Player Rater

6th September 2011 Category: General

2 down, 3 to go.

GWS had planned to break news of Callan Ward’s signing via a press conference today, but the Bulldogs beat them to the punch, releasing a statement yesterday confirming that Ward had signed with the new franchise.

Ward is believed to have signed a deal worth somewhere between $800,000 and $900,000 a year over 5 years. Ward is the second – of five players named earlier in year – to sign for the Giants. At this stage, reports from Damian Barrett back in August that the GWS had targeted (and planned to sign) 5 established stars, are holding true.

Tom Scully, Mitch Clark and Rhys Palmer are the 3 remaining players that are expected to confirm in the coming weeks, that they too will be on their way to GWS.

Of all the players named, Scully is the one with whom the most conjecture surrounds. Throughout the year, Scully and his management distanced themselves from reports that a deal had already been agreed with the Giants.

Scully’s manager Mark Kleiman released a statement early in year, saying that any decision on Scully’s future would be made at the end of the 2011 season:

"To ensure there are no distractions and that Tom can direct all his energies to the 2011 season, we recommended to him last August (2010) that we put contract talks on hold until the end of this season and advised the club accordingly,"

“We understand there will be speculation because Tom is such an outstanding young prospect, but, just as Matthew Pavlich and Jack Watts did last year, among untold others, we feel it is in Tom’s best interests to put the whole thing off until the end of the season.