The difference between good journalist and hack is the difference between what Emma Quayle does around draft time and what Rohan Connolly does around draft time.

You can do interviews, ask questions, talk your way around the circuits, get some quotes and present a fascinating report.

OR

You can dredge up some 'everyone knows' generalisations and stating-the-bleeding-obvious comments, cherry-pick incomplete data from a much more complex set, and declare yourself insightful.

  On 17/11/2013 at 03:11, Ben-Hur said:

As a number one pick Scully has been a diabolical failure. Let's compare him in year 4 to other early picks.

Scully 18 ave. disposals

Murphy 25.6

Cotchin 24.1

Pendlebury 25.8

Judd 22.3 (not a noted high possession ball winner)

Boak 21.8

Masten 21.7

Selwood 28.2

Rich 21.7

Deledio 24.5

However you want to twist it, turn it, shape it he's been a hopeless pick one, and terrible for GWS, especially given the cost to get him.

He has every chance to turn things around and become high production, but let's not put too finer point on it right now he equates to a pick 20-30 mid. His mate Ryan Bastinac, who was pick 21, has had a better career to date.

One also has to factor in his poor disposals and clangers which means he really has to get high stats to have any impact.

  On 17/11/2013 at 03:32, bush demon said:

One also has to factor in his poor disposals and clangers which means he really has to get high stats to have any impact.

He is actually on my reading of the stats, one of the poorest disposal players in the league with many games at under 50%. Thank God for GWS they have saved us from further embarrassment and provided us with a few good players instead, one of whom may turn out to be a real star.

The money we saved from Scully we threw at Mitch Clarke who so far has been paid $100,000 per game he has played for us.

Is he as expensive as Scully? Is he better?

He isnt a star. He may become one but the clocks ticking.

The picks we received we turned into Hogan and were able to get Viney cheap.

Yes they may be stars oneday but its little soon to say how well we have done.

I dont like Tom Scully but my deep displeasure is saved for lazy arrogant smart alecs like Cam Schwab and Barry Prendergast.

who cares what conan rockabilly thinks anyway

Who ?....about who ?

My mate coaches Rohan Connolly son in Soccer. He says he just starts laughing at MFC each time the subject comes up (this was during Neelds reign) He says we are just such a joke etc.

I know Rohan had to give up live media especially TV because it made him too nervous. It upsets him as he thinks he could be the next caroline.

I really hate the pr!ck as he is blind to Essendon and absolutely(Im told) has it in for us.

Viney will be 10 times the player $cully is.

The recruiters and Journalists of the day were just wrong.

We the football public believe what we are presented with. Youtube is my only reference, i work in an office.

But looking at $cully's attitude, disposal efficiency and his scoring ability he should never have been rated number one.

Those who did were just plain wrong.

  On 17/11/2013 at 04:43, why you little said:

Viney will be 10 times the player $cully is.

The recruiters and Journalists of the day were just wrong.

We the football public believe what we are presented with. Youtube is my only reference, i work in an office.

But looking at $cully's attitude, disposal efficiency and his scoring ability he should never have been rated number one.

Those who did were just plain wrong.

the boy could run and get to places

just never seen a jockey carry a team to a flag

  On 17/11/2013 at 04:32, Franky_31 said:

My mate coaches Rohan Connolly son in Soccer. He says he just starts laughing at MFC each time the subject comes up (this was during Neelds reign) He says we are just such a joke etc.

I know Rohan had to give up live media especially TV because it made him too nervous. It upsets him as he thinks he could be the next caroline.

I really hate the pr!ck as he is blind to Essendon and absolutely(Im told) has it in for us.

So he should - every journo has a giggling fit when the MFC is mentioned.

Win games, win the hard footy, and get on with it - the AFL is a hard breeding ground.

Suck it up.

  On 17/11/2013 at 02:29, daisycutter said:

sheedy would say that wouldn't he?

Don't know about that. I just asked him who on the GWS did he expect to have a big season next year. He didn't know I was a Melbourne supporter. And he immediately responded 'Tom Scully'. Seemed to be a genuinely held opinion. Had I been thinking straight, I would've asked him what he thought of Dom Tyson, although he did proffer that they were very happy to have picks 1&2 in the draft.

The other assistant coaches I spoke to following our loss to GWS a few months ago also said they thought Scully would show a lot next year, as did several of the players.

That said, there's no doubt that, to date, he's been a woeful pick 1 and that GWS paid far too much for him.

Personally, I'm very happy the little nerd's no longer at the club.

  On 17/11/2013 at 03:13, Elwood 3184 said:

How did it reflect a "Demon shambles" narrative Tommy Tea?

It gave our many critics a chance to say - read: have another free hit - that $cully wanting to leave is symptomatic of Melbourne being a shambles.

  On 17/11/2013 at 03:13, Elwood 3184 said:

We are no more a shambles than Geelong who couldn't keep Ablett or Hawthorn with Buddy. In fact, our compo for the little tu[censored] was better than they both got.

Assess the relative commentary about Ablett and Buddy compared with $cully. For the former two the line went something like "Gazza & Buddy have won flags and paid their dues and earned their big pay day." For the latter it went something like "$cully could not wait to get out of the Demon basket case."

The facts are:

• Scully would have cost us $600K per season if he hadn't jumped into the [censored] bath filled with money.
• We wouldn't have received two first rounders as compensation
• We wouldn't have had the bargaining power to get Hogan
• Without organising the Hogan deal, we would have had to use pick 3 for Viney
• Without pick 4 we wouldn't have got 'the Toump'!
• Without the negotiated pick 20, we wouldn't have got Dawes

No $600K to spend, no Hogan, no Viney for pick 27, no Toump, no Dawes. Did we lose?

