Certified Legendary Thread 2 x Premiership Coach Chris Scott contracted to 2026 (aka the Chris Scott volumes

[you pick one]

Hocking said he was confident Scott’s new two-year contract extension with Geelong would be finalised soon, as the club and the coach work through a couple of small things.Ummmm 3 months and counting I'm not so sure these things are so small in Scotts mind.

 

[Down at K Park]

Speaking to a long term Pies supporter today.
He astutely said that he envied Geelong and highly rated CS.
We have been top 4 a record number of times with a stable administration, and coach.
He would rather follow a team that is always able to make top 4 than the regular cellar dwellers like FREO, Carlton, Saints, Lions, GC, etc.
It is too easy to lay blame on the coach when we don't reach the ultimate- a flag.
We have become too used to success since 2007, and really we are a spoiled lot.
We may not be beat the very best teams in the comp when it counts, but every year, somehow, we are there and abouts.
Straight from a one-eyed Pie, and EXACTLY what I believe.
The longer CS wants the job, and as long as the players play for him, we keep the very best coach in the comp for our club.

Someone would rather follow a team that makes finals than a cellar dweller team.

Shocking revelations. Real einstein stuff here.

Now ask the same guy would he rather win a flag, or finish top 4 and get flogged twice in finals. I’m sure you’ll have another amazing revelation with his answer

 

[Vdubs]

Someone would rather follow a team that makes finals than a cellar dweller team.

Shocking revelations. Real einstein stuff here.

Now ask the same guy would he rather win a flag, or finish top 4 and get flogged twice in finals. I’m sure you’ll have another amazing revelation with his answer

The discussion was much deeper than that, the point was definitely made that GFC is an amazing place and that we are indeed the envy of most supporters outside Geelong, and difficuLt to grasp how we do it year in year out, unlike other teams who were with us in our era- Saints, Pies, Roos, Port etc.
Winning flags is not a guarantee even when a team is the outstanding best- eg Cats 08, Saints 09, Pies 11.
I know what I heard and what he meant, and it was consolidation that outside Geelong, we are highly regarded, and that many of our supporters are petulant and spoiled by success.

 

[My Tilly]

The discussion was much deeper than that, the point was definitely made that GFC is an amazing place and that we are indeed the envy of most supporters outside Geelong, and difficuLt to grasp how we do it year in year out, unlike other teams who were with us in our era- Saints, Pies, Roos, Port etc.
Winning flags is not a guarantee even when a team is the outstanding best- eg Cats 08, Saints 09, Pies 11.
I know what I heard and what he meant, and it was consolidation that outside Geelong, we are highly regarded, and that many of our supporters are petulant and spoiled by success.

Port are closer to a flag right now than what we are. Much younger team.
North Melbourne?
They have not had any sustained success since the Carey era.

Collingwood and St Kilda are the two teams who were very dominant and then dropped off the face of the earth fairly quickly.
Don't forget though, we finished top of the ladder just a few years ago and were setup perfectly heading into finals only to get beaten straight up by Collingwood which put us in direct path of Richmond. Meanwhile, Collingwood have also made it to another grand final just as we did in 2020.

Geelong is feasting on mature aged recruits helping to keep us afloat. No one does it better. It is why we have arguably the worst crop of under 22's in the competition (Hawthorn & Richmond right beside us).

 

[Vdubs]

Port are closer to a flag right now than what we are. Much younger team.
North Melbourne?
They have not had any sustained success since the Carey era.

Collingwood and St Kilda are the two teams who were very dominant and then dropped off the face of the earth fairly quickly.
Don't forget though, we finished top of the ladder just a few years ago and were setup perfectly heading into finals only to get beaten straight up by Collingwood which put us in direct path of Richmond. Meanwhile, Collingwood have also made it to another grand final just as we did in 2020.

Geelong is feasting on mature aged recruits helping to keep us afloat. No one does it better. It is why we have arguably the worst crop of under 22's in the competition (Hawthorn & Richmond right beside us).

Can't have both, specially not finishing top 4 every year.

 

[Cataholic]

Season 2022 is upon us.

The dice has been rolled, the course set, and there's nothing humble supporters like us can do but await the first siren.

I just want to see footy - for the simple anticipation, excitement, and love of the game itself, all heightened by the thrill of watching the GFC in the thick of it.

Enjoy everyone!

 

[Down at K Park]

The discussion was much deeper than that, the point was definitely made that GFC is an amazing place and that we are indeed the envy of most supporters outside Geelong, and difficuLt to grasp how we do it year in year out, unlike other teams who were with us in our era- Saints, Pies, Roos, Port etc.
Winning flags is not a guarantee even when a team is the outstanding best- eg Cats 08, Saints 09, Pies 11.
I know what I heard and what he meant, and it was consolidation that outside Geelong, we are highly regarded, and that many of our supporters are petulant and spoiled by success.

