Scully and Trengove 'equals'

MELBOURNE has taken Dandenong Stingrays midfielder Tom Scully with the No.1 pick in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft.

Scully had been talked up as the first selection for months, so it was no surprise when he was named just ahead of South Australian Jack Trengove on Thursday night.

Given both players are off to the Demons, the selection order is somewhat academic although switching the order would have provoked debate.

Scully is a 182cm, 74kg midfielder from Haileybury College; a left-footer with clean hands, good kicking skills and endurance.

He averaged 26 disposals and five clearances at this year's NAB AFL U18 Championships and won Vic Metro's MVP award and All-Australian honours for a second time.

Like Luke Hodge, Brett Deledio, Joel Selwood and Nicholas Naitanui, Scully received the Jack Collins-Alan Schwab AFL Life Members Scholarship, which assists in the off-field development and education of elite young footballers.

Scully said he was excited by the prospect of lining up for the Demons next year.

""It's obviously very exciting at the moment for myself and my family," Scully said.

"The media and all that was building up a bit, but that was all external so I wasn't really worrying about it too much.

"It's good to be finally drafted, and I'm really just looking forward to getting down to the club."

Melbourne coach Dean Bailey said it was tough to split Scully and Trengove but in the end it made little difference.

"We couldn't split them, unfortunately we were required to call then out one-by-one, but if it was up to me, I'd call both of them out together," Bailey said. "I see them both as equals, they're going to really contribute to the Melbourne Football Club.

"They've got great character, and we look forward to them running out and playing next year.

"I've had two years of struggle, and the opportunity's arisen and we have to make the most of it.

"They players that we draft today are going to be important for the future."

Bailey said with so many good draft picks this year Melbourne could look forward to more success in future.

"There's a lot of pressure on them, but from as club point-of-view, we look forward to next year and beyond," Bailey said.

"We've got some really good young players here, and we're going to make some inroads in the next couple of years." 

At the time of that announcement, AFL talent manager Kevin Sheehan said the Richmond-supporting Scully was an exciting prospect.

"Tom demonstrates fantastic ability to win contested ball at clearances, has clean hands and is a first class decision-maker," Sheehan said.

"He is dangerous around goals and possesses the natural speed and endurance essential to compete in the midfield at AFL level.

"As importantly, Tom is an outstanding young man respected by all coaches and players he has been associated with at school, club and representative level."

This year, Scully's star has done nothing but rise. Even missing the Stingrays' TAC Cup grand final berth because of a knee injury didn't alter his trajectory.

He was unable to participate in draft camp testing, but Sheehan said he had still improved.

"He is an absolute professional and he is a super athlete," he said.

"He's quite an exceptional runner but it is his work around the ball which is fantastic. He is so intense around the footy with his quickness and his quickness of mind as well.

"He is an outstanding prospect."