It’s the hope that kills you.

As Chris Scott spent the most agonising 24 hours of his football career waiting for Leigh Matthews to crush his dreams or hand him passage to the 2003 grand final, the selection poser had an added complication.

Scott’s great mate Nigel Lappin had just had his lung punctured by emergency Aaron Shattock in a pre-grand final fitness test.

And Scott, managing his own case of osteitis pubis, would be the lucky recipient if Lappin’s ribs were deemed too sore to take on Collingwood.

Lions coach Leigh Matthews remembers those dramatic final hours vividly.

“Chris was a very good player, but that groin injury had caused him to be on the fringe of the team,” Matthews told the Herald Sun this week

“Nevertheless, if Nigel Lappin hadn’t played, then Chris would have come in. And you ask about strength of character? Well his strength of character really shone out.

“We knew about it 24 hours out, that Chris would be the standby. And I can remember having the conversation with Chris, who has great self discipline. I said, ‘I know how disappointed you are (to be an emergency), we all would be. But we can’t let our camp and our players see how disappointed you are. That is the challenge for you until we know the whys and wherefores’.

“He did it brilliantly. He realised what he had to do. He would have felt it, but didn’t show it.

“On grand final day he was changed, warmed up and ready to go. And then 40 minutes before game time Nigel said, ‘I think I am ready to go’. I went and told Chris. And he got changed and left the dressing room pretty much without comment.

“He thought, ‘If I can’t play, hanging around is not what the team needs right now’. He just made himself scarce. That strength of character is what always sticks in my mind. It is one of the cruellest things when you get to a grand final and you are the 23rd man.

“That is the brutal reality of any premiership team and Chris suffered that fate.”

THE COACHING TWIST OF FATE

Eight years on from that dramatic day which denied him a Lions three-peat, Scott, as Geelong coach, was letting down Cameron Mooney to deny him a fourth flag as Tom Hawkins came of age on the grand final stage.

Another 11 years on, he was making an even more heart-rending call to deny Max Holmes a shot at a premiership despite the youngster passing every fitness test on his back-related hamstring concern.

And this year Scott had to rule out Zach Tuohy from the preliminary final team, knowing the retiring Cat might never play another AFL game.

As Scott has said, he will never forget how hard it is to thrive as an AFL player.

And yet it takes so much more to become the winningest coach of the modern era than a dash of empathy and a hard luck story as a former player.

If Scott’s win-loss record suggests a masterful coach who arrived fully formed into the coaching ranks, his journey is studded with challenges.

He and twin brother Brad were only eight when their war-hero father Colin died in 1985, leaving their mum Lynne to raise five children, including the twins’ siblings, sister Lisa and brothers Andrew and Ben.

A decade-long period where he was mocked as “home-and-away Chris’’, as a 7-15 finals record after that first coaching flag culminated in an 83-point preliminary final loss in 2021.

So what are the seminal moments which have shaped Scott and put him on the brink of entering the coaching pantheon as a three-time premiership coach and arguably one of the century’s best?

THE UPBRINGING

Heroism on a footy field is a million miles away from bravery in a war zone, as Scott understands more than most.

He understands about loss too.

His father, Lieutenant Colin Scott, was an Army pilot who flew reconnaissance missions in Vietnam and won a Distinguished Flying Cross in July 1967.

Part of Scott’s DFC citation said: “Lieutenant Scott showed courage and determination of the highest order … as he repeatedly flew low over the enemy position to gauge its intent, his aircraft was subject to heavy fire from small arms and automatic weapons.”

Scott was only 40 when he died of a severe asthma attack in 1985, leaving behind his heartbroken young family.

As Brad recalled on Channel 7 a decade ago: “He had a severe asthma attack while at work. He tried to drive himself to hospital and never made it.

“He was never the same after returning from Vietnam as I understand.”

Sister Lisa spoke about how Legacy – the organisation which assists the families of veterans – helped the Scott family, in a story in the AFL Record more than a decade ago.

She spoke about how their mother, Lynne, worked to ensure the kids had the best possible upbringing, despite losing their father.

“From what I can remember she (Lynne) just worked and came home and worked, and if the boys had eaten what she had for dinner for afternoon tea, then she would go out and do the shopping for dinner and then come home and cook and get the housework done,” Lisa said.

“Then sleep, that was about it.”

Legacy assisted Chris and Brad attend St Kevin’s, a pathway that led them to the AFL.

Lisa used to “wonder how hard it was for the boys when at halftime all the other boys’ dads would be out there, and Mum and I would be sitting in the stands, and you wonder how difficult it must have been for them”.

SLIDING DOORS MOMENTS

As Chris Scott retired from playing after only two games in 2007, for a career total of 215, he had no idea what to do.

Brother Brad had joined Collingwood as a development coach a year earlier and he decided to tread the same path after being lured to Fremantle by football boss Chris Bond and CEO Steve Rosich.

