Robbo: How does it end for Chris Scott at Geelong? Who knows, but it won’t be an ugly Clarko exit
Chris Scott has seen his two long-time adversaries depart their clubs in completely different scenarios. He’d hate a Clarkson scenario thrust upon him – and the Cats won’t let that happen.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
By chance, Malcolm Blight found himself in a conversation with Chris Scott and Steve Hocking near the end of the Hall of Fame function on Tuesday night.
The former Geelong coach was with the current Geelong coach and current Geelong chief executive and amid what is a wonderful night of history and nostalgia, Scott extended an open invitation for Blight to visit the footy department whenever he had the time or inclination.
Among everything Blight accomplished in the game, which was plenty, he will always be a Cats man.
He returned to the club once when Mark Thompson was coach, but not since.
“It’s nice to be asked back,’’ Blight said.
“Chris said, this is all part of our journey as a football club.”
The sociable Blight would later venture downstairs for a beer with Dipper, Jason Dunstall and Terry Wallace.
Oh, to be a bar fly through that shout.
You can betcha the ’89 grand final, where Blight coached the Cats against the Hawks, and Dipper played with 15 broken ribs, was discussed in earnest among that mob.
It’s that kind of night: Pure, joyful, footy stories.
Throughout the evening, the inductees honour and praise different people, usually mums and dads, and always the coaches.
Well, mostly all the coaches.
Sam Mitchell didn’t acknowledge Alastair Clarkson in his speech. It was noted. Whatever Mitchell thinks of Clarkson and how it all ended at Hawthorn between the pair clearly is still raw.
How does one of Hawthorn’s greatest players not thank Hawthorn’s greatest coach?
What did Clarkson do to Mitchell? Or vice versa?
Most of all, how did it get to this?
History is littered with squabbles and sackings, and Clarkson’s stunning departure from Hawthorn — and the subsequent fallout — might be the second greatest coaching debacle behind Norm Smith’s sacking from Melbourne.
Coaches leave footy clubs via two avenues.
They are sacked. Or they walk.
Leigh Matthews walked twice — from Collingwood and Brisbane. Wallace walked from the Western Bulldogs and was sacked by Richmond.
Rodney Eade was sacked by the Swans, the Bulldogs and the Suns.
Mick Malthouse walked from West Coast and was sacked by Collingwood and Carlton.
Paul Roos walked twice — from Sydney and Melbourne.
Ross Lyon walked from St Kilda and was sacked by Fremantle.
Denis Pagan was sacked twice. Even Kevin Sheedy was tiptoed.
The sacked list engulfs the walk list. Nathan Buckley, Brett Ratten (twice), David Teague, Brendon Bolton, Brad Scott, Mark Williams, Alan Richardson, Ben Rutten, Justin Leppitsch, John Worsfold, Leon Cameron, Brendan McCartney all sacked.
Most recently, Damien Hardwick walked from Richmond.
Blight himself walked from Geelong (1994), walked from Adelaide (1999) and was sacked from St Kilda (2001).
He still has sh** on the liver about what happened at the Saints.
“It was a naive decision,’’ he said. “It was crap.’’
The prevailing question is: How important is it to get it right between coach and club?
“In a perfect world, the theory of it sounds great, sadly, sometimes, the way it unfolds I reckon it’s about egos,’’ Blight said.
“When I say that, ego is good, but at some stage two people, three people, four people get involved, and I’ve been through it myself at the Gold Coast Suns (with Guy McKenna), someone knows better than somebody else … why?
“And eventually that takes over. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, it’s just a thing that happens.
“If people have been working together for one, two, five, eight years you can get on pretty well for a long period of time and then at a point in time they don’t.
“And it’s usually because one or both can’t bend a bit. The ego of doing it or not doing it gets in the way. It’s human nature. I don’t know how you avoid it, I don’t know how you get over it, It’s going to happen, it’s going to happen in the future and it’s a sad thing when it happens.
