AFL legend Kevin Sheedy will get back in the coaches’ box when he takes an AFL team overseas

AFL legend Kevin Sheedy is eyeing a return to the coaching box when he takes the game overseas this year, and he’s bringing some modern greats including Brent Harvey along with him.

Kevin Sheedy coached Essendon to four premierships.

AFL legend Kevin Sheedy is on the cusp making a return to the coaches’ box as he continues his campaign to grow Aussie rules overseas.

Sheedy, who coached 678 games across Essendon and Greater Western Sydney, is taking footy to Croatia and Bali later this year in a bid to expand the game.

Sheedy’s team will include games-record holder Brent Harvey and 2022 Norm Smith Medallist Isaac Smith and they will be representing an open age masters team known as the Southern Slugs.

The dates for the trip are yet to be finalised but are likely to be in October or November.

Sheedy has taken footy to California, London, Toronto, Kolkata and Prague in recent years but has high hopes for Croatia.

“The proposal is that they would like me to help coach over there,” he said.

“I think it’s important that we help the coaches in other countries, I have done that in London for the BAFL, British AFL, did it in Toronto and the USA.

“I think it’s important that we keep looking to develop our game and our coaches.

“I still have to look at the dates of those trips but Croatia is definitely the one I am interested in because Croatia has produced some very good players at AFL level.”

Boomer Harvey and Isaac Smith are joining Sheedy. Picture: Michael Klein

Isaac Smith. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Sheedy says the game is not promoted well enough overseas and it’s led to him “rolling up the sleeves” at age 76.

“We have the most exciting game and have not sold it to the world,” he said.

“The best time when we were doing that I think was when David Matthews was in charge of international football.

“Unfortunately they sent him up to start the Giants and a little bit of headway was lost I felt.

“I haven’t seen anybody replace Matthews in international development of football overseas.

“We had 83,000 at Croke Park when we did the international football in 2006, that was the greatest crowd at Irish sport, where is it now? Asleep.”

Kevin Sheedy coached Essendon to four premierships.

After taking the game to Croatia and Bali, Sheedy has his sights set on the Olympics.

“I think we have to be looking at the Olympics, the AFL has to do something about the Games in Brisbane” he said.

“We had an Australian football game in the ’56 Olympics … I don’t know if we’ve done much since, we’ve been lazy.”