Cats coach Chris Scott spoke to the media post game.
Chris, how do you assess that, especially that second half fade out, I guess?
Well, it’s obviously disappointing. We can sit here and sort of state the obvious. I wouldn’t describe it as a fade-out so much. It didn’t look like we were in the game and dropping out as the quarter…as the half went on. They just blew us out of the water early and had the momentum. It was really hard for us to stop it. They played some scintillating footy. It was kind of Harlem Globetrotters at one stage and it was unusual because the first half was clearly on our terms. We know they can do that. They are Marvel specialists, they play here a lot. This is our first game here. That’s not an excuse. Our first half is how we play and the second half looked completely different. It was some pretty good footy. We were throwing things around left, right and centre but we just kept getting beaten in contests, which is very hard to manage from off the field.
Jack Sinclair of the Saints tackles Tom Stewart of the Cats.Credit: Getty Images
Anything in terms of out of character or purely down to St Kilda getting you and that’s all?
I think we’ve seen it across the course of the season. Again, we were crystal clear what we were up against if they were allowed to play their best. So, again, I think when we were able to go forward in that third quarter in particular, they just kept marking it. So that bit’s a bit out of character for us and there were some other bits that were a bit out of character. But a lot of it was, you know, them being on fire and us not being able to quell it.
Do you feel it was a missed opportunity? You could have sewn up top four and potentially a top two spot. Was that a bit of a message to players there was that chance?
Oh, they’re not morons. The missed opportunity bit, I mean, clearly we’re disappointed. We knew what was at stake. So, the question now is, how much do you dwell on that missed opportunity and as opposed to how much you focus on the opportunity that’s in front of us. That’s very clear too now. So we know what we have to do. But, again, like every team that doesn’t make the finals and the Saints are probably a good example, will be thinking, “What if we had have played that way earlier in the year?” Everyone’s had their moments. In terms of missed opportunity, I don’t know of a team sort of in the comp that hasn’t been ruing certain sections of the season. So, again, as much as anything, the challenge seems to be not allowing that to snowball. So that’s what we’ll be focussing on.
Were there any indications to you before half-time that could happen or the Saints just flicked the switch after the break?
Yes, look, I think… Like even the margin 33 points at half-time, maybe that really encouraged them to play more the way they did. Then you get a bit of momentum, a few good goals and then things start happening from there. But, no, I mean we were really aware that there would be stages within the game that they could do that. It’s not the first time they’ve done that to us hear at Marvel. You’re sort of, aware the game’s played here even though we don’t play here. As I said, it was our first game for the season. But to answer your question specifically, didn’t really see the signs before half-time but saw them about 30 seconds into the third quarter.