Former No.1 AFL draft pick Tom Scully falls from boom to bust Tom Scully has been disappointing after being picked at No.1 in the national draft. IN AMERICAN sports they are known as busts, the number one rated draft talent who never quite cuts it in the big show. And right now that is Tom Scully. The young man with the $1 million dollar wage is in danger of becoming Australia's equivalent of US basketballer Kwame Brown or former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Brown has become a journeyman while Russell is trying to find a second club.Scully isn't in their league yet but his career graph is spiraling downwards just at a time when the soon to be 22-year-old should be making serious inroads in his fourth AFL season. Instead he is meandering along as a midfielder, being surpassed by younger Greater Western Sydney teammates such as Toby Greene, Dylan Shiel, Adam Treloar and Lachie Whitfield. His statistics this year show that he is down in overall disposals, contested possessions and tackles, while continuing to struggle in attempts to hit the scoreboard. Yes, he is a soft target given he wasn't responsible for being selected at No.1 in the 2009 draft. But he did take the money and run and that leaves you more wide open to criticism. Graeme Yeats, who coached Scully in 2008-2009 at the Dandenong Stingrays, believes there are mitigating circumstances that should be considered when judging him. He is in uncharted territory in terms of leaving his club after two seasons to join a new franchise, and with that comes extra pressure. Plus he is someone who has always placed a lot of pressure on himself," said Yeats. By moving to a young club he has been placed in a role that would challenge a 26-27 year old. It's fair to say I would have thought he may have had a greater impact by now but if anyone can push through, then Tommy can. Yeats still looks at Scully as someone who plays his best football as an outside runner, not a tank engine in the heavy packs. And he believes the consistency of form will come when Scully is allowed to settle in a spot suited to his strengths. Given his strength is his aerobic capacity, we played him wing, half back or half forward. He would pick up 30 possessions across half back in his first season with us (2008). His kicking wasn't penetrating but I wouldn't have seen it as a deficiency. The areas I thought he needed to improve were his decision making and execution by hand. But overall he was as capable as anyone to make an impact at AFL level. He is taking time to adapt and GWS probably needs a better performance out of him based on his salary. But he will do everything to ensure that happens. The world of recruiters, men who spent plenty of wintry afternoons watching Scully and the class of 2009 ply their trade, aren't all as generous as Yeats. But to a man, and the Herald Sun spoke with four, they say Scully and his one-time teammate Jack Trengove, who was taken at pick two, have been victims of the club they were recruited to. Name one Melbourne player who has improved over the past four or five years? Maybe Nathan Jones, and they can't even get that right by naming him captain," said one leading recruiter. Jack Watts can be placed in the same category. Had those players gone to a Geelong or Sydney they would be more advanced, no doubt. They are products of their enviroment. Dual North Melbourne premiership player and now respected football analyst David King is prepared to cut Scully some slack. He is what he is, a gut-busting and overlap runner who is a very good short ball user. I'm not as critical of him right now as I was at this stage last year," King said. I still think he will be a very good player. As the GWS midfield group gets better, so will Tom. I saw him play on Nathan Jones recently and he was terrific. I know there are plenty of critics, including recruiters, but they tend to see what players can't do. And his professionalism creates standards within a developing club. Has he burst on the scene like some other young midfielders? No, but some players take longer. Recruiter 1 You can't question Scully's ability to run from contest to contest but you can question his depth of kicking. The ball tumbles off his foot and always did. And he doesn't kick the goals that midfielders should, plus he isn't an overhead marking presence or capable of playing as a crumbing forward. I was surprised GWS went so hard for him, particularly given he had been at Melbourne, where development has been virtually non-existent. Recruiter 2 I wouldn't have taken Scully and Trengove together because of their sameness, but both had really good work ethics, were tough enough and would compete. You could argue that they both lacked brilliance like a Gary Rohan or Lewis Jetta in that draft. How Jetta got to 14 still bewilders me. If I was forced to take one of Scully or Trengove, I would have taken Trengove based on his performance for Sturt in the 2009 SANFL Preliminary final against Glenelg. Recruiter 3 We looked at Scully as an elite runner who couldn't make a decision or kick well. Trengove had at least played well in the second best competition in the country so that would have ensured he would go top three. I'm really surprised at how Trengove has struggled but maybe that is due to being at Melbourne where there is little or no evidence of player development. But we would have gone with Rohan and Martin at one and two. Recruiter 4 Tom Scully had been outstanding at all levels, for Dandenong, Haileybury, Vic Metro and AIS. He had a great balance of speed and aerobic capacity. Really, I don't see how you couldn't have taken him at 1 or 2 along with Trengove. Maybe if they had he gone into a different system, like a Geelong, Sydney, Collingwood or West Coast, they would be different players, learning from the leaders what is acceptable on-field. 1: Tom Scully (Melbourne) 2: Jack Trengove (Melbourne) 3: Dustin Martin (Richmond) 4: Anthony Morabito (Fremantle) 5: Ben Cunnington (North Melbourne) 6: Gary Rohan (Sydney) 7: Brad Sheppard (West Coast) 8: John Butcher (Port Adelaide) 9: Andrew Moore (Port Adelaide) 10: Jake Melksham (Essendon) Others of note: 13: Daniel Talia (Adelaide) 14: Lewis Jetta (Sydney) 17: Daniel Menzel (Geelong) 20: Nathan Fyfe (Fremantle) 24: Jake Carlisle (Essendon) 28: Mitch Duncan (Geelong) 38: Sam Reid (Sydney) 40: Allen Christensen (Geelong) 46: Ben Stratton (Hawthorn)