By Sam McClure and Jon Pierik
Geelong coach Chris Scott has distanced himself from a move away from the Cattery, declaring he will be uncontactable to rival clubs for some time.
Scott, who is contracted for next season, was quick to shut down questions about his future after the 83-point preliminary final loss to Melbourne, when asked if he would take a call from another club in the off-season.
“I wouldn’t answer my phone. It will be off for a while, mate,” he said.
However, Scott can expect an approach from Carlton, now the Cats’ season is over, and AFL great Leigh Matthews believes Scott should ask Geelong whether he is the right man to continue leading the club, as the Cats face a series of off-season questions.
Matthews, a four-time premiership coach, said Scott, whom he led during Brisbane’s premiership three-peat, should clarify his future with new Cats chief executive Steve Hocking.
“One of the things I reckon is interesting is, Chris Scott is a long-term coach. He has been there 10 years-plus. He will be critiquing himself as much as any person ever critiques themselves,” Matthews told 3AW on Saturday.
Chris Scott embraces Cats skipper Joel Selwood after the loss.Credit: AFL Photos
“I think that is worthwhile, too. You have got to actually ask yourself the question and, in a sense, give the club the right to answer that before we move on.”
The Blues are set to sound out his manager, Craig Kelly, but a final decision by Scott could be dependent on Brian Cook coming on board as the Blues’ new chief executive. Cook was contacted for comment on Saturday.
The Blues have also approached Scott’s twin brother, Brad, the former North Melbourne coach, as they search for David Teague’s replacement. But Brad Scott has yet to confirm whether he will officially join the Blues’ search.
Port Adelaide senior assistant Michael Voss, Richmond’s Adam Kingsley and West Coast’s Jaymie Graham are also set to be sounded out, with the Blues indicating interviews will begin as early as this week.
An emotional Chris Scott was careful not to make excuses for his side’s dismal performance on Friday night. It later emerged several players had been impacted by a virus in the days before the match but had been cleared by authorities to play.
Scott admitted the past two coronavirus-impacted years of constant travel had taken a toll on his players. He said he was proud of his players and his club.
The Cats followed up a grand final defeat at the Gabba last year - where they had led Richmond at half-time - with a preliminary final loss, a game in which Scott said they simply ran out of steam.
“Arguably, it’s tougher when you get towards the end of the year, and you’ve got a chance. I suspect that it would be a little easier finishing outside the finals, a bit of a sting, and then you can move on pretty quickly,” Scott said.
“It’s going to be tough on our people and tough on our club. But we’ll bounce back.”
The Cats, having won only two of seven preliminary finals under Scott, have 12 players aged 30 or older on their list and will need to decide whether a win-now mentality is still the right mantra. The Cats reloaded late last year by recruiting star forward Jeremy Cameron and veterans Shaun Higgins and Isaac Smith, but this was not enough to deliver a second premiership under Scott.
“We’re in that situation again where we’ve got a choice to make: we can roll over, or we can take the time we need to regroup,” Scott said.
“We were pretty battered towards the end of the season, not just the last couple of weeks but probably the six weeks leading into the finals series. There’s a few things that I won’t speak about ... that will become clearer over the next few weeks but, suffice to say, I’m proud of the way our guys endured, and we just completely ran out of steam.”
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