Geelong coach Chris Scott says he will no longer hold back criticising umpiring

A frustrated Chris Scott has expressed his frustration over how umpiring seems to have a ‘rule of the week’, and says he will no longer pull his punches over what he sees on the field.

MELBOURNE, JULY 12, 2024: 2024 AFL PREMIERSHIP – Round 18 – Collingwood Magpies v Geelong Cats at the MCG. Geelong coach Chris Scott. Picture: Mark Stewart

Geelong coach Chris Scott has expressed his frustration at how umpires apply a heavy emphasis to certain rules from week to week.

In Friday night’s win over Collingwood, the four field umpires were a lot stricter on kicks going the required distance of 15 metres.

“It’s annoying,” Scott said.

“Sometimes it’s just four guys (umpires) who are like, ‘Well, I saw him be a bit harsh on that one so in order for us to be consistent, I’m going to be a bit harsher on it as well’, and it sort of snowballs.”

Soooo have the umpires decided to extend their interpretation of 15 metres for a mark or has AFL directed them to close it down? Wonder if they sent a message to clubs and media?

— Grant Thomas (@Thomo_Grant) July 12, 2024

Scott had empathy for the umpires, but was so exasperated that he no longer feared the potential consequences that can be attached to publicly commenting about umpiring.

“I’m actually just going to say what I think about this stuff from now on,” he said.

“But don’t take it as a criticism necessarily, it’s just, like, we shouldn’t cover our eyes and say, ‘Oh no. It didn’t happen’. It did. You saw it. I saw it. It’s fine.

“If you expect perfection from them you will just end up so frustrated.

“Not a criticism, just an observation.”

Geelong coach Chris Scott after the game on Friday night. Picture: Mark Stewart

Meanwhile, Scott said Geelong are playing their best footy of the season after they made it three wins in a row on Friday night against Collingwood at the MCG.

The result provisionally placed them back in the top four heading into the weekend, and after losing six out of seven games, following their blistering 7-0 start to the year, the Cats look like they’re priming themselves for another finals push.

“We’re certainly going better now than we have at any stage during the year,” Scott said post-match.

“Even when we were under pressure at times (against Collingwood), I thought we were able to stick to the plan and that’s a good sign for the weeks ahead because hopefully we’ll be under pressure a lot because that means you’re a good team playing in big games.”

With youngsters like Max Holmes, Sam De Koning, Oliver Dempsey and Lawson Humphries having a huge impact on proceedings, Scott said it was nice to be in a position where the side wasn’t overly reliant on old hands such as Tom Hawkins, Patrick Dangerfield and Cam Guthrie anymore.

“Over the last few years … we’ve taken the chance to find a way to get some early (draft) picks in and we think we’ve got some quality young players,” Scott said.

Humphries has hit the ground running since debuting against Essendon in Round 16, averaging 18 disposals and nine marks in his three games so far to slot seamlessly into the senior team.

The 21-year-old’s performances have exceeded Scott’s expectations.

“We were always hopeful that we’d sit back and say, ‘Why didn’t we find a way (to bring him in) earlier?’ So it’s nice when a young player comes in and improves your team because it’s not always the case,” Scott said.

“Sometimes you’ve got to take two steps back to take a step forward, but we haven’t had to do that with him. He’s come in and impacted the way we played really positively.”

Tom Stewart (cut eyelid) was cleared of concussion after a clash of heads with Collingwood’s Lachie Schultz, but Shannon Neale (throat) may be in doubt to face the Western Bulldogs next week.

Meanwhile,

Originally published as Geelong coach Chris Scott says he will no longer hold back criticising umpiring