DUSTIN MARTIN IS PLAYING SCULLY AND TRENGOVE ON A BREAKJon Ralph - The Buzz
Herald-Sun
April 17, 2013At Richmond in about December, the 2009 national draft's No.3 selection Dustin Martin looked headed for the scrapheap if he did not rapidly pull his head in.
It is not an exaggeration to say the could would have traded or off-loaded him if he continued his erratic behaviour, and Martin heard the message loud and clear.
Three weeks into the AFL season, it is hard not to revisit that comparison against the two players taken ahead of him and wonder what the hell happened?
Martin is flying - fresh off 10 votes from the coaches against the Western Bulldogs - while Tom Scully and Jack Trengove are stuck in football's version of quicksand.
Martin is another player who with strong development, strong talent and the guiding hand of the club’s new development guru in Mark "Chocko" Williams has found a way to thrive.
It is no surprise the Tigers are flying up the charts when you consider they have nailed their recent high draft picks in Martin, Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin and Reece Conca, with Brandon Ellis, Nick Vlastuin and Ty Vickery surely on the right track.
At least Scully has all that money to comfort him, but he doesn't have a lot of possessions.
He had just three against St Kilda at hal time, at a time when the Greater Western Sydney leaders just had to stand up.
Callan Ward certainly did - he got two coaches' votes - and while Scully was the highly-paid acquisition, it's still hard to think GWS got bang for their buck.
GWS bosses believe we are picking on Scully, and maybe we did at times in the last two years.
But on sheer objective figures - he is averaging 15 possessions, hasn't kicked a goal, and is ranked ninth on Champion Data points of the GWS mids to play all three games - it is unquestionable he is a disappointment despite that extremely surprising fourth place in the B&F last year.
The good news for Melbourne?
The Dees effectively traded him for Jack Viney and Jesse Hogan, who both look stars of the future.
The bad news? The greatest player who ever lived doesn't rate the bloke selected behind Scully - Jack Trengove - and has fears for Viney's career too despite his impressive start to the year.
In the post-match review on Saturday afternoon on 3AW, Leigh Matthews voiced his concern about 2009 pick 2 Trengove's development.
He is coming off a serious foot injury which clearly has contributed to just 27 touches in two games, but Matthews was surely assessing his disappointing 2012 season too.
''On Jack Trengove, when he first came in he looked a really capable young player,'' Matthews said.
''He was drafted high with Scully, but he's just become really pedestrian all of a sudden. He just looks average. He is not getting a lot of the footy but he's not able to do a lot with it either. Jack Viney is interesting. You have a reservoir of confidence when you come into footy. He has still got that so he's still attacking the footy.
''On the history of what's happened at Melbourne recently you worry about what's going to be his progression if it it's such a battle every time he goes out to play, and what it does to his confidence and therefore his performance.''
Some critical Melbourne fans have already begun comparing Jimmy Toumpas and his diminishing returns to Ollie Wines.
Yet that is surely way too premature.
Toumpas started off brightly but after possession tallies of nine, six and then three against West Coast, he is still finding the pace of the game, as Demons legend Garry Lyon accurately assessed on Saturday.
The Demons overlooked Wines for Toumpas, with Wines falling all the way to pick seven.
Wines looks a superstar in every way, but the Demons must be given time for Toumpas to find his feet.
As Martin showed, these comparisons can change rapidly.
We scoffed when Brock McLean was traded for the pick that became Jordan Gysberts, with the new Blue left in the reserves.
Now McLean is a regular and Gysberts isn't even at Melbourne.
More bad news - the Demons used that pick for Cameron Pedersen, who has singularly failed to inspire.
Now the Demons just have to ride their luck with Trengove, Viney, Hogan,Toumpas and Pedersen, and hope that like Dusty Martin in December, the darkest hour is before the dawn.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/the-buzz-footys-fairytale-club-includes-sam-rowe-mark-blicavs-and-jamie-elliott/story-fnelctok-1226621778178
