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The talk of the footy world this week has been on the GWS Giants and the uncontracted players they have targeted, or – if you believe the rumours – possibly already signed. First, the speculation was on Melbourne young gun Tom Scully.
Then, not for the first time, the Collingwood trio of Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury and Dale Thomas had their names thrown about.
Just when you’d forgotten all about the Gary Ablett “will-he won’t-he” saga, it all starts again.
On Scully, the rumour was that he’d already agreed to a multi-million dollar deal with GWS. (Curiously, the rumour was started by none other than Collingwood president Eddie McGuire. Read into that what you will.)
If true, though, it would be a fantastic coup for the AFL’s 18th club – and a cruel blow for the AFL’s oldest club.
Right now, all signs point to him leaving: He’s delayed contract talks to the end of the year. Fellow rising star Jack Trengove, drafted one pick later than Scully, is already contracted for 2012. Almost all of the players strongly linked to the Gold Coast Suns last year ended up leaving.
The denials from Dean Bailey and Scully’s management are enough to throw some doubt over a move happening, but it has to be said the more likely outcome is that Scully’s gone.
Losing a recent number one draft pick who was last year runner-up in the rising star award would be devastating. Gaining him would be a dream come true for any club in the league, let alone one that currently has no recognised AFL-level talent on its list.
Having said that, GWS will need a bigger name than Scully.
While the second-year Demon is one of the best young talents in the AFL, and could quite possibly become one of the game’s best players in years to come, he’s not yet an elite player – or even an “established” player. In other words, he’s no Gary Ablett.
And that’s where Swan, Pendlebury and Thomas come in.
Kevin Sheedy has vowed to sign up one of the three – the new club can only nab one uncontracted player from each club – and it seems a real possibility he will.
Swan is the best player in the competition out of contract at the end of 2011, with the only potential issue being his age. He is turning 27 this month, meaning if he joins GWS he’ll be in his thirties by his third season at the club, something that mightn’t be so ideal.
Pendlebury isn’t far behind Swan and has age on his side, having just turned 23. He would be a great leader of the Giants’ midfield. Thomas, meanwhile, is the most marketable of the trio and his quality 2010 season, including monster performances in both grand finals, saw his stocks rise significantly.
The appeal to GWS is obvious, but we can all safely assume Eddie won’t give up one of his stars without a fight. So do Collingwood fans have anything to worry about?
Recent history says yes. Sheedy seems pretty adamant he’ll get one of the Pies he’s after, and the Gold Coast example last year shows that is definitely something to worry about.
Only two of the uncontracted players targeted by the Suns ended up re-signing at their original clubs (Kurt Tippett and Matthew Pavlich, for those wondering). The rest all signed on with the new club.
It’s hard to see things being drastically different with GWS. As Mike Sheahan noted in the Herald Sun yesterday, the club’s football operations boss is Graeme Allan – the same man who enticed Nathan Buckley away from the Brisbane Lions after just one season all those years ago.
No matter what the final outcome, it’s fair to say we’ll be hearing plenty more about Scully, Swan, Pendlebury and Thomas as the year goes on. And for those who quickly grew tired of the same speculation with the Suns last year, it gets worse.
GWS have 14 other clubs they can secure uncontracted players from, so there will be quite a few other names thrown up as the year goes on too. In fact, it’ll continue all the way into next year – the Giants, unlike the Suns, have two years to chase players from other clubs.
You better get used to the headlines you saw this week. There’s plenty more to come.