Jaded No More

I always laughed at people who said he wasn't hard enough. He does as much hard stuff as most 19 year old skinny talls. He has also started to use his size and push opponents out of the way, which is great to see. He has very very few weaknesses, and the ones he does have, are easily fixed. And I think McKenzie might get the coaches' votes for shutting down Pav and dominating himself, but Watts' ball use today was sublime.

Hang on, how could Scully have signed when GWS can't sign anyone until the end of the season?

CC said soreness before the game. Also said we'll rest some of our young kids between now and the end of the season. Gysberts had a limited pre season, and some hard games since coming back into the side. I'm happy they chose to rest him, especially if the soreness was groin or back related. No need to push his body too hard given his previous injuries.

Definitely not on crutches when coming off the ground, no ice, no strapping, just a small limp. Was he on crutches in the rooms?

6- Watts (star. simple) 5- McKenzie (words can't describe how much I LOVE this kid!!!! ) 4- Martin (what a turnaround) 3- Scully 2- Green 1- Howe Dan Nicholson was super impressive, as were the backline boys in Garland and Frawley and McDonald. Rivers had a better game too.

Swore profusely as he was coming off the ground and straight into the rooms. FFS, we can never just enjoy a game can we? Hope it's the ankle and not the foot.

Good changes. Wrapt to see Garland back! Will be interesting to see where Ricky plays given we dropped two midfielders and brought in KPD and a forward.

Pretty interesting this tiny little article on the HS website... Tom Scully's future a secret: Ryan Bastinac Bastinac is one of Scully's best friends. He says he is staying at North (clearly he isn't getting the cash thrown at him by GWS B)). On Scully: "He's probably got his mind made up and knows what he's going to do," Bastinac, 19, said. "I do feel for him a little bit, but knowing him well I know it's not going to get to him at all. "He will definitely make the right decision for him and the footy club." Make of that what you will. I suppose it's good that the lure of playing with his best mate up in GWS is not going to be an issue, and the fact that Bastinac mentions he'll do the right think by the club means he probably does feel a sense of loyalty and responsibility. Bailey mentioned on SEN tonight that Scully feels like he can be a part of, and take this club to a successful era, and I suppose when it comes down to it, his main motivation will continue to be premiership success (something that Ablett had already experienced, and that the other established players who went to GWS couldn't see happening at their previous clubs... Brisbane Lions anyone?!) Funny how I'm in negotiations with my employer for a promotion, and even though one role has more money than another, my heart is really pushing me towards the lesser paid role because I can see it leading to greater success in my career. Sometimes it's not all about money (not that anyone is throwing millions at me )

If my auntie had balls she'd be my uncle. No club gets it 100% right 100% of the time. Also, Jurrah.

This thread is like The Bald and the Beautiful. I don't watch it for 4 years, then one day I'm home sick so I watch it, and guess what... nothing has changed. The plot is the same, this guy is still trying to crack onto his half sister, this other guy is still drunk and somehow Tom Scully is a cheating, lying scumbag traitor who is going to GWS because Sheedy drugged him, had some girl impregnate herself with his sperm and now he has to make good to his baby mama. Worst.Thread.Ever............. (which I of course cannot stop reading)

In 13 years I have never left a game early. Today I had to. There is only so much emotional investment you can make in something before you've had enough of it kicking you in the guts repeatedly. I've put up with it in life, but I don't have to put up with it in footy.

Unfortunately we are still a joke. Nobody is playing well today. We are getting smashed in contested possessions, not surprisingly Rivers is rubbish on a quick opponent and our game plan is crumbling. Pathetic. Infuriating. Rubbish.

Of everyone in the leadership group*, he and Jones have been our most consistent this year. Both have actually stepped up this year. *excluding poor Grimsey, the cursed child!

I don't think Garland and Warnock are similar, and hence you couldn't cover one with the other. Warnock played when Rivers was out injured. It made sense. Garland takes the most mobile, quickest tall in the team, a player that would kill both Rivers and Warnock. There is merit in keeping him as depth, but I doubt he wants to play out the majority of his career with Casey, and given how nicely Tom McDonland is coming along, I think the club will trade him for a win-win deal. He'd get a game in plenty of defences. FFS Karmichael Hunt is getting a game in an AFL backline! As for Bate and Dunn, I think after 7 years on the list, they, along with Newton, should be looking elsewhere. Bate definitely has the highest currency of the lot, but given we have to clear out at least 3 players from the list at the end of the year, I'd be pretty surprised if all three survives the cull. At least 2 will go. My bet is that Dunn will stay, and Bate (traded) and Newton (delisted/rookied elsewhere) will go. Morton and Petterd are laughable suggestions btw. Petterd's worth would be minimal, and given we just signed him last year, I doubt he'd be going anywhere, and Morton was a top 5 pick 3 years ago. He has to do a lot wrong for the club to consider trading him, and so far, he hasn't.

