OPEN LETTER TO THE MIKE SHEAHAN

March 3, 201115 yr

OPEN LETTER TO THE MIKE SHEAHAN by Whispering Jack

Dear Mike,

They say you have a soft spot for Melbourne and that you're really a bit of a fan of the Demons.

I remember you at the Bentleigh Club when the club was in dire straits at a particular stage just after Paul Gardner had taken over the chairmanship from Gabriel Szondy. I think about 45 supporters turned up to what was regarded as an important meeting for the club and you quite rightly slammed us in your column in the little paper for that.

Things have changed at Melbourne as you well know. These days we're beginning to stand for something again. We're not broke any more and we're a well run elite, progressive AFL club with the competition's best training facilities and an up-and-coming young team that's going somewhere in the relatively near future.

I say this because comments you made in your article Young Demon Tom Scully facing devil of a dilemma suggesting that by accepting rumoured overtures from GWS, Tom Scully "can set himself up for life" there, the clear inference being that he would not be able to achieve the same outcome if he decided to accept what presumably would be a "lesser" offer from Melbourne.

Apart from the very speculative nature of the deal purportedly offered by the GWS Giants and legal restraint of trade issues stemming from their advantageous bargaining position, the assumption you make is that Melbourne could not put together an attractive deal capable of his acceptance that would "set him up for life".

Do you really believe the bottom line in dollar terms is everything there is in a young person's life?

Why does the player's package necessarily have to match the GWS offer dollar for dollar? Apart from issues about living costs in Sydney being greater than in Melbourne and the cost of relocation and for travel by and to family and friends there's a broader matter at heart here which is one that I would expect every Demon supporter of our vintage to understand.

It's seeped in our club's history, heritage and tradition and goes to a story that sums up the major differences between our club and those plastic concoctions from expansion areas that the AFL is bringing into the competition. And it relates to the greatest footballer ever to pull on our guernsey - the man whose number Tom Scully wears every time he puts on the same famous # 31.

Every true Demon is aware from the earliest days as supporters of the club about the story of how Ron Barassi's father gave his life at Tobruk in the service of his country and how his team mates banded together and pledged to look after his widow and young son. Though they didn't actually "set him up for life" in the financial sense (after all, he had to leave to further his coaching career at Carlton after 12 years at the club), the gesture was pivotal in setting up his life not only as one of the nation's great sportspersons but as an iconic figure in this nation's history. It provided essential support and guidance for the young Ron Barassi Junior and his mother at an important stage of their lives and the story is the stuff of legends telling of something more important than money. It goes to the very core of being part of a football team.

Tom Scully will be set up for life financially wherever he plays next year and beyond but will he blossom at another club that's trying to establish itself in a hostile environment away from the game's heartland and that will probably struggle to compete in the short to medium term of his career span?

It's Tom's call but really, there's only one location where he can set himself up for life and that is in the very place that is at the same time his own home and the home of the game.

Yours sincerely,

Whispering