Tom Scully

Tom Scully (born 15 May 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club. He previously played for the Melbourne Football Club and Greater Western Sydney Giants. A star midfielder at junior level, Scully was originally selected by Melbourne with the first overall draft pick of the 2009 AFL draft. However at the conclusion of his initial two-year contract with Melbourne, he accepted the opportunity to join the newly established GWS Giants in 2012 on a six-year deal.[1] In October 2018, Scully was traded to Hawthorn for the 2019 season.[2]

Tom Scully
Scully playing for Hawthorn in April 2019
Personal information
Full name Thomas Scully
Date of birth (1991-05-15) 15 May 1991
Place of birth Berwick, Victoria
Original team(s) Dandenong Stingrays
Draft No. 1, 2009 National Draft
Debut Round 1, 2010, Melbourne
vs. Hawthorn, at Melbourne Cricket Ground
Height 181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 78 kg (172 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Hawthorn
Number 21
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2010–2011 Melbourne 031 0(6)
2012–2018 Greater Western Sydney 121 (67)
2019– Hawthorn 025 (13)
Total 177 (86)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 4, 2020.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

He attended school first at Berwick College and then Haileybury College.[3]

Junior career

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.[4] Scully played his TAC Cup football for the Dandenong Stingrays, and school football for Haileybury College.[5] He captained Victorian Metropolitan region in the 2009 AFL Under 18 Championships[6] and was named in the Under 18 All Australian team in 2008 and 2009.

Melbourne career

Recruitment

Throughout 2009, Scully was touted as a potential and likely number one draft pick for the AFL Draft.[4] 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 guernsey made famous by club and league legend Ron Barassi.[7]

Playing career at Melbourne

Scully made his AFL debut in round 1, 2010, alongside No. 2 pick Jack Trengove.[8] 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.[9] Scully finished the season by coming second in the AFL Rising Star, behind Sydney's Dan Hannebery. He won the Harold Ball Memorial Trophy, for being Melbourne's Best First Year Player, and finished eighth in the Best and Fairest.[10]

Greater Western Sydney career
Scully playing for Greater Western Sydney in June 2017

Recruitment

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.[11]

Melbourne retrieved compensation picks for losing Scully, they traded for Dominic Barry and selected Jesse Hogan.

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.[12] Scully has stated publicly that he had no knowledge of the offer to his father prior to signing his own deal.[13] Phil Scully had previously served in a similar role with the Sydney Swans.

2016

After signing a four-year extension with the club midway through the 2016 season,[14] Scully helped the new franchise finish fourth on the ladder and reach its first finals series in its short history.[15]

2017

Known as "The running machine" Scully received a second straight All-Australian nomination last year and finished with 15 goals for the year.

2018

Scully broke his ankle in the second round of the 2018 season against Collingwood after twisting on it in a tackle. He fractured the fibula in his right ankle and also sustained a syndesmosis injury.[16] The severity of the injury led to fears that he might not play again. Scully’s frustration with the Giants' handling of his injury and the need to free space in salary cap led to the former number one pick being traded to Hawthorn.[17]

Hawthorn

Recruitment

Scully was traded to Hawthorn at the end of the 2018 season for a future fourth round pick.[2]

Scully underwent a further operation on his ankle and spend most of the summer in rehab.[17]

He played his first game for Hawthorn against the Western Bulldogs in round 2, 2019.

Statistics
Statistics are correct to end of 2019[18]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2010 Melbourne 31215319725545280810.20.19.412.121.53.83.9
2011 Melbourne 3110157613220821540.10.57.613.220.82.15.4
2012 GWS Giants 9194417720938651850.20.29.311.020.32.74.5
2013 GWS Giants 92111619818037892840.50.39.48.618.04.44.0
2014 GWS Giants 9155513915829749680.30.39.310.519.83.34.5
2015 GWS Giants 9178817017534580770.50.510.010.320.34.74.5
2016 GWS Giants 92423132823085901121031.00.511.812.824.64.74.3
2017 GWS Giants 92415724131455591750.60.310.013.123.13.83.1
2018 GWS Giants 9110325111.00.03.02.05.01.01.0
2019 Hawthorn 212112619519338867490.60.39.39.218.53.22.3
Career 17385571678192636046446770.50.39.711.120.83.73.9

Honours and achievements

Individual

References
  1. Tom Scully Confirms Move To GWS
  2. "Scully joins the Hawks". hawthornfc.com.au. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  3. Salemme, Kate (30 April 2016). "Do private school students make better AFL footballers than kids from public schools?". Herald Sun. Melbourne. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  4. Clark, Jay (12 April 2009), Tom Scully plays by his own rules, heraldsun.com.au, Retrieved 21 April 2010
  5. Quayle, Emma (26 November 2009). "First round predictions". Realfooty.com.au. The Age. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  6. Walsh, Courtney (27 November 2009). "Tom Scully's selection at no 1 in the AFL draft was no surprise to pundits". The Australian. News Corp. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  7. Unsigned (15 December 2009), No. 31 and No. 9 - Scully and Trengove, melbournefc.com.au, Retrieved 21 April 2010
  8. Burgan, Matt (25 March 2010), Scully, Trengove to debut against Hawks, AFL.com.au, Retrieved 8 April 2010
  9. Burgan, Matt. "MFC Brownlow Medal totals". Melbourne FC. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  10. Clark, Jay (3 September 2010). "Brad Green wins Keith "Bluey" Truscott gong". Herald Sun. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  11. Sheahan, Mike; Bradshaw, Finn (12 September 2011). "Tom Scully signs with GWS". Herald Sun. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  12. Warner, Michael (15 November 2011). "Tom Scully's father offered 680k job in November 2010". Herald Sun. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  13. Clark, Jay (24 November 2011), "I didn't know about Dad's offer: Scully", Herald Sun, Melbourne, VIC, retrieved 26 November 2011
  14. "Tom Scully signs contract extension with Greater Western Sydney until end of 2021". The Age. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  15. Cordy, Neil. "Massive crowd set for historic qualifying final between Sydney and GWS". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  16. https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2019-bargain-hawthorn-recruit-tom-scully-takes-another-major-step-towards-return/news-story/b95ce94e765115fc0615cec93fbbe63c
  17. https://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-12-20/star-hawks-recruit-scully-back-running-after-serious-ankle-injury
  18. Tom Scully's player profile at AFL Tables
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