Contract talks between Chris Scott and Geelong have started with the Cats keen to extend the current contract of their senior coach with his current deal due to expire at the end of this season.

Offer on the table

A 2 year deal is on offer as confirmed by Cats CEO Brian Cook on SEN radio this week. But the question remains… Should Geelong do this now or wait to see how the 2017 season plays out?

Scott’s resume

Based on statistics alone it’s hard to argue a new contract is not deserved. The 2011 Premiership coach has an overall winning percentage of 71.8%. He’s coming off a season in which Geelong made a Preliminary Final, albeit a disappointing performance in that match.

Under his watch Geelong have qualified for finals in 5 out of 6 years. It is a result that would have most coaches under minimal pressure to hold onto their job.

Club expectations

The expectation at the Cattery this year will be to challenge for a Premiership. The Cats have traded aggressively in the last two years with Patrick Dangerfield, Lachie Henderson, Zac Smith and Scott Selwood joining the club at the end of 2015. Geelong was again active in the 2016 trade period with Zach Tuohy joining from Carlton and Aaron Black crossing over from the Kangaroos.

Geelong have had to re-tweak the playing list to contend with the departure of many champion players during Scott’s tenure. 2016 saw Corey Enright and Jimmy Bartel added to that list. A poor performance from the Cats this year would be compounded with their first round pick at the next draft already traded away.

Chris Scott seems to tick most the boxes to justify a new deal. Not only on-field results but he is a savvy media performer as evidenced by his regular spot on AFL 360. The Geelong coach appears to importantly have a good working relationship with the players and other key stakeholders at the club. The one knock from some pessimists is his recent record in finals. Since the 2011 Grand Final triumph, Geelong has won only 2 from 8 finals matches.

Other opportunities

Multiple senior coaches will head into the 2017 season under pressure. Damien Hardwick, Nathan Buckley, Rodney Eade and Ken Hinkley spring straight to mind. If their respective teams have poor seasons then they will be under pressure to keep their jobs and Scott would be an attractive proposition for a club looking for a new coach. On face value it seems Geelong is doing the right thing in trying to secure Chris Scott for beyond this season because if the Cats don’t want him plenty of other AFL clubs will.

by Liam Sheedy – contributor

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