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Geelong coach Chris Scott describes criticism of poor finals records as ‘lazy’ in strong defence

Headshot of Craig O'Donoghue
Craig O'DonoghueThe West Australian
VideoWATCH: Zach Tuohy needed no luck as he nailed this superb goal in Geelong's final against Port Adelaide.

Geelong coach Chris Scott has dismissed criticism of his team’s finals record following tonight’s loss to Port Adelaide, saying the Cats’ consistent ability to make the eight has contributed to the poor results.

Geelong’s 16-point loss to the Power means they have a 4-12 record during finals since the 2011 premiership. The Cats are now facing a semi-final against the winner of West Coast and Collingwood next week, knowing their season will end if they don’t win.

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Faced with questions about his team’s lack of finals success, Scott said it was foolish to criticise teams that consistently make the eight.

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He said Richmond stood out as the league’s dominant finals team and the rest of the competition either lost finals or missed the eight.

Scott said previous Cats teams shouldn’t be compared to his current unit.

The Game AFL 2024

“Are we comparing 2014 to now?” he said.

“We all feel pressure at this time of year. I didn’t think we crumbled under the pressure.

“I think the criticism is a bit lazy personally. But we’d like to win more finals.”

Chris Scott, Senior Coach of the Cats speaks with his players before the 2020 AFL First Qualifying Final match.
Camera IconChris Scott, Senior Coach of the Cats speaks with his players before the 2020 AFL First Qualifying Final match. Credit: Michael Willson/AFL Photos/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Scott attempted to deflect attention away from his animated half-time conversation with the umpires and denied he was upset by the officiating.

The premiership coach was frustrated by the standard of centre bouncing and yelled at the umpires as they left the field. But Scott said he was only asking for information about what was happening in the middle.

“It wasn’t animated. It was loud out there so it was hard to make yourself heard,” Scott said.

“I was just asking who bounces the ball and what the process there was at the centre bounces.

“I thought the umpires had a pretty good night overall. You can be a bit biased there because the crowd thought they were terrible.

“The crowd thought a little bit way going our way so my conclusion they were going okay. I didn’t have a problem with the way the game was umpired.

“It was a genuine question I was asking them.”

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