Scott sees reward in building to finals
GEELONG coach Chris Scott says his side did not get “too caught up in the stakes” during last night’s hard-fought 12point win over Sydney.
A loss could have dumped the Cats out of the top eight, putting their finals dreams in doubt with a tough run of fixtures to finish the season.
The Cats were dominant for large parts last night, but failed to put the game away when they had the chance, kicking an inaccurate 8.23 to Sydney’s 9.5.
Scott said he was relieved Geelong’s wayward kicking did not end up costing the Cats the game.
The Cats had led by 21 points in the second quarter and it should have been more had they not been so wasteful in front of goal.
“It’s a bit unusual when you are looking at the scoreboard and seeing that number of behinds,” he said.
“It wasn’t just the misses, it was the number of entries we were having as well.
“We were pretty dominant for big parts of the game, we just weren’t getting the rewards.
“It’s always a worry because you think the ball can go up the other end and they can convert, and all of sudden after having control of the game it can slip away from you.”
With scores level at the final change, Patrick Dangerfield kicked the first goal of the quarter before Oliver Florent replied.
The ball practically lived in Geelong’s forward half for large parts of the final term, but the Cats could not land the match-winner until Tim Kelly snapped truly in the 23rd minute.
Harry Taylor then kicked the next goal to ice the contest.
Scott said the Cats had always had the plan to make sure they were peaking at the right time of year — and would not sacrifice that vision because of ladder position.
“We didn’t want it to be crippling mentally,” he said of his club’s ladder position going into last night’s game.
“If we had have lost the game, we would still back (ourselves in) that if we get it together we can win every game we play.
“All the games mean the same thing. I understand that the ladder is really tight and some teams will look back on their season and rue some missed chances.
“But our priority is building towards some good footy and trying to get all the pieces into play later on.
“To be frank, we would prefer to do that and fall a little bit short because we lost a few games earlier in the season, than limp towards the line and not be playing great footy.
“We’ve had some challenges there (with injuries), but we are backing in our system that if we can get all the pieces of the puzzle in shape (then) we can play good enough footy to beat anyone.”
Mitch Duncan continued his brilliant stretch of form with 32 touches, while Joel Selwood and Zach Tuohy won plenty of the footy.
Sam Menegola also had an immense second half with 15 touches after the main break.
Kelly finished with two goals and 21 touches, while Tom Hawkins kicked 2.5.
Scott Selwood also got through his return from a back injury unscathed, laying nine tackles and having 14 disposals.
Geelong’s other inclusion, Jamaine Jones, was brilliant with his forward pressure, laying a staggering 11 tackles.
“They did help,” Scott said of the duo.
“It’s not a surprise to anyone that we think Scott Selwood balances up our midfield quite well. He is an important player for us.
“We think he is going to get better as the year goes on.
“Jamaine as a small forward, he really played his way into the team. He came in and played that role for us well.”