“I didn’t (even) want to be an assistant coach – I just got an offer and I accepted it because I thought if I don’t do it then I’ll never know whether I could have done it, whether I would have been good at it,” Scott once said.

He and wife Sarah crossed the country to work under senior coach Mark Harvey – Chris as an assistant and Sarah in the corporate team.

But even then, as Rosich recalls, the club knew he would one day be a senior coach.

“He had a great affinity with the players, a great feel for the game, a great ability to teach the game,” Rosich said. “We did joke at the time that given his wife Sarah also worked for us, the real loss was losing her interstate.

“And as it played out, the next senior coach was Ross Lyon. It might have played out differently if Chris was with us.”

Remarkably within two years Scott was almost headhunted by Port Adelaide, getting down to the last two before being overlooked for Matthew Primus.

But the countless hours he put into that coaching presentation meant by the time Geelong called at the end of 2011 – three years into his coaching journey – he was ready.

Still, consider the sliding doors moment of Scott coaching Fremantle or Port Adelaide, clubs less stable than Geelong, without cultural drivers like Joel Selwood.

Where would he have ended up?

THE GEELONG INTERVIEW

Scott got the call from his manager in late 2010 that Geelong was interested in meeting him and he nearly declined.

“I really pressed him to say ‘look, is this a waste of time because the Port process was so involved’ and, you know, I felt like I needed to think twice if I’m going to go through that again,” he told a podcast in 2017.

“Geelong was a bit unique in that their coach decided to finish at the end of the year, after the final series, and it was a bit of a race against time to get someone in the seat.”

He was going up against Cats assistant coaches Ken Hinkley and Brenton Sanderson as a coaching newbie three years out of the game.

Chief executive Brian Cook was on a panel that included football boss Steve Hocking and board members Diana Taylor and Gareth Andrews.

“We agreed on what the key criteria were. They revolved around leadership and management being the most important thing,” Cook said this week after digging out his notes from that time.

“It was about culture, vision and inspiring people. You need courage and whole-of-club management. We needed to continue to produce high performance and then there were personal qualities and the final one was communication.

“We weighted a certain percentage to all of them and started with 100 coaches and Chris got

through to the final three.”

The tactical acumen that Scott is so often lauded for was nowhere to be seen but he did hold an advantage as a Geelong outsider.

“His coaching experience was limited and it was against him in terms of getting the role,” says Cook.

“And he was jumping into a group of players who were very determined. Black and white even. So there was a feeling we needed to challenge it a bit. I remember Steve Hocking was the one who really pushed for the change. We all did but he was the one who said, “I think we need to go this way.” That was the recommendation for the board. Someone who could create change. And he did that magnificently.”

Scott, still only 34, was announced as Geelong coach in mid-October 2010 with Cook hailing him as the ideal version of a “coach manager” in the EPL style.

TAKING OVER BOMBER’S BOYS

As board member Andrews said of the 2010 season in which Mark Thompson quit: “There was a bit going on.”

Gary Ablett left for Gold Coast, the club uncovered Thompson’s communications with Essendon dating back some time before he departed and as Thompson left, he said he had tried and failed to change up the club’s game style.

Scott hit the ground running with tactical tweaks while putting his own stamp on the club in a year the Cats remarkably won their third flag since 2007 in his maiden season as senior coach.

As that year’s leading goalkicker James Podsiadly said: “You wouldn’t have known it was his initiation to senior coaching, to be honest”.

“He talks about how young he was and the support he had from Steve Hocking and Brian Cook but he was like a duck to water straight away.

“He can be quite humble … but he did instantly improve us strategically straight away.”

VFL-star-made good Podsiadly says to him defence had been about chase-down tackles from behind.

Scott “flipped the script”.

“He made us get up the ground and defend via frontal pressure,’’ says Podsiadly.

To a group of swaggering dual premiership players who could have been resistant to change, he distilled his messages with clarity and simplicity.

“He simplifies the game and doesn’t over-complicate it,” says Podsiadly.

“He rejuvenated us and brought this energy. That Geelong team was so highly regarded. They had so many players with so many achievements. He wasn’t intimidated.”

Says former board member Andrews of that 2011 premiership: “People say he walked into his first premiership. No he didn’t. We didn’t win it in 2010 and we were lucky to get him to coach an ageing list to a flag. And then he had the confidence to create a brand new side and he’s now won two. Maybe he deserves to have won one more. He had the Richmond premiership (in 2020) snuck away by Dusty (Martin). If he happens to win another one this year he’s up there in the masterclass of all of them.”

Colin Carter, who was president for a decade from late 2010 onwards, said the three flags in five seasons – including Scott’s 2011 flag – changed perceptions about Geelong.

“I remember when I first got involved in footy, Geelong had the Pyramid Financial disaster, and Ford and Alcoa were on their way out, and the (town’s) nickname was ‘Sleepy Hollow’ and (people used to talk about the Cats as) ‘Handbags’,” Carter said.

