| Tom Scully | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Thomas Scully | ||
| Date of birth | 15 May 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Berwick, Victoria | ||
| Original team | Dandenong Stingrays | ||
| Draft | 1st overall, 2009 National Draft (Melbourne) | ||
| Height/Weight | 182 cm / 74 kg | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Greater Western Sydney | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2010–2011 2012– Total |
Melbourne Greater Western Sydney |
31 (6) 0 (0) 31 (6) |
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1 Playing statistics to end of 2011 season .
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| Career highlights | |||
Thomas "Tom" Scully (born 15 May 1991) is an Australian rules footballer, currently contracted to Greater Western Sydney in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for Melbourne.
A star midfielder at junior level, Scully was selected by Melbourne with the first overall draft pick of the 2009 AFL Draft. He played two seasons with Melbourne, before signing a multi-million dollar deal to switch to the newly established Greater Western Sydney Football Club in 2012.
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Originally from Berwick, Scully was first noticed by Dandenong region manager Darren Flanigan when he was 13. Flanigan asserted that Scully was the best talent he had seen come through the Dandenong program in nine years.[1] Scully played his TAC Cup football for the Dandenong Stingrays, and school football for Haileybury College.[2] He captained Victorian Metropolitan region in the 2009 AFL National Under 18 Championships[3] and was named in the Under-18 All Australian team in 2008 and 2009.
Throughout 2009, Scully was touted as a potential and likely number one draft pick for the AFL Draft.[1] In the draft, the Melbourne Football Club had both the No. 1 and 2 picks available to it, and used the No. 1 pick (a priority draft pick) to recruit Scully. Scully was presented with the number 31 jersey made famous by club and league legend Ron Barassi.[4]
Scully's new position in the Demons' playing list generated much excitement at the club. Fellow Melbourne player Nathan Jones stated that "[Scully]'s going to bring the best out of me and bring the best out of other players at the footy club, so I really can't wait to see him in action".[5]
Scully made his AFL debut in Round 1, 2010, alongside No. 2 pick Jack Trengove.[6] His breakout individual performance of the season came in Round 4 against Richmond, with 26 disposals for the match including 11 in the third quarter, and he received an AFL Rising Star nomination (and three Brownlow votes) for his Round 7 performance.[7] Scully finished the season by coming second in the AFL Rising Star, behind Sydney's Daniel Hannebery. He won the Harold Ball Memorial Trophy, for being Melbourne's Best First Year Player, and finished eighth in the Best and Fairest.[8]
There was intense speculation throughout the 2011 AFL season that Scully would move to expansion club Greater Western Sydney at the end of the season. Scully's initial two-year contract with Melbourne would end after the 2011 season, allowing the expansion club to sign Scully without need for a trade. It was announced on 12 September 2011 that he would be moving to the play for the Giants on a six-year contract valued at an estimated total value of $6 million.[9]
There was controversy surrounding the signing when it was discovered that Scully's father, Phil Scully, had also been offered a job as a recruiting scout at the Giants, with a six-year term of employment coinciding with the period of Scully's playing contract. The AFL ruled that the appointment was legal, but that it was considered as part of the total agreement used to convince Scully to sign with the Giants; as a result, Phil Scully's wages ($680,000 over six years) will be included inside Greater Western Sydney's salary cap.[10] Scully has stated publicly that he had no knowledge of the offer to his father prior to signing his own deal.[11] Phil Scully had previously served in a similar role with the Sydney Swans.
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Disposals | Kicks | Handballs | Marks | Tackles | Goals | Behinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Melbourne | 31 | 21 | 452 (21.5) | 197 (9.4) | 255 (12.1) | 80 (3.8) | 81 (3.9) | 5 (0.2) | 3 (0.1) |
| Totals | 21 | 452 (21.5) | 197 (9.4) | 255 (12.1) | 80 (3.8) | 81 (3.9) | 5 (0.2) | 3 (0.1) | ||
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jack Watts |
Number one overall pick in AFL draft 2009 |
Succeeded by David Swallow |
| Preceded by Ricky Ferraro, Paul Rogasch |
Dandenong Stingrays Captain with Ryan Bastinac 2009 |
Succeeded by |
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