By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
“WE’VE GOT a bit of work to do.”
It’s a phrase Geelong coach Chris Scott has had to use a few times when faced with the frailties of his side, none more so than the 62-point drubbing at the hands of Hawthorn on Easter Monday.
“The last thing we want to do is think that it’s falling apart because of one bad performance against a good team but we also need to acknowledge that we were poor,” Scott said yesterday.
“We were really disappointed with the way our system worked and the way the individuals within it played.
“We’re hoping, I guess, that’s it one out of the box. But hoping alone won’t change the outcome this week.
“We’ve got a confidence in our underlying system when we play that way. Unfortunately, for big parts of the game on Monday we didn’t play the Geelong system.”
Scott also scotched theories that the issue was similar to that which plagued the Cats last season.
“I don’t buy into idea that the problems we were having last year are the problems of this year,” he declared.
Scott said the changes in personnel and system meant he did not “give a second thought about the past”.
The good news is that Jimmy Bartel appears to have recovered from the concussion suffered in a tackle late in the game against Hawthorn and Andrew Mackie is also in the squad after being a late withdrawal last week.
The bad news is that speedster Steve Motlop is under a one week club-imposed suspension at all levels for publicly drinking three days before he Hawthorn game.
Scott said the suspension was a heavy penalty for the club as well as the player.
“We’ve got some expectations at our footy club that need to be met by all our players and Steve hasn’t met those.
“We have clear expectations of all our players. There’s no grey area.
“To his credit, he acknowledges it, he admits it and is prepared to take his right whack.
“We’re really happy with the way Steve’s responded in the aftermath and we’re positive that this is going to have a good outcome for the whole club and for Steve.”
