Phil Scully offered GWS gig in November 2010!

[beelzebub 23,350]

Shock , Horror , Yawn, The truth will out.

Whole lot couldnt lie straight in a bed if they tried !!!

Its nice that so many are finally joining the dots

Is anyone really surprised....really ?

Well rid of this ilk of refuse.

[Still Waiting 94]

Tom $cully will get the "correct" attention he deserves, when we play GWS.

Grubby Allan would want to be checking over his shoulder fairly often, just like his new recruit.

Flip $cully has yet to learn what decency and honesty mean, as does his "pathetic little piece of work" offspring!

Karma will kick in very soon to this trio, oh and don't leave greedy Sheedy out of the trough either.

The AFL honchos continue to embarrass the whole footy world with their inaction. No kahoonas on any of them!

[Radar Detector 1,347]

Phil Scully is fast becoming the Damir Dokic of the AFL. These situations rarely work out well for the sportsperson, hopefully this case is no exception.

[hardtack 10,537]

I was prepared to believe young TS all through last season

However the events of the last couple of months seem to suggest to me that the Scully family had a plan from draft day 2009.

He would go to the highest bidder at the end of 2011.

That just happened to be GWS.

If GWS had not existed then it would have been whoever had the biggest cheque book.

The sad part for the MFC is we got dudded and wasted a no.1 pick.

There is no other way to describe it.

I feel wounded, my faith in my fellow humans has been shaken.

+1

What is it with the parents of talented kids? As far as I'm concerned, Phil ranks up there with the likes of Damir Dokic etc. In a way I do feel a modicum pity for TS because he's going to cop the brunt of the Dee supporters' anger, while his manipulative dad sits on the sidelines counting his money. If ever someone has earned the monicker Philphy Phil, he is it!

[Jesse Christ 2,884]

I hope Phil has 2 good knees.

Unlikely. Actually all that weight going through his joints I'd be surprised if Phil wasn't growing his own diamonds. Which he will no doubt harvest and sell to the highest bidder later on.

What a tasteless affair this has turned out to be. Tom will forever be known as a lier, there is no refuting that now. He has traded in his integrity and $ullied his family name for a quick buck. Never to be trusted again!

[H_T 3,043]

Of course it's not likely to happen because, as I've indicated many times, the AFL is heavily conflicted on this issue.

I completely agree with this, however as you said, the AFL is majorly conflicted. There is no way they would take away a top 3 pick from a franchise they are trying to get off the ground. Unfortunate but true, it seems as though GWS can get away with almost anything.

The AFL is the regulator and they have an obligation to bend over for GWS - as they said from the outset.

But I wonder if there is more documents to come to light like this. Holmes and Co. may have a few itches to scratch. And because this story has been big all year, there may be a bit of money being splashed around by Sydney media and networks to let this unravel. After all it is NRL territory....

Also, presumably this goes (much) further, as surely Tom's agent would have been involved in the whole deceit.

Well, former manager Mark Kleiman was very vocal on Scully Snr re: his recruiting background when the Fill scully news broke regarding his contract with GWS.

[Key Deefender 143]

As much as I find this whole saga distasteful and the feeling we've all been conned - club and supporter alike, the reality is that the culture of the AFL does not allow for any player to announce to the world they are leaving for greener pastures before or during a season. It happens in rugby and we all find it strange that a player can play alongside his teammates and before his fans with everyone knowing and accepting that he won't be there for the following season.

In the AFL all these announcements are pretty much made after a player's or club's season is completed, be it after home and away or finals. Leon Davis flagged some possible intent to return to the west for family reasons coming off his best year while Collingwood's season was still alive, but he is 30, most of career well behind him, and this was perhaps viewed as more of a swansong.

So what was Tom Scully to do? The upshot of any pre-season 2011 honesty would have been what - rot in hell playing for Casey (most would have been happy with that I'm sure), play for the seniors if picked and be booed by his own "fans" (placing the club in an awkward position as to whether to play him at all), sit the season out on full pay (getting money for nothing would grate even more) or get his knee fixed for the benefit of GWS (under some false injury pretext when he was clearly able to play games)?

Maybe the scenario that played out was the only one that could have played out - and while he, his dad, and GWS will forever be stained with what has transpired, until or unless the culture shift aligns itself to that of the ARL (and I hope it never does), then this will likely happen again, particularly while new fledgling clubs are given an open cheque book to entice away young players who will only have $$ signs in their eyes.

My lingering question still remains - did the MFC really know and just kept up public appearances of denial because it seemed the only way at the time? And for what it's worth I wouldn't have blamed them for doing so - a very difficult situation with no opportunity for a win-win, particularly if there was always an opportunity for Scully to withdraw from the initial Heads Of Agreement at any time until the end of Season 2011.

