The “risky” move that has the Cats ready to compete once again

Can you earn the flag for (enter year)?

The majority of coaches sidestep the issue and give a bland answer. It is simpler to remain ambiguous in public and to face less criticism when audacious ideas fall through.

Scott isn’t into three- and five-year plans that necessitate careful public expectation management, so he doesn’t play those games. He just wants to win a premiership every year, and he always has a response ready for the question.

Following a humiliating 83-point defeat in a qualifying final the year before, he made an implausible prediction for the championship in 2022, much to the chagrin of the industry.

At the time, Scott declared, “Yep, I am extremely certain about that (winning the 2022 flag).” After just seven months, he had won a fourth premiership for the Cats since 2007 in addition to his second personal premiership as Geelong’s coach.

When Scott was watching a quick-witted, expert Geelong scratch match at GMHBA Stadium late last week, he asked the 2024 version of the query.

“If everything goes our way, I think we have as good a chance as anyone,” he declared, once more not hesitating to put his club and himself out there.

And there are other ways to phrase that. Taking an optimistic view, I believe we can do better than our best football performance of the previous two years. We believe the reasons for our poor performance last year were fairly clear.”

Serious injuries and absences from key players, such as Jack Henry, Cam Guthrie, Mitch Duncan, Rhys Stanley, Jed Bews, and Gary Rohan, were among the “very clear” to which Scott was alluding. Following a scorching start to the season, both Jeremy Cameron and Paddy Dangerfield frequently played with injuries.

The injuries had a disastrous effect on the 2023 season, when the Cats missed the finals and finished in 12th place. However, they gave some outstanding younger players valuable game experience and opportunities, which Scott thinks will be essential to the team’s next premiership drive.

Those possible future stars for the Cats include Tanner Bruhn, Ollie Henry, and Max Holmes. Three players, selected in the 2020 AFL Draft by opposing teams Collingwood and GWS, at positions 20, 17, and 12, respectively.