{"id":590351,"date":"2026-04-07T02:22:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/590351\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T02:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:22:14","slug":"chris-scott-airs-honest-thoughts-on-afl-wildcard-weekend-in-rare-swipe-no-good-reason-except-cash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/590351\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Scott airs honest thoughts on AFL wildcard weekend in rare swipe: \u2018No good reason except cash\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Geelong<\/a> coach Chris Scott has taken a rare swipe at the AFL<\/a>, accusing the league of conjuring the wildcard weekend for nothing but money.<\/p>\n

This year, for the first time, the ninth and 10th-placed finishers will stay alive after the end of the home and away season, going into a wildcard weekend against the eighth and seventh-placed teams where they will play off for an elimination final berth.<\/p>\n

Speaking in the aftermath of his side\u2019s thrilling one-point defeat to Hawthorn on Easter Monday, two-time premiership coach Scott almost caught himself when asked about the initiative.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I just think they…,\u201d Scott said on Fox Sports, before pulling himself up.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee, this is why I shouldn\u2019t do this so close to the game; I speak my mind, which is good for you and bad for me, generally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite initially checking himself, Scott went on to air his thoughts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tend to think they just made it up,\u201d he said of the wildcard weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust threw in another couple more finals for no good reason except cash, probably.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knowing his comments would reverberate, the veteran coach immediately felt uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

\"ChrisChris Scott doesn’t mind use of the ARC so long as the call is right and it doesn’t take too long. (Jason O’BRIEN\/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP<\/p>\n

\u201cGet me out of here. Our media manager, Sarah, is sweating,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n

Scott famously doesn\u2019t speak to his playing group after games to avoid emotionally charged reactions in the immediate aftermath of games.<\/p>\n

Emotions would have been high in the coaches\u2019 box during the dying stages of Monday\u2019s Easter Monday classic as Hawthorn came from a goal down with two minutes to go, to win the game by a point.<\/p>\n

In the teams\u2019 first meeting since Patrick Dangerfield put Hawthorn to the sword in last year\u2019s preliminary final, the Hawks trailed by six points when Geelong\u2019s Shannon Neale kicked his fourth goal with less than two minutes remaining.<\/p>\n

Mitch Lewis levelled the scores with 51 seconds to go then evergreen Jack Gunston cannoned the winning point into the goal post with 13 seconds left to deliver a 13.14 (92) to 14.7 (91) victory in front of 84,712 fans at the MCG.<\/p>\n

Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said he and his assistant coaches couldn\u2019t hear each other on the bench late on and the comeback, which snapped Geelong\u2019s five-game winning streak over Hawthorn, was entirely down to the players.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur players this time get to write their names into the history of what\u2019s a great rivalry,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the next 10 years you\u2019ll show the last couple of minutes of that game. And all of our new players, who perhaps haven\u2019t done that against the Cats, they get to be a part of it for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really proud of the lads that we could get over them today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skipper James Sicily played through a right shoulder injury and took a huge contested mark in defence before kick-starting an end-to-end play that finished with Gunston scrapping the winning point.<\/p>\n

\"JackJack Gunston has allayed fears of a suspected hamstring strain in Hawthorn’s epic win over Geelong. Credit: AAP<\/p>\n

The 34-year-old Gunston played through a right hamstring scare while debutants Flynn Perez and Jack Dalton were each left bleeding from the face from high knocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not usually big on the sort of war analogy, but it felt like that,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a game where you needed to lean on everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you win a game by a point, a lot has to go right, and all of the resilience of every player, of every staff member goes into winning it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The game was played on a knife\u2019s edge, with multiple lead changes.<\/p>\n

Geelong led by a game-high 13 in the fourth and appeared set for victory before a miraculous Nick Watson snap from a pocket inspired a Hawthorn surge.<\/p>\n

Both teams fluffed chances to bury the game, and Mitchell joked Hawthorn \u201cfound unique ways to not score\u201d, before the hectic finish.<\/p>\n

\"HawthornHawthorn have beaten Geelong by a point in yet another Easter Monday epic. Credit: AAP<\/p>\n

Mitchell was confident Sicily had just suffered a \u201cstinger\u201d and said hopeful Gunston had only experienced cramp ahead of Saturday\u2019s Gather Round blockbuster with the unbeaten Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval.<\/p>\n

Gunston worked over Jack Henry and kicked 3.4 while Watson kicked three superb goals and Jack Ginnivan (two goals) was lively.<\/p>\n

Josh Ward (29 disposals) was busy, especially in the first half while Connor Macdonald (26) was excellent when it counted.<\/p>\n

For Geelong, who were missing Dangerfield (calf), Bailey Smith (33 disposals) worked tirelessly with support from Max Holmes (27 disposals) and Tanner Bruhn (26) while Tom Stewart was busy.<\/p>\n

Hawthorn flew out of the blocks in Mitchell\u2019s 100th match as coach but Geelong turned the game into an arm wrestle.<\/p>\n

Hawthorn always looked capable of a surge and delivered one for the ages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end I didn\u2019t think we played well all game,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m never happy to lose. But I thought they probably had their chances to win it late and we almost stole it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, with the score the way it was, it sort of looked like it was the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geelong face West Coast at Norwood Oval on Sunday.<\/p>\n

– With AAP<\/p>\n

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