Coaching set-up needs fresh views if Cats are to succeed

THE question was put to Geelong coach Chris Scott in the immediate aftermath of Friday night’s loss to Melbourne regarding the 2018 season and whether it had, broadly speaking, been a successful one.

It was a fair question to ask, given the work that has been done to build this list to the point it is at.

Make no mistake, names such as Gary Ablett, Patrick Dangerfield, Lachie Henderson, Scott Selwood, Zach Tuohy and Zac Smith were brought to the club to help win a premiership.

But after missing the finals in 2015, the past three seasons, while clearly an improvement on three years ago, have ultimately brought no success.

There has been a Brownlow Medal, some All-Australian selections, a few finals, but no flag.

Scott’s answer to the question reflects the attitude that has seemingly seeped into the club in recent years: near enough is in fact good enough.

“It’s not appropriate in my mind to answer that question expansively 30 minutes after our season is over, but in short, we’re always trying to improve our list while we transition,” Scott said.

“If you actually take some time to look through the data, it would suggest that we’ve been OK for a reasonable period of time.

“(We have been) in contention, give or take, not quite good enough in the end, while simultaneously transforming our list.

“I think at the end of the year, there is only one team that’s happy with the way they’ve gone, but there’s enough room for optimism in our future.”

Scott is correct: Geelong has been OK for a reasonable period of time, there is nobody who could successfully argue against that.

But are the Cats actually content with just being OK?

Is the club really willing to continually transition players in and out the door in order to stay inside the eight while never genuinely being a premiership threat?

Only 12 months ago, Geelong president Colin Carter labelled the 2017 season a success, despite bowing out in the penultimate game of the season for the second straight year.

On what level do you determine that a team built to win premierships has succeeded when it has not even made a grand final?

It was fascinating to hear Cats chief executive Brian Cook admit recently that Geelong could not afford to bottom out because of the financial burden it would place on the club.

Of course there is a place for commercial considerations when making strategic decisions that will affect onfield performance, but they should only ever be minimal, never overriding.

What the Cats need to