THERE ARE four cracking games of football this weekend to open the 2011 finals series, but the biggest prize for any football writer in the next few days is the scoop on where Tom Scully will be playing football next season and when he will make that announcement.
The increasingly credible and influential Sports News First website, the creation of Perth-based player manager Colin Young and in which another player manager, Paul Connors has an interest, has had Scully packed off to Greater Western Sydney for most of the year.
It reports the Melbourne midfielder as a GWS recruit with the same certainty as it writes that Nick Riewoldt is captain of St Kilda or Lance Franklin is a Hawthorn superstar.
At this stage, most other media outlets are reporting only that he is likely to sign. Some still believe he is an even-money bet to remain with the Demons.
The 20-year old can’t be accused of delaying the decision, but he is giving it the requisite due diligence. His post-season duties finished with Melbourne on Tuesday and according to the Herald Sun, he will shortly fly to Sydney to check out the facilities at GWS and see what life has to offer should he choose to put down roots in the west of Sydney.
It won’t be on Wednesday or Thursday. The Giants unveil Callan Ward and Rhys Palmer today in Blacktown, while Phil Davis will be introduced as a Giant in Canberra tomorrow. The national capital will be the club’s second home where it will play three home games a year at Manuka Oval.
The best-case scenario for a Scully announcement would appear to be early next week. And if you believe Jon Ralph’s online column in the Herald Sun on Wednesday, he and the other recruits will be putting in the hard yards next season, with Ralph forecasting a winless debut season for the Giants.
His reasoning is that Kevin Sheedy’s team will be less experienced than the three-win Gold Coast side of 2011. Of the big recruits, Scully and Ward are the only likely future stars, while Davis has injury concerns. Palmer has regressed from his NAB Rising Star winning season in 2008 and is barely in Fremantle’s best 22. Chad Cornes, Dean Brogan and Luke Power could also feature next season but are long past their match-winning best.
It’s a fair summation from Ralph, but this is a once-in-a-generation project and the rise of the Giants will take some time.
North backs review
The Australian reports that North Melbourne has backed calls from St Kilda for a review of the financial returns from playing games at Etihad Stadium.
The Kangaroos haven’t gone as far as to request all their home games at the MCG, a step the Saints have reportedly taken, but have pointed out they and another Etihad Stadium club, the Western Bulldogs, have lost $12 million over the last 11 years in gate receipts when compared to the returns available had they played at the MCG.
The newspaper reports that the AFL’s new equalisation policies could be known within a month. The Kangaroos, meanwhile, are anticipating a $1 million windfall from the two games a year it will commence playing at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval from next season.
Thomas the go-to guy
Is Grant Thomas the new Neil Harvey?
On slow news days, or when looking for a fresh angle, cricket writers would call Harvey and get an interesting and quotable piece on the affairs of Australian cricket. Come to think of it, why hasn’t Harvey been canvassed for his views on the Argus Report?
But back to the footy and to Thomas. Matt Murnane in The Age has got Thomas to spout off on the Ross Lyon coaching situation at St Kilda, which has all the making of progressing into a saga.
Thomas, who coached the Saints before Lyon and continues to have strong opinions on the club, believes there are troubling signs with respect to Lyon continuing with the club.
He believes the Saints have taken a ‘nonchalant’ approach to inking a contract extension with Lyon and have yet to get to a stage where it would be difficult for Lyon to say 'no'.
Thomas is also concerned after listening to Lyon. "How gun-barrel committed is Ross to St Kilda next year?," he asked.
And then there is Garry Lyon, the Melbourne football director, with whom Thomas appears on Footy Classified each week. "And then I hear [Melbourne football director] Garry Lyon talk and I'm absolutely convinced Ross Lyon is on their radar and will be approached. So when you put those three factors together, to me, its spells trouble for St Kilda."
Melbourne is having a massive crack at Ross Lyon, to be sure. There will be no movement on the club’s coaching vacancy until St Kilda’s final campaign is done and dusted.
Now to the finals
GEELONG-HAWTHORN
- Hawthorn full-back Josh Gibson tells The Age that listening to his teammates tell tales about their 2008 triumph (he was at North Melbourne at the time) has hardened his resolve to win a flag with the Hawks this year.
- Jake Niall writes in The Age that the Cats face the tough job of finding room for Tom Lonergan, Mathew Stokes and Joel Corey for the Friday night clash.
COLLINGWOOD-WEST COAST
- Magpie forward Alan Didak would like a sizzling September after a sluggish season, but tells The Age that an even team performance will likely get the job done for the Magpies once again this September.
- Eagles skipper Darren Glass tells The West Australian that he is keen to atone for the last time the Eagles and the Magpies met in a final, in 2007. On that night at Subiaco, Glass, who was nursing a groin injury, was rested late in the third quarter, only for Anthony Rocca to kick three goals in that game and turn it Collingwood’s way for good. This time around, he will be standing Travis Cloke.
ST KILDA-SYDNEY
- Swans ruckman Shane Mumford tells the Herald Sun he is bracing for a physical work out against Ben McEvoy and the resurgent Michael Gardiner.
"He is a bit stronger than McEvoy and a bit more aggressive. He makes it more of a physical contest for me, although saying that it gets me up to play better,” he said.
CARLTON-ESSENDON
- With just 3000 public tickets remaining, Sunday’s elimination final is sure to be a sell-out, reports The Age.
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the AFL or the clubs.
You can follow Ashley Browne on Twitter at twitter.com/hashbrowne
