Scully set to prove his doubters wrong, says Cameron

[Ricochet]

Quite a few interesting points in this one. Scully, the forward line, Palmer, Boyd possibly used in the ruck at some point, Gilham.


http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-01-20/scully-to-soar-in-14-cameron?utm_medium=RSS

SEASON 2013 was the year Jeremy Cameron stamped himself as a future superstar of the competition.

Heck, with 60 goals and his first All Australian selection in his keeping before his 21st birthday, he might be so already.

As for which Greater Western Sydney player might follow Cameron into superstar status, how about Tom Scully.

Yep, Tom Scully. The oft-maligned one time No.1 draft pick, who bailed on Melbourne after just two years to cast his lot with the expansion Giants, might be the player in charcoal and orange who sneaks up on the competition in 2014.

Incoming GWS coach Leon Cameron, an assistant to Kevin Sheedy last season, believes that all the hype surrounding Cameron allowed Scully to quietly go about starting to deliver on the potential that made him the most coveted junior footballer in the country less than five years ago.

"I thought Tom Scully went under the radar," Cameron said in an exclusive interview with AFL Media.

"It took him a couple of years to settle, but coming into his third year at our club the improvement is there and he's heading in the right direction.

"His season went un-noticed because Cameron had such a break out year, but he finished third in our best and fairest."

According to Cameron, the 22-year-old is one of those players who takes just that bit longer to reach the very top level.

"I think in 15 years time a lot of people will remember the name Tom Scully and for the right reasons," he said.

Cameron believes GWS's improvement this year will be driven by third year players such as Toby Greene, Dylan Shiel, Adam Treloar as well as forwards Cameron, Jonathon Patton and Adam Tomlinson. In most cases they have played close to 40 games and are fitter and stronger after their third AFL pre-season campaign.

But he hopes there will be a harder edge to the side this year, one brought about by an influx of seasoned, battle-hardened bodies such as Shane Mumford, Josh Hunt, Heath Shaw and Dylan Addison.

Given the abundance of emerging talent the Giants have close to goal, it is no surprise that the experience brought into the club will be utilised mainly in the back half of the ground.

Defensively, the Giants were a sieve in 2013, conceding an average of just under 21 goals a game. Injuries to Phil Davis and Chad Cornes proved disastrous, but Cameron is banking on the experience of Hunt and Shaw, as well as a fully fit Stephen Gilham to significantly stiffen his backline.

"We think we can really stabilise our defence, while our midfield is starting to understand that you have to play two-way football. The opposition will find it a lot harder to score against us this year," he said.

Gilham is an interesting case. He played 14 games last season, but was also dropped to the NEAFL on four occasions. It was how he handled these demotions that, in part, assured his elevation to the leadership group this year.

"His preparation and professionalism doesn't change whether he's in or out of the side. Him helping our young players develop into AFL players and the standards they wish to portray, he's outstanding at that and even though he was in and out of the side last year, when when he went back to play in the NEAFL his leadership was outstanding."

Another experienced Giant expected to take big steps in 2014 is Rhys Palmer. The one-time Fremantle wunderkind (he beat Cyril Rioli for the 2008 NAB AFL Rising Star) has played just 14 games in his two years at the club, last year falling foul to a foot injury.

He was playing a negating half-forward role before his injury last year, locking down on the opposition's creative half-backs and sneaking forward for a goal when he could.

"He's running as well as he ever has and his time trial the other day was outstanding,"Cameron said.

"I think we will use him in that inside mid, run-with type of role. It will be an exciting year for Rhys and I expect him to have a great year for our footy club."

The chief fascination about GWS this year is that forward line. The Giants are loaded with tall timber, with 16 players on their list who could be categorised as key position players.

But the excitement is all about the big three. With apologies to Adam Tomlinson, who can clearly play, it is the combination of Cameron, Patton and Tom Boyd that has football circles abuzz and widely anticipating a Giants' premiership by the end of the decade.

Is the trio in Cameron's best 22 at the start of the season?

"All 47 want to be in the best 22 dont they?" said the coach, noting that Boyd's pre-season to date had been exemplary.

"I havent put any ceiling on our first year players, but it is exciting to have Patton, Cameron, Boyd and Tomlinson vying for spots in our forward line."

Cameron expects to make it work: "I think Jeremy is a unique player. You cannot classify him as just a tall because he can play in the air and on the ground and in a couple of different positions as he progresses through his career.

"Boyd can play in the ruck as he did in his junior career," he added.

Cameron, whose coaching journey started in 2005 at the Western Bulldogs for six years under Rodney Eade before two years at Hawthorn as an assistant to Alastair Clarkson and the year as Sheedy's offsider, will take charge for the first time in the NAB Challenge clash against the Swans at Canberra's Startrack Oval on February 20.