eagles coach John Worsfold, who flanked Sheedy at Friday’s press conference ahead of their home clash in Sydney on Saturday, suggested GWS were going to be a great side.
“It’s a matter of time and that (one or two senior players) would accelerate it,” Worsfold said of the cellar dwellers, who have collected two wins from their 30 games to date.
Worsfold and Sheedy laughed as they shared recollections about Essendon and the Eagles’ rivalry in the 1990s.
But Sheedy said there was no place for nostalgia as he prepared for his last game against West Coast, the club on the receiving end of his iconic jacket-waving and throat-slitting gestures.
“I never thought of it that way. I don’t worry about that, I’ve nearly done my 50 years in footy and I think it’s about the young kids coming through and superstars like Nic Naitanui,” he said.
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