Gun junior footballer Tom Scully looks headed for stardom after a stunning display at last week’s AFL under-16 championships in Queensland. By Marc McGowan
“I RATE him as one of the best juniors to come through the program in the last five years.”
Those are the words of typically measured Dandenong Stingrays regional manager Darren Flanigan regarding precocious 16-year-old Narre Warren midfield talent Tom Scully.
Scully has been on the Australian Football League radar for a number of years, having been selected in the All-Australian side at the 2006 AFL under 15 championships in the Northern Territory.
But his latest achievement – winning the Kevin Sheehan Medal for the best Division One player at last week’s AFL under 16 championships in Queensland – will have recruiters’ pulses racing.
To put Flanigan’s praise into context, first-round picks Andrejs Everitt (who was drafted in 2006), Nathan Jones (2005) and Steven Salopek (2002) were at the Stingrays during the past five years.
It puts Scully, who was one of the co-captains of the undefeated Victoria Metro squad, well and truly in first-round draft calculations when he becomes eligible in two years’ time.
“He’s a really good athlete, has a good engine, he’s very hard working, has great skills and is very clean in traffic – he’s a super player,” Flanigan said.
“Everyone has got the potential to go in the first round, but he certainly has the attributes and he’s certainly a very high AFL prospect and I have no doubt that some day he will have his name called out.”
To Scully’s credit, he has also established a reputation as a quality person and is renowned for his strong work ethic and positive attitude.
The 182-centimetre, 72-kilogram on-baller was awarded a scholarship to Haileybury College’s Keysborough campus at the start of the year and will play most of his football there over the next couple of seasons.
“School commitments will come first and … on the weeks off I will play in the TAC Cup,” Scully said.
“(Being at Haileybury) is a good opportunity, not only for my football, but with my schooling as well.”
A bout of osteitis pubis plagued Scully for four months after developing just after Christmas last year, but a dedicated physiotherapy program has hopefully put the debilitating injury behind him.
“My pre-season was cut really short and I had hardly any pre-season at all and had to monitor what I did and work really hard when I got back at it,” the two-time defending Victorian Secondary Schools’ Sports Association 1500-metre athletics champion said.
“I felt like I played some pretty good footy at the championships, playing through midfield and half-forward and getting a bit of the ball.
“I kicked four goals (in the three games) over the carnival and I was pretty happy because it was some of the best footy I’ve played.”
While Scully, who is also a gifted cricketer, claims he keeps thoughts of his AFL chances in the back of his mind, his stringent preparation reveals a burning desire to reach the elite level.
“Obviously, I don’t really go out and I don’t drink – I don’t do any of that crap – you have to make sacrifices to get to where you want,” he said.
“I think running is a big part of my game. My endurance is one of my best assets and my speed has picked up over the last few years.”
Naturally, Scully has identified aspects of his game that he wants to improve.
“I’m pretty light-on still, so over summer I’ll be looking to build up and I’ll be doing weights and all that kind of thing, and my overhead marking is another area I want to focus on,” the Richmond supporter said.
The next challenge for Scully will come in the next few weeks when he makes his debut in the TAC Cup for the Stingrays, which will be a perfect precursor to his assault on the competition in 2008.
“I’ll hopefully go all right and get good experience playing in the under 18s, where the footy intensity is higher and the speed is a lot quicker,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to the experience and getting a feel of what the under 18s are about, and I’d like to build on that and use it as a stepping stone to next year.”
