Chris Scott says suggestion Geelong Cats have ‘no Plan B’ is ‘unsophisticated cliches’
GEELONG coach Chris Scott wasn’t at his club’s AGM last year. So when one Cats fan finally got his chance to ask the coach a question, he pounced.
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GEELONG coach Chris Scott has described suggestions he lacks a Plan B as “unsophisticated cliches” after being challenged by a member at Monday night’s AGM.
John Caulfield asked Scott to elaborate on why it appeared the Cats were slow to act in the box when momentum was running against them in games.
“I asked the question last year — Chris wasn’t able to be here — a lot of people at times get a bit frustrated that we don’t seem to make a move for quite a while — or have a plan B — I’d just like to hear you elaborate on that,” Caulfield said.
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“I know I’m going in the past again.”
Scott was assertive in his reply.
“We make a lot of changes every week,” Scott said.
“We would almost never play the same team twice. We move players forward and back.
“With respect, I think it’s very difficult from the stands to see the nuance and the subtlety that’s going on out there.
“I’d like you to be specific around what sort of changes you’d like to see.”
Caulfield referenced several examples from 2016 — a pre-season match against Collingwood in which the Pies kicked 11 goals in a quarter of footy, a sluggish start against the Magpies in Round 9, a poor start against Sydney in Round 16 and a similar poor performance in the preliminary final.
“That’s what triggered my questions then (last year). What are we doing about those sorts of things?” Caulfield said, bemoaning a pattern of performance, while also saying it was also difficult to see when changes were made.
“Have we got a plan B? When do we make changes?”
Scott replied: “I appreciate it’s hard to see.”
“It’s difficult for people who don’t have access to all the information that we have access to to see what we are actually doing ... and some of the shifts that are being made.
“Our coaching staff work really hard for every contingency. It’s not just a matter on game day of trying to adjust on the run to things that happen.
“A lot of preparatory work goes into those sort of things, and I can tell you we make a lot of changes.
“I mean, to be frank, I think some of the things you are bringing up are just quite unsophisticated cliches.
“We lost five games for the year last year through the home-and-away season and I think it’s not really acknowledging the points that (president) Colin (Carter) and others made about the difficulty of the competition.
“We completely acknowledge that we’re not quite good enough right at the moment.”
Which AFL coaches have the winningest records? The stats might surprise you pic.twitter.com/FgovDRhUkr
— SuperFooty (AFL) (@superfooty) December 13, 2017
Originally published as Chris Scott says suggestion Geelong Cats have ‘no Plan B’ is ‘unsophisticated cliches’
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