Mike Sheahan
Encyclopedia
Michael "Mike" Sheahan is an Australia
n journalist who specialises in Australian rules football
. He is Chief Football Writer and Associate Sports Editor for the Herald Sun
, a panelist on the Fox Sports
program "On the Couch
" and former Media Director for the VFL
(now AFL).
Sheahan attended Werribee High School and started his journalistic career with the Werribee Banner. He then began work with The Age
newspaper in Melbourne before moving to The Herald and subsequently the Herald Sun where he has been a long-time sports writer. His opinionated pieces have drawn some criticism but he has established himself as one Aussie Rules' most prominent writers and his annual Mike Sheahan's Top 50 is always hotly debated. Sheahan also worked with the Seven Network on their late-night football talk show, Talking Footy
and currently appears on Fox Sports' "On The Couch" with Brownlow Medal
list Gerard Healy
and Sydney Swans
Premiership Coach Paul Roos
. He is the cousin of former Test cricket
er Paul Sheahan
. While not officially a club member of any Australian Football League team, Sheahan revealed on Fox Sports' "Before the Bounce" that he has a soft spot for the Melbourne Football Club
.
In 2008 Sheahan was given the task by the AFL to compile a list of the Greatest 50 players of all time (though no SANFL
or WAFL
players were included as 'all time' to the AFL means only players from the VFL/AFL), to be published in the book 'The Australian Game of Football', which honoured the 150th anniversary of Australian rules football. Sheahan sparked much debate by putting North Melbourne
champion Wayne Carey
at number one ahead of the AFL's player of the 20th Century Leigh Matthews
, who was named at number 2.
The media centre at AFL House in Melbourne
is named in his honour.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n journalist who specialises in Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
. He is Chief Football Writer and Associate Sports Editor for the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
, a panelist on the Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
program "On the Couch
On the Couch
On the Couch is an Australian television program focusing on the current issues in the Australian Football League. From its debut in 2002 through to 2006, it was shown on the now defunct Fox Footy Channel. Since then it has been broadcast on Fox Sports....
" and former Media Director for the VFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
(now AFL).
Sheahan attended Werribee High School and started his journalistic career with the Werribee Banner. He then began work with The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper in Melbourne before moving to The Herald and subsequently the Herald Sun where he has been a long-time sports writer. His opinionated pieces have drawn some criticism but he has established himself as one Aussie Rules' most prominent writers and his annual Mike Sheahan's Top 50 is always hotly debated. Sheahan also worked with the Seven Network on their late-night football talk show, Talking Footy
Talking Footy
Talking Footy was an Australian rules football chat show appearing on the Seven Network.It appeared on TV from 1994 until 2002. The show was hosted by Bruce McAvaney in the 1990s, and included guests Mike Sheahan, Malcolm Blight and Leigh Matthews as regulars. It was screened on Monday nights at...
and currently appears on Fox Sports' "On The Couch" with Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
list Gerard Healy
Gerard Healy
Gerard Healy is a former Australian rules footballer and commentator.Healy attended St Bede's College in Mentone, where he was the Senior Football Captain.-Melbourne Demons:...
and Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
Premiership Coach Paul Roos
Paul Roos
Paul Roos may refer to:* Paul Roos , former Australian rules football player and Sydney Swans AFL coach* Paul Roos , Springbok rugby union captain* Paul Roos Gymnasium, a high school in Stellenbosch, South Africa...
. He is the cousin of former Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
er Paul Sheahan
Paul Sheahan
Andrew Paul Sheahan was an Australian Test cricketer who played 31 Tests and 3 One Day Internationals as an opening and middle order batsman between 1967 and 1974.He made his first class debut in 1965 for the Victorian Sheffield Shield against New South Wales scoring 62 and 5.An elegant stroke...
. While not officially a club member of any Australian Football League team, Sheahan revealed on Fox Sports' "Before the Bounce" that he has a soft spot for the Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
.
In 2008 Sheahan was given the task by the AFL to compile a list of the Greatest 50 players of all time (though no SANFL
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
or WAFL
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
players were included as 'all time' to the AFL means only players from the VFL/AFL), to be published in the book 'The Australian Game of Football', which honoured the 150th anniversary of Australian rules football. Sheahan sparked much debate by putting North Melbourne
North Melbourne Football Club
The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
champion Wayne Carey
Wayne Carey
Wayne Carey is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the North Melbourne and Adelaide Football Clubs in the Australian Football League ....
at number one ahead of the AFL's player of the 20th Century Leigh Matthews
Leigh Matthews
Leigh Raymond "Lethal Leigh" Matthews AM is a former player and coach of Australian rules football. He played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League from 1969 to 1985, coached Collingwood from 1986–1995, and coached the Brisbane Lions from 1999 to 2008...
, who was named at number 2.
The media centre at AFL House in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
is named in his honour.