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In defence of Chris Scott

Roar Rookie
26th October, 2016
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Chris Scott. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Roar Rookie
26th October, 2016
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1663 Reads

Following Geelong’s disappointing finals exit against Sydney, and a trade period that netted Zach Touhy and Aaron Black while losing a host of assets (the biggest two being Josh Caddy and a 2017 first round draft pick) coach Chris Scott has come under fire from Cats supporters.

These fans are angry that their clubs couldn’t go from outside the eight in 2015 to winning the flag in 2016. They are angry that their club couldn’t follow up an off-season in 2015 which saw them gain the best player in the game with more high profile recruits in 2016.

Scott, as coach, has been the obvious target for these frustrations. Largely this goes with the territory for a senior coach in the AFL. They are scapegoats for when their team is not performing well enough, and the reality is that 17 of 18 AFL coaches this year have failed in achieving the only thing that truly will satisfy the fans.

However, what Scott has endured seems to be above and beyond.

Cats fans are conditioned to success and as such have a touch of the “born to rule” mentality that Hawthorn supporters carry so well. It is a condition that is innate in every Cats fan, myself included, and manifests in a belief that if we were given control, we would do things differently.

These irrational thoughts are fine, but they are just that, irrational. And the vitriol directed at Scott is just that too.

The facts are these Scott won a flag in his first season at the Cats. He has missed the top eight once in five years, and missed the top four only twice.

He has signed the best player in the league. He has transitioned the retirements of all-time greats of the club. He lost the previous best player in the AFL (G. Ablett) the season before he started at the Cats. He has kept the club at the very top, and refused to hide behind a five-year rebuild like so many others have done.

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Now what the irrational Cats supporter in me says is: “oh but all these things just fell into his lap, anyone could have done it. He inherited a Rolls Royce and just put it into gear. He didn’t sign the games best player, Moggs Creek did. The retirements have been horrible, none of the players wanted to go and he forced them out.”

The bottom line from supporters is this: “I could have done a better job.”

Yet the fact is that Scott has comfortably (by around 3%) the best win-loss percentage of any coach to have been in charge for 100 games or more.

He has won a premiership for the club, something that happened just twice in the past 46 years.

By that measure, he is going 400 per cent better than the previous Geelong coaches, better than even Bomber Thompson.

So lay off Chris Scott. Just because you are dissatisfied doesn’t mean that you would do a better job. There can only be one winner after all.

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