Geelong Cats: Jack Steven won’t replace Kelly like-for-like, coach Chris Scott warns

Many people believe Geelong brought ex-Saint Jack Steven in as a direct replacement for departed midfield superstar Tim Kelly. But what does coach Chris Scott expect?

Geelong coach Chris Scott says industry expectations around Jack Steven need to be tempered, warning that the former St Kilda star will not be a like-for-like replacement for Tim Kelly.

Steven played just seven games for the Saints last year after taking an extended break to focus on his mental health during the season.

He has battled with a calf complaint in recent weeks, but has otherwise put in a solid pre-season with the Cats and is on track to take on Essendon in the Marsh Community Series on March 9.

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Jack Steven is working his way to full fitness. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

But despite still being just 29 and boasting a CV containing four club champion awards, Scott said there needed to be some “realism” about what Steven could achieve in 2020.

“Tim Kelly is going to be really hard to replace, so the answer is don’t try to replace him with one player,” Scott said.

“I don’t think it automatically makes us better not having him, but it is a mistake to think that Jack Steven has come in so he will just take his role.

“It would be great if he could, but that is not the way we are looking at Jack.

“There has got to be an element of realism with the expectations on him because he has had a couple of years where he pretty much hasn’t been able to play for one reason or another.

“His pre-season has been pretty good and he has given himself a chance to contribute, but I don’t think he is Tim Kelly right at the moment.”

Jack Steven and Tim Kelly played a game of trading places during the trade period. Picture: AFL Media/Getty Images

Steven is one of several potential changes to a Geelong team that lost to Gold Coast last week, a result that raised the eyebrows of some insiders given the nature of the 68-point defeat.

Joel Selwood is also among the possible inclusions, alongside Brandan Parfitt, Sam Menegola, Jack Henry and Mark O’Connor.

Scott said the club’s pre-season injuries had made it difficult to get a gauge on on-field expectations for the year.

But he said performances would largely be shaped by the level of improvement in his team’s emerging players and the capacity to keep his stars fit.

“With the injuries, the number is a really poor guide to how teams are going,” he said.

Steven at his Geelong unveiling last year. Picture: AAP

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“It is not how many you have got, it is who they are, and we have had decent patches without Selwood, (Mitch) Duncan, Menegola, a little bit of Patty and Dahlhaus.

“It is really hard to gauge how some of our emerging players are going to go, so we really need guys like (Esava) Ratugolea, Jack Henry and Narkle as a midfielder to take the next level.

“If we do that the expectations for a high finish are reasonable but I don’t think we have got a lot of room for error.

“That would be my assessment, that if a few things go wrong for us it could get really difficult really quickly.

“So the formula is pretty simple, we need our really good players to be close to their best, we can’t afford too many injuries in key positions and we need our young players to improve.

“But with the exception of Collingwood, Richmond and West Coast, I think most other teams are in a similar boat.”

EXCLUSIVE CHRIS SCOTT INTERVIEW: Addy’s Cats magazine, March 14

Originally published as Geelong Cats: Jack Steven won’t replace Kelly like-for-like, coach Chris Scott warns