Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Geelong coach Chris Scott has barely bothered to delve into West Coast’s latest capitulation.
Instead, Scott has looked further back before the Cats’ clash against the Eagles at Norwood Oval in Adelaide on Sunday.
Scott believes West Coast’s 128-point hammering from Sydney last weekend is largely irrelevant to their Gather Round encounter.
“We probably haven’t focused too much on the game last week,” Scott said.
“It’s obvious to me that when you have rebuilding teams, that there are fluctuations.”
Scott said while rebuilding clubs like the Eagles took a longer-term view, the AFL industry was acutely focused on the here and now.
“The irony is that the rebuilding teams are taking a very long-term focus but everyone else seems to want to focus on the very short term,” he said.
“We won’t get sucked into that.
“Fortunately for us, we didn’t have to look back too far to see them play really well.”
Scott was pointing to West Coast’s performance the week prior to the Swans debacle, when the Eagles downed Port Adelaide away to bank a second win of the season.
“They have got a lot of young talent, as most of the rebuilding teams tend to have,” he said.
“And if there is one thing in the game that I have respect for, it’s how quickly some of those highly talented guys can come in and have an impact.
“A few of the guys, without individualising, in West Coast’s team are a good example of that.”
Scott’s 12th-placed Cats sit one rung above the Eagles on the ladder, both with a two-two win-loss ledger.
Geelong travelled to Adelaide without tall utility Mark Blicavs, who has been rested.
“It was part of the macro plan,” Scott said.
“The best way to summarise it would be that once you put all the information on the table, it just made most sense to be proactive with him this week.
“I feel like I have been in this position before a lot with our players, probably for 15 or 16 years now.
“You sort of feel like the right thing to do for those guys longer term is really clear, but there is a nervousness with taking important players out of your team.”