Personally I think the club has come out of this really well, both from a PR point of view, as well as the 2 compensation picks to be accessed at our choosing, over a guy who has a dodgy knee, is maybe severely overrated on what we have seen to date and who clearly didn't want to be here once he saw the size of the pay cheque on offer.

He gets the money and we get to try again with two first round picks under a new regime of coaches - now that is a win-win - and from purely a football point of view, we win hands down!

[darkhorse72 1,916]

I guess you can look back at the footy show interview where Scully said "Melbourne was a great place to start my career" and that was pre-seaon 2009....

Freudian slip that some people picked up at the time and the decision not to extended his contract when offered first up.

[jabberwocky 2,301]

Over it. $ was never a Melbourne footballer.

We traded a no 1 pick for 2 first rounders and saved a lot of cash in the process. Story ends there as far as I am concerned.

[Lil_red_fire_engine 11,166]

Finding it hard come up with the words that will do this situation justice.

"Sad" is the main one that comes to mind.

[Real Demon 232]

I love the way the truth finally gets out in the end.

Earlier comments are spot on............when you're trying to build a winning team and culture, this kind of attitude just doesn't fit.

The Scully's have to live their lives the way they see fit...............................they have clearly seen this whole situation as a massive cash grabbing exercise, and they have elected to wring every last dollar out of it.......that's their choice.

Regardless of the money on offer, I personally could never imagine instructing my son in the same position to lie, and act in a dishonest manner, in particular to a club that had shown him absolute respect and support from the day he walked in the door.

That's probably the most difficult thing to fathom.

And the other thing that still continues to perplex me completely is just how many eggs GWS has been prepared to put into the Scully basket.

They better pray this kid is a star!

[daisycutter 29,613]

Will T$ be refunding his China airfare and expenses as he abandoned his club and teammates to return for some private business dealings?

I'm not holding my breath.

[Nasher 33,613]

I love the way people are wailing as if this is a surprise or changes anything. It's all a bit "more of the same" now. I reached my limit of surprise or care ages ago. More than anything now I just feel sorry for Jelena Scully.

[McQueen 17,864]

I wonder what Holmes is doing with himself nowadays;is he still in the AFL system?

Back on the subject, I wonder how many other documents will be leaked?

Are you suggesting some sort of connection, RobbieF?

[Jack Jack 415]

I wonder when he'll start taking bids for his next contract, 2018?

Or do you think a deal has already been done?

[Disco Demons 92]

i wonder if Tom will turn to drinking to cope with the added pressure!?

[McQueen 17,864]

I love the way people are wailing as if this is a surprise or changes anything. It's all a bit "more of the same" now. I reached my limit of surprise or care ages ago. More than anything now I just feel sorry for Jelena Scully.

Wailing? Hardly. You're obviously in the minority Nasher but you still care to post about the topic.

[Nasher 33,613]

Wailing? Hardly. You're obviously in the minority Nasher but you still care to post about the topic.

In the minority in what way? I thought I was in the overwhelming majority of people who are no longer surprised by anything that comes out of the Scully camp, though this thread may indicate that I'm not.

[s-t-i-n-g-a 439]

Tom the March press conference:

"When you said you've not been approached, what about your father? Has he been approached?

No, absolutely not."

He then goes on to talk about how he's been open and transparent with the club...blah blah blah

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/tabid/7415/default.aspx?newsid=108772

[Tony Tea 2,809]

Footy is lies.

[daisycutter 29,613]

Well it was all on show at draft day 2009 - if you looked that is - check out the far left of photo - notice anything?

Edited November 15, 2011 by daisycutter

[rpfc 28,384]

I love the way people are wailing as if this is a surprise or changes anything. It's all a bit "more of the same" now. I reached my limit of surprise or care ages ago. More than anything now I just feel sorry for Jelena Scully.

Similar sentiments.

I have edited this because my 'deleted post' was actually not deleted it was in another thread and I am blind.

Edited November 15, 2011 by rpfc

[Dee Fan 3,247]

Are you suggesting some sort of connection, RobbieF?

Oh! no of course not; well maybe; well possibly.

I certainly hope so he would have bucket loads of stuff to dump and the AFL and GW$ have not exactly been glowing towards him. Wonder if he is employable as a result?

[Nasher 33,613]

Oh! no of course not; well maybe; well possibly.

I certainly hope so he would have bucket loads of stuff to dump and the AFL and GW$ have not exactly been glowing towards him. Wonder if he is employable as a result?

I've wondered the same thing Robbie. Once you reach a certain level of seniority the mud really sticks, and Holmes has got to be covered in it. Wonder if he's got an appetite for whistle blowing?

[DemonWA 3,933]

Timing was the issue here - we got burnt with GWS coming in so soon after our bumper draft year. Glad we havent lost more players to be honest. We never stood a chance with that type of money on offer + a job for the old man. GWS sure head hunted the scully's didnt they?