AFL 2021: Coach Chris Scott committed to staying with Geelong Cats

Geelong Cats coach Chris Scott says his side’s ageing list can still compete despite Friday night’s hefty preliminary final defeat.

The Cats suffered the worst preliminary final defeat since 2007. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Chris Scott is committed to the challenge facing Geelong, to bounce back after its 83-point loss to Melbourne in the Preliminary Final on Friday night.

He won’t entertain taking a phone call from any other club looking for a coach, such as Carlton, declaring “I wouldn’t answer my phone; it would be off for a while”.

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That challenge to win their first flag since 2011 is not as simple as changing the age profile of the side.

The Cats had 12 players take to Optus Stadium who were 30 years of age or older; another couple are less than a year away from joining them.

Scott said the heavy defeat came at the end of a draining period of five or six weeks. But pointed to history to suggest the Cats are capable of recovering from the slashing at the hands of the Demons.

“When you get beaten, you look old and when you win, it’s because of your experience,” he said.

“I don’t think either is necessarily true, but we have to dig down and be really clear that the things we need to improve on are real, rather than just jumping at the superficial analysis.

“At the end of 2010, Geelong had a bad loss in a preliminary final and it was the end then.

“We are in a brutally difficult competition, that is in effect a handicap. So, the longer you are up towards the top, the harder it gets. I understand that part of it.

“That was out challenge at the end of 2010 and I suspect that is still our challenge now.”

Scott has coached in seven preliminary finals. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The coach took Geelong to a premiership in his first season at the helm in 2011 after the 41-point loss to Collingwood to end 2010.

They have played in six preliminary finals since, progressing to one grand final (2020).

Scott said that while they would tweak their plan a little bit, they have been working on it for a long period of time and that it was not dependent on a good win or a bad loss at the end of the season.

The Cats coach defended the decision to play the older players on the list, leaving the younger ones to learn their trade more often than not in the VFL.

At this time of the year, names like Jordan Clark and Quinton Narkle are being bandied around among those younger players who might seek more opportunities elsewhere.

But again, Scott pointed to history, declaring that the VFL provided a solid base for quality AFL players.

“It’s the price you pay for playing at a successful club as a young player,” he said.

“There is an alternative; (you can) play a little bit more and finish in the bottom four.

“If you use history as a guide, the dominant Geelong sides played a lot of VFL footy. There is a very strong argument that that is a good grounding to play your best football in your early 20s.

“But every case is a bit different.”

Originally published as AFL 2021: Coach Chris Scott committed to staying with Geelong Cats