Then why has hocking come in and made so many changes if we are so “successful” ie finals failures?

He has spoken of it not being good enough. So why are so many supporters happy to see us fail so badly in finals every year? If the club leader won’t accept it as good enough, why do some supporters?

I think hocking is the breath of fresh air the club needs, by saying this isn’t good enough. There were too many people at the club having that loser mentality of finals is good enough.

It’s nothing to do with entitlement, it’s about striving to not accept mediocrity as good enough.

I’m happy that the club has finally moved on from that loser mentality, and has taken a lot of positive steps to move forward. This year will be an interesting one. Hopefully one where the youth comes through to push the older crew into worrying about losing their place in the side. Competition for spots is a great motivator.

 

[Vdubs]

Then why has hocking come in and made so many changes if we are so “successful” ie finals failures?

He has spoken of it not being good enough. So why are so many supporters happy to see us fail so badly in finals every year? If the club leader won’t accept it as good enough, why do some supporters?

I think hocking is the breath of fresh air the club needs, by saying this isn’t good enough. There were too many people at the club having that loser mentality of finals is good enough.

It’s nothing to do with entitlement, it’s about striving to not accept mediocrity as good enough.

He has not changed our coach, possibly much to your chagrin.
The other changes were timely.
CS is never complacent.
Being top 4 is not a loser mentality.
Can you guarantee any team will be top 4 this season? Maybe Demons. Yet that is where we finished, on average, an incredible number of times. Perhaps appreciate that before sulking about losing a prelim and calling acceptance of that a loser attitude. Not directed at you necessarily.
Those supporters you refer to are despicable "supporters"

 

[Partridge]

I know what I heard and what he meant, and it was consolidation that outside Geelong, we are highly regarded, and that many of our supporters are petulant and spoiled by success.

What success exactly?

 

[Vdubs]

What success exactly?

3 flags in 5 years.
Recurrent top 4 finishes thereafter.
Pretty obvious to non Cats supporters.
We know you want and expect more, but as Mick says, You can't always get what you want.
We are not the best team, nor should we expect to be that.

 

[Down at K Park]

He has not changed our coach, possibly much to your chagrin.
The other changes were timely.
CS is never complacent.
Being top 4 is not a loser mentality.
Can you guarantee any team will be top 4 this season? Maybe Demons. Yet that is where we finished, on average, an incredible number of times. Perhaps appreciate that before sulking about losing a prelim and calling acceptance of that a loser attitude. Not directed at you necessarily.
Those supporters you refer to are despicable "supporters"

It’s not just one prelim loss, it’s a whole series of finals floggings over quite a number of years. There is a huge difference between fighting hard and being beaten by a better team in a close run scrap, than failing to turn up and looking like deers in the headlights repeatedly for years on end. 2020 was the only year it didn’t happen for years.

It’s hard to take when teams that didn’t even make the finals probably would have put up a better fight.

That’s not success, it’s absolute failure. Who cares if you make finals and get belted. You may as well not even be there if you are going to serve that rubbish up.

 

[Vdubs]

It’s not just one prelim loss, it’s a whole series of finals floggings over quite a number of years. There is a huge difference between fighting hard and being beaten by a better team in a close run scrap, than failing to turn up and looking like deers in the headlights repeatedly for years on end. 2020 was the only year it didn’t happen for years.

It’s hard to take when teams that didn’t even make the finals probably would have put up a better fight.

That’s not success, it’s absolute failure. Who cares if you make finals and get belted. You may as well not even be there if you are going to serve that rubbish up.

You may get your wish sooner than later, but be patient if we are out of it for 10 years or so, and all you are enjoying is the odd win. Me? I'm rapt that we are relevant every year.

 

[Down at K Park]

You may get your wish sooner than later, but be patient if we are out of it for 10 years or so, and all you are enjoying is the odd win. Me? I'm rapt that we are relevant every year.

We have made 1 grandfinal in 10 years. No flags. Can’t see how that makes us relevant, but anyway.

And i don’t wish for a fall, i still think we can go ok while bringing the younger players through for our next flag. I’d rather we finish 5 to 6 while giving a lot of games to younger players, than finish 3 or 4 and get flogged in 2 finals like we did last year. At least the penny dropped at the club that doing the same thing over and over results in the same results.

 

[David the Cat]

Getting belted in finals is not exactly a rare occurrence, and certainly not the sole domain of Geelong.

In particular, PF's and GF's are regularly one sided.

 

[Down at K Park]

Getting belted in finals is not exactly a rare occurrence, and certainly not the sole domain of Geelong.

