By James Dampney
GREATER Western Sydney teammates Tom Scully and Jonathon Patton are a marked contrast when it comes to size and stature.
At 197cm and 102kg, the imposing Patton is no less than 21kg heavier and more than 16cm taller than his fellow Giant.
But, despite their structural differences, the two young footballers have travelled very similar paths and have formed a tight bond since they came together in western Sydney late last year.
Patton, who will play his first AFL game against Richmond this Saturday afternoon following knee surgery, was selected first overall in the 2011 NAB AFL Draft.
Two years earlier, of course, Scully was afforded the same honour by Melbourne. That came after the young midfielder had undergone his own bout of knee surgery.
And Scully knows exactly the type of scrutiny Patton will face as the No.1 pick and has done his best to prepare his 19-year-old mate for what's to come.
"We get along really well and spend a bit of time together," Scully told AFL.com.au.
"We've come through similar paths and I like to have a chat to him about how he's going with it all.
"Being a number one pick as well, I've tried to give him a bit of advice on what to expect and how to handle it and pass on my experiences.
"We also both came off injuries leading into our first season. I had a knee injury as well and missed a fair chunk of pre-season, although I was lucky to play early on.
"There's so much external expectation on him, but I just told him to remain focused and get his rehab right.
"With all the external expectations, you don't want to come back when you're not ready."
While Patton has had to wait until round 12 to make his first AFL bow, Scully recovered from his knee surgery in time for round one of the 2010 season.
He started on the bench, but ended up with 20 possessions in the Demons' 56-point loss to Hawthorn at the MCG.
"Obviously I was very nervous and there was a big build up, being round one at the MCG," he said.
"To be honest it was a bit of a blur. We got touched up by Hawthorn, but I don't really remember much of it, it all happened pretty quickly."
Patton has said he wanted the pressure of being a No.1 pick and Scully believes he is ready for the expectations that follow.
"People just want to see how top draft picks perform," Scully said.
"They put more scrutiny on them than others, that's just the environment we're in, high draft picks get judged more than others.
"But that comes with the territory and Jonny expects that and he'll cop that for the rest of his career."
And Scully believes Patton has the size, and the skills, to handle the expectations.
"The nerves are probably starting to set in for him, but everyone's excited," Scully said.
"You look at his frame and how big and strong he is and how good he can be, it's a great thing for our side, and the way he moves is a real asset.
"He's probably going to take a little bit of time to find his feet at AFL level, but when he does, I think he's going to be pretty hard to play on."
James Dampney covers Sydney AFL news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the AFL or the clubs
