So after all these years the rumours are correct. Geraldine Sheedy really is looking for real estate in Sydney.

Kevin Sheedy to Sydney was the scuttlebut for so many years and we now know that at least twice during his 27-season tenure as coach of Essendon, he was seriously tempted to make the move to the Swans. All the while, Mrs Sheedy was supposedly out and about with Sydney's leading real estate agents.

But now it's fact. In a great, if not totally surprising move for the AFL, Sheedy is to be named coach of the Great Western Sydney side that will enter the league in 2012. As we have written before, there will be no better front man for the AFL's biggest ever challenge.

But how much coaching will Sheedy actually do? Will he be putting in the monster hours required to be a coach in these times? Or will his brief be to shmooze the media, talk to the sponsors and generally build the profile?

Tactically, there are strong suggestions that the game have passed him by. Matthew Lloyd confirmed as much when he said of Sheedy's last few years at Windy Hill: "There were a few technical type of things, maybe numbers behind the ball and flooding and all those type of things that we probably struggled to deal with..."

What is most likely is that while Sheedy will officially be coach of the new club, he will have plenty of smart young assistants at his disposal to do, well, the actual coaching. A bit like when Damian Drum did the grunt work for Ron Barassi in Sydney and Mark Williams for John Cahill when Port Adelaide made its AFL debut in 1997.

The under-rated Allan McConnell is already in place sourcing and nurturing the best young talent in the region. Local boy Lenny Hayes is being touted for a role, perhaps as the first captain, if not as an assistant coach. Tom Harley will probably step straight from the Channel Seven commentary box into some sort of role as well.

And here is another name to consider: Danny Corcoran. Sheedy's longtime football manager at Windy Hill, who fell out with Sheedy when he abruptly crossed to Melbourne in a similar capacity. Corcoran has done a sterling job as chief executive of Athletics Australia, but reportedly would consider returning to football if the right position came along. And he and Sheedy have long made their peace.

Really, the decision was a no-brainer. There is no better choice to be the first coach of GWS in 2012 than Kevin Sheedy. But in spite of all the hype, the man does have his limitations. So expect him to be there for a good time, not necessarily a long time.