Tom Scully (born 15 May 1991) is a former professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er. He played for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

Greater Western Sydney Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...

, and

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of Hawt ...

. 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 The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents the ...

in 2012 on a six-year deal. In October 2018, Scully was traded to Hawthorn for the 2019 season. He attended school first at Berwick College and then Haileybury College.

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. Scully played his

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

football for the

Dandenong Stingrays The Dandenong Southern Stingrays are an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. 1992 saw the birth of the Southern Stingrays, developed under the leadership of Steve Kennedy (Regional Ma ...

, and school football for

Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to: Australia * Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia **Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia China * Haileybury International School, an international ...

. He captained Victorian Metropolitan region in the 2009 AFL Under 18 Championships and was named in the Under 18 All Australian team in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Melbourne career

Recruitment

Throughout 2009, Scully was touted as a potential and likely number one draft pick for the

AFL Draft The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League (AFL). History ...

.Clark, Jay (12 April 2009)
Tom Scully plays by his own rules
heraldsun.com.au, Retrieved 21 April 2010 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 The priority draft pick is a type of draft selection in the Australian Football League's AFL Draft. Priority draft picks are additional draft picks, located at or near the start of the draft, which are given only to the poorest performing teams, ...

) to recruit Scully. Scully was presented with the number 31 guernsey made famous by club and league legend

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated into ...

.Unsigned (15 December 2009)
No. 31 and No. 9 - Scully and Trengove
melbournefc.com.au, Retrieved 21 April 2010

Playing career at Melbourne

Scully made his AFL debut in round 1, 2010, alongside No. 2 pick

Jack Trengove Jack Trengove (born 2 September 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer who most recently played for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, tall and weighing , Trengove is capable ...

.Burgan, Matt (25 March 2010)
Scully, Trengove to debut against Hawks
AFL.com.au, Retrieved 8 April 2010 His breakout individual performance of the season came in Round 4 against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, with 26 disposals for the match including 11 in the third quarter, and he received an

AFL Rising Star The AFL Rising Star is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. It was first presented in the 1993 season, and was won by Nathan Buc ...

nomination (and three Brownlow votes) for his Round 7 performance. Scully finished the season by coming second in the

, behind Sydney's

Dan Hannebery Daniel Hannebery (born 24 February 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Sydney Swans from 2009 to 2018 and for the St Kilda Football Club fro ...

. He won the Harold Ball Memorial Trophy, for being Melbourne's Best First Year Player, and finished eighth in the

Best and Fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

Greater Western Sydney career

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

Jesse Hogan Jesse Hogan (born 12 February 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). A key forward, Hogan is tall and weighs . He was a standout basketballer ...

. 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 In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...

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

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

2016

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

2017

Known as "The Running Machine,” Scully received a second straight All-Australian nomination in 2017 and finished with 15 goals for the year.

2018

Scully broke his ankle in the second round of the 2018 season against after twisting on it in a tackle. He fractured the fibula in his right ankle and also sustained a syndesmosis injury. 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

led to the former number one pick being traded to Hawthorn.afl.com.au
/ref>

Hawthorn

Scully was traded to Hawthorn at the end of the 2018 season for a future fourth round pick. Scully underwent a further operation on his ankle and spend most of the summer in rehab. Scully excelled with his rehab and he played his first game for Hawthorn against the in round 2, 2019. He didn't miss another game that year and was considered a steal of the year. The 2020 Covid restricted year and the shorter quarters hampered Scully ability to run out the quarters compare to his opposition, He missed a few games by being managed. Scully retired on 2 February 2021.

Statistics

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2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

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2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , , , 31 , 10 , , 1 , , 5 , , 76 , , 132 , , 208 , , 21 , , 54 , , 0.1 , , 0.5 , , 7.6 , , 13.2 , , 20.8 , , 2.1 , , 5.4 , , 2 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , , , 9 , 19 , , 4 , , 4 , , 177 , , 209 , , 386 , , 51 , , 85 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 9.3 , , 11.0 , , 20.3 , , 2.7 , , 4.5 , , 0 , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, , , , 9 , 21 , , 11 , , 6 , , 198 , , 180 , , 378 , , 92 , , 84 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 9.4 , , 8.6 , , 18.0 , , 4.4 , , 4.0 , , 5 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, , , , 9 , 15 , , 5 , , 5 , , 139 , , 158 , , 297 , , 49 , , 68 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 9.3 , , 10.5 , , 19.8 , , 3.3 , , 4.5 , , 1 , - ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , , , 9 , 17 , , 8 , , 8 , , 170 , , 175 , , 345 , , 80 , , 77 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 10.0 , , 10.3 , , 20.3 , , 4.7 , , 4.5 , , 0 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, , , , 9 , 24 , , 23 , , 13 , , 282 , , 308 , , 590 , , 112 , , 103 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 11.8 , , 12.8 , , 24.6 , , 4.7 , , 4.3 , , 7 , - ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, , , , 9 , 24 , , 15 , , 7 , , 241 , , 314 , , 555 , , 91 , , 75 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 10.0 , , 13.1 , , 23.1 , , 3.8 , , 3.1 , , 3 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, , , , 9 , 1 , , 1 , , 0 , , 3 , , 2 , , 5 , , 1 , , 1 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , , 2.0 , , 5.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 0 , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, , , , 21 , 21 , , 12 , , 6 , , 195 , , 193 , , 388 , , 67 , , 49 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 9.3 , , 9.2 , , 18.5 , , 3.2 , , 2.3 , , 2 , - style=background:#EAEAEA ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, , , , 21 , 14, , 4 , , 2 , , 104 , , 86 , , 190 , , 34 , , 16 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 7.4 , , 6.1 , , 13.5 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, CareerTom Scully's player profile at AFL Tables
/ref> ! 187 !! 89 !! 59 !! 1781 !! 2012 !! 3793 !! 677 !! 693 !! 0.5 !! 0.3 !! 9.5 !! 10.8 !! 20.3 !! 3.6 !! 3.7 !! 23 Notes

Honours and achievements

Individual * Harold Ball Memorial Trophy: 2010 * coaches award: 2013 * AFL Rising Star nominee:

* 2× Under 18 All-Australian team:

References

External links

*
DemonWiki profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scully, Tom Living people Hawthorn Football Club players Greater Western Sydney Giants players Melbourne Football Club players 1991 births People educated at Haileybury (Melbourne) Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Dandenong Stingrays players Casey Demons players AFL Academy graduates People from Berwick, Victoria