Scott praises Cats defence after keeping Pies to one goal in first half

GEELONG coach Chris Scott has lauded his young players and a stingy defence for yesterday’s 21-point win over Collingwood.

It wasn’t a thriller by any stretch of the imagination, but the Cats restricted the Pies to just one goal in the first half to set up a 9.12 (66) to 5.15 (45) win at the MCG.

“I know it was low scoring and that can sometimes correlate with an ugly spectacle … but I think there were some parts of the game that were pretty hard fought and I think the traditionalists will appreciate that,” Scott said.

“We were helped a little bit by the conditions early with our defence; keeping them to one goal in a half was a good defensive performance.

“Never really felt like to us in the coaches’ box we had the game completely under control, even though the scoreboard, especially in the last quarter, reflected that.

“It’s not a performance that we’ll be getting too carried away with because we acknowledge the difficulties with the opposition.”

Tom Stewart was outstanding for the Cats off halfback, amassing 28 touches and nine marks, second only to Gary Ablett on Geelong’s stats sheet. The Brownlow medallist collected 32 disposals and kicked a goal in his return from injury.

Meanwhile, Zach Tuohy’s tackle on Tom Phillips is sure to be reviewed, however replays suggest friendly fire from Pies teammate Chris Mayne contributed to Phillips’ concussion.