Geelong coach Chris Scott uses post-game media conference to launch broadside over substitute rule
Geelong coach Chris Scott used the post-game media conference after his side’s grand final smashing at the hands of Brisbane to launch a broadside over the substitute rule.
An arm injury to star forward Jeremy Cameron was one of several disasters out of the 47-point defeat for the Cats, with the Coleman medallist having minimal influence on the game and spending a pair of lengthy spells on the bench to receive treatment.
Despite Cameron clearly looking below his best, the Cats opted not to take him out of the game and waited until three-quarter time to bring Jack Martin into the contest in place of ruckman Rhys Stanley.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The substitute is expected to be abandoned from next year and replaced by a fifth player on the bench under changes introduced by newly appointed football boss Greg Swann.
Scott said he would be “at the head of the queue” among those “rapt to see the back of the sub rule”.
“Besides the seriousness of the injury, the challenge was there. It made planning difficult,” Scott said.
“We were sort of waiting and waiting and waiting and didn’t feel like we could make that sub until we had some clarity there.
“In the heat of the moment, it’s hard to work out — is it a crack, is it a decent break, can he play, can’t he. It took a long time to work out.
“He was heavily limited from late in that second quarter.
“It’s one of those things where I don’t think you have any choice but to submit yourself to your medical team and just give them the space to do what they need to do.”
When asked what had gone wrong for his side in a second half where they conceded 13 goals, Scott again started his response by pointing to the substitute drama, saying he believed Cameron had fractured his arm.
“The obvious risk there was if we were to sub someone and then we had to sub Cameron, we’d be really limited from there,” he said.
“In a real arm-wrestle (in the third quarter), they just got a couple of goals late. We didn’t quite set the ground up the way we would’ve liked, which gave them those opportunities.
“Scores are level at half-time, probably level close enough to halfway through the third quarter, but it was rare we actually thought the game was going the way we wanted. There were various reasons for that, so I’ll be thinking about those at 3am often over the next couple of months.”
