article_title birth_date known_for residence employer name occupation
mike sheahan
 04 march 1947 yearly '' top 50 '' players list melbourne , victoria fox footy , 3aw , '' herald sun '' michael sheahan sports journalist
mike sheahan

michael `` mike '' sheahan -lrb- born 1947 -rrb- is an australian journalist who specialises in australian rules football .
he was chief football writer and associate sports editor for the `` herald sun '' for eighteen years .
although he left these positions at the end of 2011 , he still writes special columns for the newspaper , including his yearly `` top 50 '' player list .
he is also a panelist on the fox footy program `` on the couch '' and former media director for the australian football league -lrb- afl , formerly vfl -rrb- .
he also joins brian taylor , matthew richardson , matthew lloyd and leigh matthews in the 3aw radio station 's pre-match football discussion on saturday afternoons .
in addition he conducts a weekly interview program on fox footy , `` open mike '' .
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 australian rules football 's most prominent writers .
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 medallist gerard healy and sydney swans premiership coach paul roos .
one of his most widely known contributions to football writing is his bi-annual list of the top 50 players in the australian football league .
sheahan prepares a ranked list at the beginning of each season of the 50 players be believes will be the best or have the most influence during the upcoming year ; then , another list at the end of the season ranking the 50 best players of the year .
the lists are always hotly debated .
in 2008 , sheahan was given the task by the afl to compile a list of the greatest 50 players of all time , to be published in the book `` the australian game of football '' , which honoured the 150th anniversary of australian rules football .
the media centre at afl house in melbourne is named in his honour .
sheahan is the cousin of former test cricketer paul sheahan .
he had a brief football career himself , playing 55 senior matches for the werribee football club in the victorian football association .
while not officially a club member of any australian football league team , sheahan revealed on fox sports 's `` before the bounce '' that he has a soft spot for the melbourne football club .
