AFL: Geelong coach Chris Scott says he wants Tasmania expansion side

Geelong coach Chris Scott has given the proposed Tasmania expansion his seal of approval, as he declares AFL teams have too many players on their lists as it is.

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 22: Chris Scott, Senior Coach of the Cats looks on during the 2023 AFL Round 06 match between the Geelong Cats and the Sydney Swans at GMHBA Stadium on April 22, 2023 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Cats coach Chris Scott believes there is “clearly” enough footballing talent in Australia to support a 19th team, with Tasmania expected to get the official seal of approval this weekend.

The Tasmania project has been the centre of much speculation in the past decade, but it is expected the island state will receive its football licence and announce an entry point into the season in the coming days.

Scott said the league could easily cope with a 19th team, despite concerns of a lack of talent to support the venture.

GEELONG, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 22: Chris Scott, Senior Coach of the Cats addresses his players during the 2023 AFL Round 06 match between the Geelong Cats and the Sydney Swans at GMHBA Stadium on April 22, 2023 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“Clearly (there is enough talent), it’s just a matter of how you distribute the talent, and there’s too many players on lists as it is,” he said.

“You don’t need to find any players, you’ve got more than enough already.

“But that’s a decision the AFL and the PA (Players’ Association) need to make, but the question is confined to: is there enough talent to sustain one more team?”

Hawthorn captain James Sicily has come under scrutiny the past few days surrounding comments he made about how he would not want to live in Tasmania long-term, comments which he has since apologised for.

Sicily came under scrutiny for his comments on Tasmania. Picture: Michael Willson

Scott said people’s interest in playing for a Tasmanian expansion side would depend on how the side went, and he thought the AFL had learned from expansions on the Gold Coast and in Western Sydney.

“This idea that people won’t want to be in Tassie or they won’t be able to keep them, it depends on how well they go,” he said.

“I think they’ve learned lessons in how they set up the club off field, I am such a big advocate that if you build a successful environment and you have some success and win at least every now and again it becomes a good place to be.

“My guess is that the AFL has learned some really valuable lessons from the expansions of GWS and the Gold Coast and they’ll improve every time they do it.

“I think there is a choice to be made with these teams, there certainly has been a trend at the AFL to resist giving clubs the opportunity to be poor for a decade and stockpiling young talent on the assumption that after that they’ll be a powerhouse for a decade.

“Amongst some I think that’s still the predominant thinking, that you need to rebuild for the future and once you get this young talent through and they come through together you’ll be a dominant team, I think that idea has really been challenged over the past decade.

“They’re trying to find the balance, even if you put superstars together they’re not going to come in and dominate the competition, it takes time to build cohesion, it’s a really underrated factor in the AFL game.

“It’s a really complicated question. As an opposition coach I hope they struggle for a long time, but that’s not the right approach for the game.”

Originally published as AFL: Geelong coach Chris Scott says he wants Tasmania expansion side