We lack consistency in the forward line, says Scott

GEELONG coach Chris Scott concedes his team’s forward line needed to be stronger against West Coast after the Cats failed to kick a winning score on Thursday night.

With Tom Hawkins missing through suspension, Geelong was unable to penetrate the Eagles’ defence for most of the game, kicking only five goals in the first three quarters before nearly doubling its score in the final term.

Rhys Stanley, Hawkins’ replacement, finished with three goals and Harry Taylor and Dan Menzel each kicked two majors, but Scott said he had been expecting a greater output across the board from his forward group.

“It wasn’t as potent as it could have been in terms of personnel, but even the personnel we did have we would like to think they could give us a little bit more,” Scott said.

“We had some chances and the Eagles defended pretty well. They marked the ball too much in their back half.

“We do have some personnel that we’re looking forward to getting back, it’s not just Hawkins, but we’ve got some small forwards as well. We’re looking forward to getting Parfitt and McCarthy back, so it’s a little bit of a different look.”

Hawkins will be an automatic inclusion for the clash with Fremantle next Sunday, and with Mark Blicavs likely to make his return after being “managed” for the trip west, Stanley will come under pressure to keep his spot in the side.

Scott said there was a con- tribution of factors that had made life difficult for the Cat forwards at the selection table in recent years, but he said he was hopeful that would turn around soon.

“I feel like I’ve been saying this for a couple of years but we’ve just lacked continuity with our personnel in our forward line, and if you look at the really good forward lines ... Adelaide are the best example, and Hawthorn probably before them — they just had six or seven guys that played every week almost no matter what,” he said.

“For one reason or another we haven’t been able to achieve that and there are a number of inputs that we need to get right there, but we’ll keep working on it. We’re optimistic that we can get that cohesion at some point.”