Kevin Sheedy claims Swans told Giants: ‘we don’t want you’

AFL icon Kevin Sheedy has delivered a withering spray to the Sydney Swans for their “ordinary” treatment of GWS before the club was established and reveals the origins of his anger.

Kevin Sheedy is angry about the Swans’ treatment of the Giants.

GWS godfather Kevin Sheedy has unleashed a stunning attack on the Swans, labelling them “pathetic” for trying to rob western Sydney kids of their dreams.

Sheedy said he hopes Saturday’s Battle of the Bridge turns into a “war” and declared it was the Swans turn to “suck it up” and take their medicine at the bottom of the table after years of treating the battling Giants with disdain.

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Lighting the fuse for an explosive clash, the Giants’ inaugural coach says his anger spawns from a meeting prior to GWS’s inception, where he claims a Swans official stood up in front of club bosses and then AFL chief Andrew Demetriou to announce the Giants weren’t wanted in Sydney.

The Swans’ “ordinary” treatment of their unwanted little brother was a disgrace and has shaped the culture of a Giants club who have now replaced them as premiership heavies, Sheedy said.

“They just got up and told us at a meeting, ‘We don’t even want you in this city,’” Sheedy told The Saturday Telegraph.

“Now, that (says to any) kid living in the west of Sydney and all the way down to Canberra and all the way down to the Riverina that they didn’t give a damn whether kids made it in the AFL.

“I just thought that was a pathetic discussion. There were plenty of witnesses. Don’t ever think it never happened.

“For them to think that and say that, wow, it was a very average performance by the leaders of the Swans at the time for ignoring the people of western Sydney.”

Sheedy said he stood up and said, ‘How do you think we can help develop the game when the Giants start in Sydney?’, only to be shut down by a Swans official.

Inaugural GWS coach Kevin Sheedy claims the Giants were not wanted by the Swans.

For years, the Giants were whipping boys who Sheedy says helped get the Swans’ percentage points up. Now the shoe is on the other foot.

“So welcome to a showdown. Forget that derby stuff. This is the battle of the people on one side of the bridge and those on the west of the bridge,” Sheedy said.

“One of the great things that happened in Sydney was that God prevented the Swans winning.

“All the Giants did was give the Swans eight points a year and about 15 percentage, so they made the top four. That’s what happened when we came to town.

“Now it’s starting to reverse a bit. Now we’re up and about and taking the 15 per cent and the eight points to end up in the top four and have a proper crack at the finals. It’s over red rover.

“OK, now suck it up and get into it, and I hope it’s a war.”

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Swans great Jude Bolton says the early days of Sydney belting the Giants are long gone and the red and white must find a way to fight back.

Bolton pinpoints the finals tussle between the teams last season as the moment the Giants really stepped out of the Swans’ shadow.

“Once the Giants had a finals win against the Swans, that was certainly where they really announced themselves,” Bolton said.

“They’ve really gone deep in the last couple of years and have got an incredible list.

“They’ve had the wood over the Swans the last couple of times and are gearing themselves up for a title this year.

“The challenge for the guys in red and white is to hit back hard and reclaim it. It was manufactured early (when the Giants were formed) but now it’s a true rivalry.”

Originally published as Kevin Sheedy claims Swans told Giants: ‘we don’t want you’