Geelong coach Chris Scott takes aim at ‘bizarre’ finals venues

Geelong coach Chris Scott has again taken aim at the ‘bizarre’ finals fixture that forces the Cats to play at an opponent’s home ground — and he’s taken it a step further.

Chris Scott, senior coach of the Geelong Cats.

Chris Scott lined up a familiar target at the end of his last post-match press conference of the home-and-away season: AFL finals venues.

And the Geelong coach also questioned the fairness of playing the Grand Final at the MCG.

The Cats are almost certain to face Collingwood in a qualifying final and the game will be played at the MCG — the Magpies’ home ground — after the AFL ruled that maximising attendances was the biggest factor in deciding where finals are played.

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Ignoring critics, including Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd, who say he risks creating doubt in his players’ minds about their ability to win finals at the MCG, Scott described the system as “bizarre”.

“I’m going to take it away from the Geelong thing because anyone that’s not a Geelong supporter just considers it whinging,” he said.

“The one thing I will say is I think that most normal people know that the system is wrong.

“There can be no doubting that it’s wrong, but it is what it is.

“West Coast and Brisbane, GWS for that matter (and) maybe the Crows or Port, have to come and win a Grand Final probably at their opposition’s home ground as well.”

Cats coach Chris Scott speaks to the media on Saturday. Picture: Alison Wynd

The Cats were famously ambushed by Richmond in the 2017 qualifying final after finishing second and taking on the third-placed Tigers at the MCG in front of a hostile pro-Richmond crowd.

They have won their past three matches at the venue against Collingwood, but overall the Cats have played at the MCG 20 times in the past three seasons for 10 wins and 10 losses. They have won three of 11 finals since claiming the 2011 premiership.

Lloyd said Scott should have other things to worry about.

“His players are sitting back and their senior coach is still complaining about where finals should be played when he’s got to win the Grand Final on the MCG,” he said on the Sunday Footy Show.

“Get the bosses — the president or the CEO — to be fighting that.”

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Tom Hawkins and Tim Kelly helped Geelong to a seven-point win against Collingwood at the MCG in Round 1.

Cats star Patrick Dangerfield said there were challenges adjusting from GMHBA Stadium to a much wider MCG.

“It does change things up. You certainly don’t play (different) grounds the same way,” he said on 3AW.

“It does stretch your defence, it can stretch your attack.”

Scott said he wasn’t just talking about Geelong — and took a swipe at Richmond, which has played its final seven home-and-away games at the MCG after playing at its home ground six times in the first 16 rounds.

“The system’s bizarre, so you need to be that little bit better — which West Coast were last year.

“Are we confident of that? We’re hopeful, we’ve had a good preparation, we’ve given ourselves every chance. Whether we can go and beat teams that play 15 games at the MCG every year including 10 or 12 in a row, is yet to be seen, but we’re up for the challenge.

“You can’t argue with that, can you?”

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Originally published as Geelong coach Chris Scott takes aim at ‘bizarre’ finals venues