Menz could have played

Scott says post-mortem revealed areas to fix

GEELONG coach Chris Scott admits the Cats probably erred in not playing Daniel Menzel in Friday night’s qualifying final against Richmond.

But Scott said the Cats’ lack of composure with the ball, and a short supply of forward entries, meant Menzel’s omission was not the sole reason behind the 51-point defeat.

“We’ve come up with a few things in retrospect, we could have played him,” Scott said on AFL360 last night.

“We had 38 entries, and that’s the other thing you’ve got to consider if you’re looking at it in totality.

“The full forward is not going to help with the entries, it’s a bit like the (Patrick) Dangerfield one (playing) forward.

“It’s fantastic having a forward when the ball is going there, but I don’t think that decision contributed to the lack of supply into our forward half.”

The Menzel decision was met with backlash and confusion last week, compounded further by the Cats kicking five goals against the Tigers.

Despite being the club’s equal second-leading goal kicker before the qualifying final with 38 goals, Menzel’s defensive pressure had been a point of contention, with the club explaining his dropping as “team balance”.

Asked if there were any disciplinary reasons behind the decision, Scott said: “no, why do you ask that?”

“I think, with a lot of these things, there are things said and people choose to run with them before asking the people.

“I’m glad you asked the direct question. There are rumours swirling out there. I think there’s some mischievous people who push agendas they know aren’t factual.

“It’s a pretty simple answer that one. The answer’s no.”

Scott said Geelong’s issues could be fixed, hoping for more composure against the Swans on Friday night.

“You work so hard across the season to get yourself to a position where you are owed the opportunity to have another crack at it,” he said.