AFL media gun and former Herald Sun chief reporter Mike Sheahan has questioned why he wasn't invited to the Australian Football Hall of Fame ceremony on Tuesday.
Sheahan was one of the founding selectors of the Hall of Fame in 1996, and was not asked to join the celebration earlier in the week to welcome six new inductees and a Legend elevation.
"Not only can I not get in it, but I can't get invited either," he said according to the Herald Sun.
"I think the original selection group should have the option to say I'll go or I'll decline.
"Nothing is as obsolete as yesterday's man."
Former AFL players and prominent media figures Tim Watson and Garry Lyon were shocked when learning of Sheahan's omission from the night.
“Mike Sheahan was one of the original selectors for the Hall of Fame,” Lyon said on SEN.
“He himself will be in the Hall of Fame, I think, at some stage. He deserves to be as a luminary of the media.
“He wasn't invited to the Hall of Fame. That's not right, is it? You can't have oversights like that, can you?
“The prominence and reverence with which the Hall of Fame is now held is due in no small part to people like Mike Sheahan who established the criteria, the framework, the basis, puts the perspective around it about who gets in and why and how,” he added.
“When people debate who can and can't get in, you turn to people like Mike Sheahan.
“I think that's a bad mistake.”
Mike Sheahan should not only be invited to the Australian Football Hall of Fame dinner ...
He should be in it!— Mark Stevens (@StevoMedia) June 10, 2026
“No, it's not right,” Watson responded.
“You wonder how it does happen. He's been one of the game's most influential and important media partners of the last 50 years.
“He's a fierce, passionate person when it comes to the history, traditions and culture of football. I don't know if any person I've met is more passionate about the game.
“You can have your own views about whether or not you agree with what he's said over the years, but you could not argue that this man is not as passionate and committed and emotionally connected to the game as anyone I've ever come across.
"Hopefully it's corrected in time for next year too.”
Mike Sheahan has Media Centre named after him but not in HOF ?? He would wear a black tie 🤷🏼♂️😁
— Wayne Carey (@waynecarey27) June 11, 2026
Sheahan's oversight also drew commentary from North Melbourne premiership player Wayne Carey.