“At the time, it becomes ugly.’’
Blight departed Geelong and Adelaide because he’d worked himself to self destruction.
“I went too hard,’’ he said. The game enveloped him. “Eventually it just gets you.’’
Blight can understand Hardwick’s decision. The Tigers coach said he had enough. Blight can also understand why Hardwick said this week that he missed coaching and would like to coach again.
“It just gets you, coaching,’’ Blight said.
“Once it gets into your bones, parting knowledge and being in control is one of the things you keep looking for. It’s in his bones and you become a victim of it.’’
Not everyone is understanding of Hardwick’s decision. While clubs generally manoeuvre behind the back of their coach, Hardwick seemingly manoeuvred behind the back of Richmond, telling the club and quitting inside 48 hours.
One argument is he abandoned his team. Another argument is he gave his life to the club for 13 years and he could leave how he wanted.
Certainly, Hardwick left the Tigers with plenty of love and warmth compared to Clarkson’s bitterness, if not hatred.
If coaches had a choice, Hardwick’s would be the preferred option.
Scott has coached the third most games of current coaches and is soon-to-be Geelong’s longest serving coach.
At some stage, he and John Longmire and Luke Beveridge will leave their clubs. It’s only a matter of how.
We’re not death-riding the Cats coach, or even suggesting Scott will leave at the end of the season, but he has seen his two long-time adversaries depart their clubs in completely different scenarios.
He’d hate a Clarkson scenario thrust upon him, having people, having friends, conspiring against him.
And it won’t happen. Hocking wouldn’t allow it to happen because the integrity they share is absolute. But make no mistake, a conversation is waiting to be had.
Blight: “Steven and Chris are now premiership CEO and premiership coach, that’s pretty strong, but what you’re talking about is when does the respect go or the ego take over? And that’s when the conversation should probably be had.’’
Eade’s had three of those “conversations’’.
From his view, the Sydney departure was OK, the Bulldogs departure was OK and the Suns situation could’ve been handled better.
“It can end better when you can have a two-way street,’’ he said. “Like, if the club is upfront and honest and people are talking to you and letting you know the situation rather than at times you’re hijacked.’’
Always, the start of the end for a coach comes when a single comment is made by someone with power.
“It can end with one person’s opinion and it starts to poison and it spreads a bit, and then people react,’’ Eade said.
Scott won’t be hijacked, he said.
“The longer you are there, say with Chris Scott, there will be open discussion and that will work best for both parties,’’ he said. .
“Shorter years you’re there it never works out that well. The longer your time, you’ve got a better relationship, but that can be scuttled as well by people in the club who aren’t honest and upfront.’’
The Mitchell-Clarkson rift was absolutely exposed on Tuesday night, which was in contrast to the respect given to Scott by Geelong inductees, Jimmy Bartel and Corey Enright.
It was important because there was a time at the end of Bartel’s career when Bartel and Scott didn’t see eye-to-eye. Decisions were made and Bartel finished up.
Still, no grudges from Bartel. He was genuine in his praise and appreciation for his former coach. “We had a difference of opinion, but that’s OK,’’ Bartel said. “It doesn’t mean we don’t like each other.’’
Scott knows it will end one day at Geelong, and like Hardwick, it’s not impossible to see him coaching a second club.
He would be ideal for the new Tasmanian team: An experienced, master coach and strong in culture.
If that happened, it would be with Geelong’s blessing. As it should be.
More Coverage
Originally published as Robbo: How does it end for Chris Scott at Geelong? Who knows, but it won’t be an ugly Clarko exit
‘Just playing it up’: Lions brush off Neale concerns
A Brisbane star has played down any concerns for a Lions co-captain ahead of Saturday’s blockbuster preliminary final.
Fagan impact hailed as Lions look to lock down coach until 2026
Brisbane Lions are poised to extend Chris Fagan’s tenure as one of the club’s veterans hailed this season as the best coaching performance of near-decade at the helm.