VISY doesn't run out of cash mid season.

Maybe he's also waiting to see who else GWS can attract? Doubt he'd want to go there, regardless of how good the money is, if he thinks he'll be playing out his career with D grade amateurs from the Western Sydney League and Brendan Fevola. There is a limit to how much he'd be willing to [censored] himself I'd assume. I think whether they sign a star or two along the way, they will still have plenty of money to hand over and plenty to trump our offer with, so I don't think that would be a major concern. And besides, maybe he wasn't on their radar last season when they thought they could grab a Pendelbury or a Swan or a Thomas or a Murphy. As much as I think Scully will be a gun, he hasn't proven himself beyond doubt and he has had some injury concerns. GWS would be stupid to put all of their money into his basket, especially given that he isn't a marquee name yet. I doubt anyone in Western Sydney even knows who he is!

Everyone will be delighted if he stays, absolutely, but it's human nature to try and not get attached to people who you don't think are going to stick by you. It's an automatic reaction for most to think "better not get too excited about him, because it'll only hurt more when he's gone". It's very much like if you've had a run of bad relationships, you find it hard to trust new ones. It's a normal defense mechanism and I understand why some supporters have chosen to believe beyond doubt that he's gone. Always better to be pleasantly surprised, than hope for the best and have that hope ripped away from you. Of course the media speculation doesn't always turn out to be true, but when you hear over and over again "he's gone", and the only people who are saying otherwise are those with vested interest in our club who may well be wishfully thinking he'll stay, it's hard to remain upbeat about the situation. Bottom line is, while I don't believe Scully has already signed or agreed to terms with GWS, I think that him not signing with Melbourne says enough to suggest that he knows he won't be able to resist the offer coming from GWS at season's end. And fair enough, that's a lot of money to turn down, even if the chances of him winning a premiership at Melbourne are greater.

As much as I refuse to buy into the rumours and the mind games, I have to say that it would not surprise or shock me to see us get screwed over. Again. MFCSS is high in what I'm about to say, but here goes... When you get constantly let down, when you have been accustomed to disappointments and failures, you become almost oblivious to the pain that goes along with it. If you've been treated like crap enough times, it eventually becomes second nature to you. If Scully leaves I'll be gutted, but I'll get over it, as will the rest of the club and its supporters, because we've been through heartache and disappointment before, and we are still here after 151 years. I'd rather spend my energy enjoying the development of players that I know are loyal and keen to stay at this club, and worry about those who might have their sights set elsewhere later.

Sheedy is happy to give me $4. He really values my leadership skills. Screw loyalty I'm off

Good luck trying to get the AFL to agree to anything that disadvantages GWS. Won't happen. Pisses me off that our own CEO supported this rubbish when clubs were being questioned about draft picks and compensation levels for GC/GWS!

$500,000 is a lot of money! And it comes down to thinking "well I'm worth that much to one company, so I should be worth that much to my own company". I get what you're saying, and clearly Scully isn't choosing between a life of wealth and a life of welfare payments, but in reality you'd think that he'd be looking at $1m vs. $600,000 maybe. I want him to stay but I also don't want our club to pay him so much that down the track we'll have to lose other quality players. There has to be a balance. GWS don't have those issues so they can afford to throw buckets of money at players. It's impossible to compete. P.S.- I wish someone offered me $1.5 for my services!

What a disgusting situation the AFL has created. They are basically putting players in a situation where they have to decide between loyalty to their clubs, teammates and even family, or $2m. As much as I want Scully to stay, if I was offered $2m to go work for a rival company interstate I'd be on that plane quicker than I could say "hell yes". The AFL should be ashamed of themselves for having created this monster. I understand that new clubs need to be supportered, and you can't just throw them into a competition with a rubbish side, but to lure players away on the premise of money and not desire, goes against what the AFL should be about, and is also extremely unfair on established clubs who have worked hard to get themselves into a good position with their own lists. Why should we lose Scully after 2 years? Do we need him less? Are we not entitled to hold onto our best players? It's just stupid. It's different when you're talking about senior established players, but kids in the second or third years of their career shouldn't be put in these situations. Pathetic!

The AFL investigated the Judd-Visy deal, and found it was within the rules. That is what I mean by precedence.

We have plenty of supporters in high places, so I hope you are correct. Perhaps part of the reason Tom hasn't signed is because we are yet to give him an offer, as we are working on putting together an attractive package for him? Please oh please let this club have the balls to follow Carlton's lead and get this kid a contract that his management will be happy for him to sign. AFL can't touch us on grounds of Judd precedence.

I swear to god, he better not get off on a rubbish technicality like wording