Geelong coach Chris Scott offers insight into meetings between players and coaches

After Sam Mitchell met with West Coast star Tom Barrass, Geelong coach Chris Scott has explained how meetings between rival players and coaches can play out.

Chris Scott believes coaches meeting with rival players during the season is part and parcel of the current trade and free agency landscape, saying any distress from people about these interactions reflects “more on them”.

It comes after this publication reported earlier this week that Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell had met with West Coast interceptor Tom Barrass in a bid to lure him to the Hawks.

Geelong is viewed as the frontrunner for Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith and has been linked to other players, including breakout West Coast forward Jake Waterman.

Scott said that meetings with potential recruits have been player led in his experience with requests varying.

He believes it is a direct consequence of the AFL and the AFL Players Association opening up player movement with the advent of free agency.

Scott is not fussed by media reports linking the club to rival players.

Bailey Smith has been strongly linked to Geelong. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“I think it is really specific to the individual situation. There are times where I am very, very removed from it, and then there are times when I need to be more involved,” Scott said.

“Some guys are happy to let it run and then they do what they need to do in September/October, other guys want to know 18 months out what is going on.

“If a player wants to come to the Cats and a prerequisite is he needs to spend some time with me, I’ll make myself available. And if that’s reported that we are chasing that player and we have met, I can live with it.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful to anyone but I don’t really care what anyone thinks. Maybe it is your job to report how the industry feels about this stuff, but if anyone is really upset about it, it might reflect more on them than it does on us.

“I think we should all be respectful of the fact player have more choice than they’ve ever had and along with their managers they are doing a much better job in their research and getting their due diligence right.

So in practice really, are you going to move to a club without having any visibility on what the coach believes in or how the program’s run? I’d be surprised.”

Meanwhile, Scott said the under-fire GMHBA Stadium surface is in good condition ahead of their clash with Adelaide on Saturday after it was heavily criticised by players after their loss to the Bulldogs a fortnight ago.

Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, which operates GMHBA Stadium, has been working hard to prepare the surface, including using a helicopter to help dry it out.

The Cats returned to Kardinia Park for their captains run on Friday after training at Anthony Costa Oval – just outside the precinct – and at Deakin Waurn Ponds over the past fortnight

Scott believes dual best-and-fairest winner Cam Guthrie will return before the end of the season from his troublesome achilles blow

His timeline was changed to ‘TBC’ on Geelong’s media report this week but Scott said this was purely because the injury has been difficult to assess.

“We would prefer to be vague rather than specific and end up being inaccurate, and sometimes your best guess is three weeks and then that doesn’t happen, it implies that you weren’t truthful or that something’s happened to change it,” Scott said.

“The truth is almost always, it was hard to predict and we just didn’t quite get it right. We anticipate him being back (before the end of the home and away season) but it is a bit hard to pinpoint.

“He has been amazing, he just throws himself at his rehab. He is here all the time and he is working really hard on it.

“I hope in a way what he is seeing is a team that, if it hits its straps, can be good enough to do something special, and he is desperate to be a part of it.”

Originally published as Geelong coach Chris Scott offers insight into meetings between players and coaches