It’s rankled some, but the memo from AFL footy boss Greg Swann about team selection for finals-bound teams in Round 24 hasn’t fazed Geelong coach Chris Scott.
Swann’s email to clubs warned them against making mass changes to their lineups, with fines to be considered for those found to be breaching the rules.
“I think I understand the logic behind it,” Scott said. “I certainly wasn’t up in arms. I think there’s an understanding now. Sometimes these things are taken a little bit too literally.
“And I appreciate more communication is better than less – even when you might have a slight difference of opinion on the actual communication.
“What they’re saying is ‘We want you to play each game on its merits’.
“But part of playing each game on its merits, as we always do, is considering what it means for you into the future.
“I don’t think they like the look of mass resting. And maybe it’s a situation where we’re coming into the first iteration of the Wildcard Round, and it’s snuck up on people a little bit.
“I can be critical at times of some things. This isn’t one that falls into that category.”
Geelong will make at least one change for Saturday’s twilight clash with Essendon.
Defender/ruck Sam De Koning, who was a late withdrawal from the Round 20 win over Melbourne after a bout of gastro, is expected to return after featuring in the VFL loss to Collingwood.
“He was (on) very limited game time,” Scott said.
“Without being disrespectful to that competition, in my opinion, it was more about preparation for this week rather than performance at VFL level.
“So, something more akin to a training session for us. Yeah, he did what we asked.”
However, it’s less certain whether captain Patrick Dangerfield will return after also missing the win over Collingwood.
“He put his hand up last week, so I think it’s on the table, that’s for sure,” Scott said.
“We haven’t made a decision yet, but again, it does sort of fit into the category that we were talking about before with the memo,
“The game before Wildcard Round is foremost in everyone’s mind.
“But with Pat, I guess we do our planning on the hope that we’ve got quite a bit of footy to go.
“So, the last thing we want to do is use all our tickets before the big stuff.
“We’re thinking about Pat and still a fair way away from making a decision. But as far as he’s concerned, he’s right to go.”
X: @krockfootball