In particular, PF's and GF's are regularly one sided.

We have excelled at it though. It’s not like we are talking about one off’s here, but a pattern.

Anyway, i’m hopeful the time for change has arrived, and we can move forward from here. Hopefully hocking has put a rocket up scott’s arse and demanded he take a different approach. The recent talk of implementing a faster game style is encouraging.

 

[Art Vandelay_]

Genuine whiff of spoilt brat culture in the last couple of pages.

I for one hand over my money for a membership for entertainment. I want Geelong to entertain me for 3 hours every couple of weeks. They have achieved that over the 25 years I’ve been a member. Winning a flag here or there is the cherry on top.

 

[Partridge]

3 flags in 5 years.
Recurrent top 4 finishes thereafter.
Pretty obvious to non Cats supporters.
We know you want and expect more, but as Mick says, You can't always get what you want.
We are not the best team, nor should we expect to be that.

The most recent of those was 10 full seasons ago.

You should highlight the last sentence and send it to Scott as a new club motto:

"We are Geelong, we are not the best best team, nor should we expect to be that". Can't define success any better.

 

[Partridge]

You may get your wish sooner than later, but be patient if we are out of it for 10 years or so, and all you are enjoying is the odd win. Me? I'm rapt that we are relevant every year.

We've already been out of it for 10 years.

 

[Partridge]

Getting belted in finals is not exactly a rare occurrence, and certainly not the sole domain of Geelong.

In particular, PF's and GF's are regularly one sided.

They're not that regular. In the last 10 seasons, there have only been 5 occasions (out of 20) when the Prelim final had a winning margin of 10 goals or more:

• 2014 - Sydney def North Melbourne by 71 points
• 2017 - Adelaide def Geelong by 61 points
• 2018 - West Coast def Melbourne by 66 points
• 2021 - Melbourne def Geelong by 83 points
• 2021 - Bulldogs def Port Adelaide by 71 points

Problem is Geelong make up two of those five occasions. Both in the last five years, after we started topping up.

 

[Vdubs]

The most recent of those was 10 full seasons ago.

You should highlight the last sentence and send it to Scott as a new club motto:

"We are Geelong, we are not the best best team, nor should we expect to be that". Can't define success any better.

That was our song in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's. Were you as bemused by our song then? You probably were actually.

 

[Cool Cat]

That was our song in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's. Were you as bemused by our song then? You probably were actually.

The 90s were far far better than the last decade.

 

[AM]

Makes sense. If finals contention is all people want (and judging by responses on here, they're perfectly content with just that), then sign indefinitely.

If he's the genius he's touted to be on here there should be celebrations all around.

I know I'm celebrating.

Disappointed that we couldn't attract Lyon to a Director of Coaching type role. Very pleased with Betts and Taylor in part-time coaching roles.Much less so with Kelly, Jenkins and Egan. Love to be proven wrong with them.

 

[standupand]

The 90s were far far better than the last decade.

But not in terms of results. We had a far stronger team then, but weaknesses as a club. It's the reverse now.

 

[PzBlinky]

I know I'm celebrating.

Disappointed that we couldn't attract Lyon to a Director of Coaching type role. Very pleased with Betts and Taylor in part-time coaching roles.Much less so with Kelly, Jenkins and Egan. Love to be proven wrong with them.

Why Egan? I don't know a lot about his post-footy career, but having worked at Essendon and Melbourne, he's got plenty of solid experience under his belt.

 

[Farmer2Goggin]

You may get your wish sooner than later, but be patient if we are out of it for 10 years or so, and all you are enjoying is the odd win. Me? I'm rapt that we are relevant every year.

Watching a fabulous Documentary at the moment - Man in the Arena.
Chronicles the Tom Brady journey with the New England Patriots - about 1/2 way through and really enjoying it.
Whilst it's centred on Brady you do get a few glimpses and inklings as to how Belichick operates - as we know Clarkson and Scott have studied him quite a bit. Some interesting observations:

Belichick gives nothing to the media , sterile responses only - results do the talking
Patriots seem to favour a mix of trading for experience and also selectively going to the draft
Belichick values centre around team first and performing your role
Belichick opposition research is superb , hard to play against - takes away the oppositions strengths ( One experienced player new to the Club commented that Belichick plays the game in his head and covers every scenario in his head prior to the game)
Belichick favours a consistent performer who is reliable rather than a superstar who can be brilliant but inconsistent ( Brady is brilliant and consistent )
Belichick has made some very tough calls on players but improved the team performance each time.
Unlike the Bulls there seems to be no front office controversy with the Patriots.
Belichick had 3 super bowl wins early , a 10 year drought then a further 3 - let it be so Cats

Some hits and misses for us in that lot........................