ALERT BUT NO ALARM
CATS’ FORM LEAVES SCOTT CAUTIOUS
GEELONG coach Chris Scott isn’t alarmed by recent losses by his competition-leading side, saying the Cats aren’t alone in their rollercoaster form.
“Alert but not alarmed” is how Scott described the Cats’ form yesterday, which follows two losses in their past three games, including a 16-point loss to the Western Bulldogs last round.
Set to host lowly St Kilda at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night, Scott felt it was difficult for any team to maintain a consistently high standard, although his side still holds a four-point buffer on secondplaced West Coast.
“The season was always going to be one of ebbs and flows,” he said.
“For a long time, the AFL has been a competition where it is not a matter of looking at the draw and trying to work out how hard it is based on who you play, it is more a product of when you play them, what sort of form they are in and where you are at the time.
“I think we are going to see big swings and unpredictable results because teams rarely maintain a similar level — they are up and down.
“So if you are in a bit of a down patch when they are in an uplift then you are going to get a tough game.
“But if we look at the sample that is a bit bigger, we are pretty confident that our style of footy is a sustainable one and stands up.
“We would have liked to play better last week but they kicked a goal right on the siren to win by 16 points, so it wasn’t a horrible performance.
“If you look at a bigger sample we are confident our style of footy is sustainable and stands up. “If you look into it bit deeper we’d like to be playing better but I don’t think we’re going that badly.”
Emerging midfielder Brandan Parfitt, who was rested against the Bulldogs, is likely to come back to take on the Saints.
But St Kilda recruit Daniel Hannebery was last night reportedly in danger of missing a second-straight game with hamstring soreness.
CHRIS Scott has left the door ajar for Nakia Cockatoo to make an AFL return this year, but concedes he has a long way to go before convincing him he is ready to play at senior level.
Cockatoo’s ongoing knee issues have kept him from playing at any level this year, but the 22-year-old has resumed full training with the Cats and could make a return through the VFL later this month.
Asked if he would have enough time to put his hand up for an AFL recall this season, Scott said Geelong would not rush him in his return.
“It is the great unknown, and we have talked about it, but we are just guessing,” Scott said.
“There are seven games to go before the bye before the finals. He could come together really quickly, but we will just try not to think about it too much until the time comes.
“He has a lot of VFL footy to play to convince us that he is resilient enough physically, and then we have got to (weigh up) how he is playing and how quickly he can learn the role that we would ask of him. We don’t want to put pressure on him because the long game is more important.
“We are so excited to be in the position we are this year, but we aren’t going to look at Nakia through that lens. We are going to look at it through the lens of a club that feels we have a really exciting young player who has had his fair share of physical issues and some bad luck, and we would like him to be here for the next seven or eight years.
“So if that means he misses a finals series this year, I think that is a small price to pay.”
Cockatoo has played 34 games since being drafted at pick No.10 in 2014 and comes out of contract at the end of the year.