“I think the three premierships completely changed not only the internal psyche of Geelong the town, but also the external perceptions. You could be ‘best in breed’, you could be regarded as successful and still based in Geelong.”

THE RELATIONSHIPS-PERSON

Scott is an enigma, even to those who know him well.

He is witty, sharp, exceptional in one-on-one conversations where he looks you in the eye and considers your opinion.

He can be stand-offish at times.

He freely admits that while some coaches know the name of your wife, god-son and third cousin, he isn’t that kind of coach.

He straddles the line between being a political animal and a person who displays great care, especially to those who are most critical to the team’s performance.

He can be brutal when he has to be; empathetic when he needs to be.

He has never tried to be best friends with his players but as Cook says he has worked hard on that emphatic side.

“No, he worked at that over time. He treats them like adults. The players respect that, there is a sense of responsibility and maturity.”

Who are his mates?

“He would have a handful of close mates, but lots of acquaintances,” says Cook.

Ask another long-time staffer to identify his friends and he takes his time.

“Probably Brad in a footy sense. Well, not really in a footy sense. It’s a great question,” he replies.

“Nigel (Lappin) and he are tight as”.

Long-time teammate Jason Akermanis is more blunt.

“With Chris Scott, the secret with him is Nigel Lappin. If Chris didn’t have Nigel Lappin he couldn’t play good cop bad cop,” says Akermanis.

“Nigel allowed him to go harder when needed to at the players, give them brutal feedback

“Nigel as the relationship guy would come in and explain – “This is what Scotty wants, this is what he is thinking.”

One person who has worked with Scott says Lappin is “the perfect foil” for him as his former teammate and long-time assistant/development coach is “the most caring individual who puts the time in to make sure everyone is happy.”

BAD BEATS

Through that heartbreaking period from 2012 to 2021 as Geelong competed so hard yet always came up short, there was the 2020 Grand Final but a host of embarrassing finals exits.

Says one Cats staffer: “People forget that as much as Geelong has had success, they have had more rip-your-heart-out crushing disappointment than most.”

Carter used to get the ‘sack the coach’ letters sent to him, but while he valued the interaction with members, he was an evidence-based president.

He knew that each year Scott and Geelong would be competing again for the flag.

“As president I used to get letters from members saying ‘sack the coach’ because we had been knocked out of the finals and hadn’t won the premiership,” Carter recalled.

“But I am evidence driven. I could see that we were completely rebuilding the team from the era of 2007 to 2011 and he (Scott) was still making the finals when we weren’t supposed to be, with no top draft picks.”

ROCK BOTTOM

Cook says he has never seen Scott throw the toys out of the cot with a post-match tirade or abusive spray.

He might have been tempted after Geelong lost the 2021 preliminary final by 83 points to Melbourne but instead kept his calm.

Says one confidante: “In 2021 he was outstanding. We lost to Melbourne in Perth. We just got absolutely destroyed. In the rooms post-match he spoke really well. He was very calm in the moment and we won a premiership 12 months later with pretty much the same group.

“No one would have thought that could happen. He remembers you are not always going to win. There is no point yelling at people. What does that achieve?

Ever seen him lose his shit?

“Nup. Even yelling at the team on the field during breaks. It doesn’t happen.”

Geelong’s premiership captain Joel Selwood says the Cats got to work after that 2021 season as Steve Hocking returned to the club as chief executive.

Ever a change-merchant, he tweaked the program and urged Scott to greater heights.

“It was a team effort. It was Steve coming back and helping him from a CEO’s position,” Selwood said this week.

“The program was a little bit exhausted at the time. It was like ‘we need to do things a little differently’ but in doing that, it was a collective approach.

“We all sat in the room and pulled it together. But he is the leader of making sure it can stack up. He is very loyal to his people … to allow them to get to work and do it the way they want to do it.

“There could be disagreements or arguments but they always leave the room with the right objective in making sure they are doing what is best for the players.”

FUTURE

Scott is on the brink of going past Geelong legend Thompson with three flags as a coach, and yet at only 48 another decade at the club beckons if he wants to remain there.

For all the speculation about him moving on — to Brisbane, to Tasmania — why would he leave a list that is only peaking again?

He said years back around the same time he made clear that senior coaching is actually not a very enjoyable job that he would not last.

“The best way will be to finish before my daughter gets to school, based on what I’ve heard from other coaches,” as he recounted stories of kids being bullied in the schoolyard about their dad’s impending sacking.

His daughter Leila is now 10, while wife Sarah is the co-owner of eco-friendly retail destination Natural Supply Co.

Cook never quite believed in that early exit for Scott.

“I remember him saying things like that, but never really believed it,” he said.

All these years later, Scott still has a chance to eclipse Matthews and even Alastair Clarkson as the greatest coach of the modern era.