Rohan... Ram a solid gold one up your proverbial.

  On 17/11/2013 at 06:18, QueensBirthday said:

Rohan... Ram a solid gold one up your proverbial.

http:/Users/admin/Downloads/078.jpeg

QB I doubt there would be any room!!!

His head would take up most of it I would think!

  On 17/11/2013 at 06:18, QueensBirthday said:

The facts are:

• Scully would have cost us $600K per season if he hadn't jumped into the [censored] bath filled with money.
• We wouldn't have received two first rounders as compensation
• We wouldn't have had the bargaining power to get Hogan
• Without organising the Hogan deal, we would have had to use pick 3 for Viney
• Without pick 4 we wouldn't have got 'the Toump'!
• Without the negotiated pick 20, we wouldn't have got Dawes

No $600K to spend, no Hogan, no Viney for pick 27, no Toump, no Dawes. Did we lose?

Rohan... Ram a solid gold one up your proverbial.

http:/Users/admin/Downloads/078.jpeg

And we also wouldn't have had the $$$ to lure the mighty Mitch Clark.

I found it to be a silly article on the whole and agreed with Little Goffy's sentiments. Off the top of my head picks 1-40 from the past 12 drafts would produce a team with the talents of:

B: Waters - Frawley - Carlisle

HB: Goddard - Taylor - Hodge

C: Mitchell - J Selwood - Bartel

HF: Franklin - N Riewoldt - Dangerfield

F: S Johnson - JJ Kennedy - Rioli

R: Goldstein - Pendlebury - Judd

I: Naitanui - Kerr - Griffen - Cotchin

Like Ro-Ro I'm doing this on the fly but I'd also be willing to bet there'd be a far higher proportion of NQRs, never made its and never managed a game picked after 40 over the past 12 years. Making a team of the worst players from the best picks and comparing it to a team of the best players from the worst picks is a fun yet pointless exercise. You'd have to be pretty stupid to draw the conclusion that the draft is a lottery on that basis.

  On 17/11/2013 at 03:11, Ben-Hur said:

As a number one pick Scully has been a diabolical failure. Let's compare him in year 4 to other early picks.

Scully 18 ave. disposals

Murphy 25.6

Cotchin 24.1

Pendlebury 25.8

Judd 22.3 (not a noted high possession ball winner)

Boak 21.8

Masten 21.7

Selwood 28.2

Rich 21.7

Deledio 24.5

However you want to twist it, turn it, shape it he's been a hopeless pick one, and terrible for GWS, especially given the cost to get him.

He has every chance to turn things around and become high production, but let's not put too finer point on it right now he equates to a pick 20-30 mid. His mate Ryan Bastinac, who was pick 21, has had a better career to date.

Yes I think he is the classic case of take the money and run (or not in his case). I believe his contract is up at the end of next season. My guess is it will reduce by over 50%, or be traded for around the 30s.

Given the way he left the MFC, and his general attitude, and the expensive price tag, I think there would be a lot of clubs who wouldn't touch him. He is no Brenden Goddard that is for sure.

  On 17/11/2013 at 04:32, Franky_31 said:

My mate coaches Rohan Connolly son in Soccer. He says he just starts laughing at MFC each time the subject comes up (this was during Neelds reign) He says we are just such a joke etc.

I know Rohan had to give up live media especially TV because it made him too nervous. It upsets him as he thinks he could be the next caroline.

I really hate the pr!ck as he is blind to Essendon and absolutely(Im told) has it in for us.

He doesn't have much reason to laugh as an Essendon supporter. Apart from the thrashing their peptide laden team imposed on us early this year we beat them regularly during one of our darkest periods as a football club. Lets see how that mob of drug cheats perform once ASADA gets off its butt and issues infraction notices. Then we'll see who's laughing.

  On 17/11/2013 at 13:09, Dees2014 said:

Yes I think he is the classic case of take the money and run (or not in his case). I believe his contract is up at the end of next season. My guess is it will reduce by over 50%, or be traded for around the 30s.

Given the way he left the MFC, and his general attitude, and the expensive price tag, I think there would be a lot of clubs who wouldn't touch him. He is no Brenden Goddard that is for sure.

i don't think so

"The Demons offered Scully, who has played 31 AFL games, a five-year contract, which fell one season short of the GWS deal."

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/scully-the-6million-man-makes-afl-history-20110912-1k623.html

  On 17/11/2013 at 13:09, Dees2014 said:

Yes I think he is the classic case of take the money and run (or not in his case). I believe his contract is up at the end of next season. My guess is it will reduce by over 50%, or be traded for around the 30s.

Given the way he left the MFC, and his general attitude, and the expensive price tag, I think there would be a lot of clubs who wouldn't touch him. He is no Brenden Goddard that is for sure.

There remains a very good possibility that none of us will have any regrets over the Scully saga. What we have gained may prove to be a great deal more than what we have lost.

It may be the one thing during that era that may work in our favour.

  On 16/11/2013 at 21:20, RobbieF said:

I love how they always manage to include Jack Watts but leave out Fumbleton who was selected at pick 2, just one behind and was recently traded for pick 55; it just shows the gap between 1 & 2 is enormous. Doesn't t.

$cully is a very average footballer and if he was still at Melbourne Connolly would have said so, but I guess now he's at GWS we can expect a miracle and will see him soar to the top of the tree.

he did come third in their B&F Oh thats right they don't vote on games they pluck it out of the air at the end of the season.

I think it's pretty clear now that Tom Scully was just the set of steak knives needed to enable GWS to get what they really wanted - Phil Scully.