By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
GEELONG is walking a fine line in more ways than one, Cats coach Chris Scott admits.
He wants his players to maintain their aggressive approach while staying out of the match review panel’s clutches.
He wants the side to shore up its stout defence while maintaining scoring power.
He wants the away form to match the home form.
He wants Paul Chapman back in the team even though another two weeks without any game time for the veteran have slipped by.
It’s a tough ask even for a seasoned outfit like the Cats, playing with passion and fire while remaining coolly professional.
Scott did not mince words when he expressed his disappointment at another player, James Podsiadly, missing a week for a needless indiscretion.
“The game is sometimes a line ball-thing when it comes to these incidents and in some respects the way these things are interpreted has changed to some extent and we need to change with it,” Scott conceded.
“Pods has hurt the team by not being available for this week, so, collectively as players, coaches and administrators, we need to make sure we’re working harder to address these things.
“He’s going to miss an important game against good opposition when he was in really good form and helping the team.
“We need to improve those little aspects of his game but, in terms of the way he’s playing and attacking the ball and marking, he does look to be getting himself into pretty good form coming into finals.”
Scott pointed to players of previous eras as he grappled with the issue of controlled aggression.
“It’s always been a very fine line, even going back to the great players of previous eras. They played the game on the edge and often slipped over the edge at times.
“The challenge for the really aggressive players is to make sure you stay on the right side of that line.
“If it gets to the point where we’re being so careful that we lose that competitive edge then we need to address that as well.
“These things are in a constant state of evolution and we’d like to think that we’re always improving.
“We’re always trying to educate our players and we’re always trying to make sure we stay up with the trends of the game as well.
“Clearly we need to do a slightly better job at educating our players.”
Scott was hopeful Chapman would finally resume in the VFL against the Casey Scorpions on Sunday.
“We don’t think it’s come to the point where he’s running out of time,” Scott said.
“We have a program in place that gives him an opportunity to be right to force his way into our team pre-finals.”
Aiding his cause is the fact that Geelong has three home games among its last five rounds.
The club is also considering promoting a rookie – like Josh Walker who bagged six in the VFL last week – to the senior list after ruckman Dawson Simpson went down with a serious knee injury last weekend against the Saints.
Simpson will need surgery to repair “significant damage” to his medial collateral ligament with a prognosis of six to eight weeks out, with Scott virtually conceding his season is over.
