KEY GEELONG FINALS TALKING POINTS

TOM’S STAND-IN KNOWN

GEELONG has seemingly made up its mind on who will replace the suspended Tom Hawkins in Friday’s preliminary final.

Cats coach Chris Scott was tight-lipped about who would fill the role, but is confident Hawkins’s absence will not become a distraction for the playing group.

“We virtually came to that position on Saturday, so we have known for a while and the players know,” he said.

“I think that is more important to us at this stage than maybe coming up with a better plan, (not) allowing the uncertainty to fester throughout the week.

“So we have made our decision pretty much, and there are contingencies, but we will back that in. We haven’t got a Tom Hawkins replacement, so we will be different, but different is not necessarily worse.”

‘APPROPRIATE PRICE’

THERE is nobody more disappointed than Hawkins that he will miss Friday night’s game, according to his coach.

But, after another suspension — this time at perhaps the most inopportune time imaginable — Scott said the time to sit with his power forward and talk to him about the incident would come down the track.

“He has been a star for us over a long period of time,” Scott said.

“He is an experienced player, a great leader of the club, a great person who is bitterly disappointed and I have no interest in throwing salt into the wound at the moment.

“But that doesn’t mean we ignore the fact that he shouldn’t have done it, that is clear to everyone and most clear to him, so the tribunal hearing for us was a bit of a Hail Mary and challenging it wasn’t us saying, ‘there was nothing in it’, and he has probably paid a very, very heavy but appropriate price.

“So, looking into the future, we have got to do what we can to make sure it doesn’t happen again, but we never hang our players out to dry, and we won’t.”

ABOUT TAKING CHANCES

THE importance of starting well has been a hot topic for Geelong in September for a long time, but the coach has downplayed how vital it is.

Asked if he would look to replicate what the Cats did against West Coast again on Friday night, Scott said there were still things that did not go right despite a fivegoal opening term.

“No, everything didn’t go to plan. There are times within every single game where things don’t go perfectly, but again it is a matter of mitigating the things that don’t go quite right and maximising your chances when you get them,” he said.

“That was the Collingwood game for us a little bit — our expected (Champion Data) score in that game was a four-goal win — so if you talking about taking your chances, if you take your chances that game would be very different.

“The Eagles was different in that respect but (no) we are not going to try to replicate what we did against the Eagles. We are going to look at this as a completely different situation, but starting well is important.

“It is not the be all and end all as it turns out. Collingwood started pretty well in the Grand Final last year and that didn’t matter so much, and West Coast started pretty well in their last game at the MCG against Richmond and they got beaten by a point.”