TOM HARLEY is still showing his southern roots, even if he does call the Harbour City home these days.

As New South Wales seemingly readies itself to throw the Keneally Labor Government from office this Saturday on the back of traffic dramas, as much as anything, Harley optimistically says that the trek from the Northern Beaches to the bright lights of Blacktown is nothing but a short ride down the road.

"If I was coming [to Greater Western Sydney] to play, I would be looking to live on the north shore or northern beaches and just whip straight across and be there in 30 minutes," he told The Australian this week.

"Living in Torquay, I travelled half an hour to training every day. This whole idea of travel is a fallacy. "

The Daily Telegraph ran a report on Wednesday under the title "Labor traffic jam will last ten years" highlighting the traffic woes infuriating Sydney, where roads are often more congested than the backline after the infamous Terry Wallace superflood.

Nobody moves anywhere quickly in Sydney and a trip from, say, Avalon on the Northern Beaches or Neutral Bay on the North Shore to the backend of Blacktown is not taking 30 minutes. 

Bank in closer to a long 60, and during peak hour you could be in your car, tapping the wheel in frustration, moving at the speed of Richmond's next flag, for up to two hours.

You don't "whip straight across" anywhere in Sydney.

Early in the morning, mindful of the gruelling traffic that lay ahead, those making the regular jaunt to Blacktown will battle their way out of Mosman or Manly or, even Mona Vale, nice and early until they get onto the M2. 

They will cruise the M2, a tollway, through North Epping, Carlingford and Baulkham Hills.  If they stay on too long, they will hit the M7 and be up for some more coin. Has Greater Western Sydney been allowed a toll allowance in its salary cap?

Most will turn off to the old Prospect Highway though, a stretch of road that is both popular and in need of an upgrade, an upgrade that is unfunded according to the Daily Telegraph.

Then it is through Blacktown to the home of the Giants, Blacktown Olympic Park, on the western side of the district closer to Mount Druitt than the Blacktown city centre.

A quick fiddle with the iPhone map shows it is 52.6km from Manly to GWS training at a traffic-less estimation of 58 minutes.  Mona Vale is the same. From Mosman, the ETA is 56 minutes. 

Those aren't good numbers if you haven't factored in traffic and you have to make that trek twice a day.

A scenic 30-minute drive from Torquay to the Cattery it is not.

Perhaps those joining GWS should look at the inner west instead. Those with a hipster bent certainly won't mind; the drive out certainly is not nearly as arduous and if worst comes to worst, public transport is pretty good around those parts.

Let me recommend The Rose in Chippendale, which serves a mighty lamb pizza. The Court House in Newtown is also a fine venue for a refreshing ale, though be sure to order in schooners as the request for a pot could cause some strain for those tallying up the strikes at AFL House.

And, of course, Tom Harley will be just around the corner, a Balmain resident these days, and most surely wouldn't mind dropping you at training if you were in a spot because, well, travel is a fallacy and he doesn't mind whipping around the streets and motorways of Sydney at all.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs