There are plenty of talking points to come out of Round 12 of the AFL, with Chris Scott's press conference ruffling a few feathers and Adem Yze suddenly finding himself under the pump after Richmond's 114-point loss.
Let's get to this week's overreactions column, where we judge the biggest takeaways as legitimate or irrational.
Chris Scott has been telling porkies in his pressers
Geelong coach Chris Scott could walk away from footy tomorrow and depart with one of the sport's all-time great legacies. Twenty-seven years of service as a player and a coach. Two premierships as a player. Two premierships as a coach. A winning percentage of 68.41 as a coach, better than anyone in the history of the game with at least 126 games under their belt. But are a few cheeky white lies also becoming part of his legacy?
Verdict: Overreaction (?)
Scott's post-game comments after Geelong's narrow loss to Carlton on Friday night were a touch strange. The fact the Blues had now beaten the Cats in four out of the pair's last five games (five out of six times if you include this year's preseason game at Ikon Park!) was mentioned to Scott during his press conference, to which he promptly replied: "have they? Four out of the last five?!"
The Cats coach then looked skyward with a perplexed look splashed across his face, pondering in disbelief what many would view as a footy anomaly.
"I think I've said this before, I don't buy it," said Scott. "We don't look back to games four years ago and say 'remember that one when we had a completely different team'. I think those things are a bit more real when you just get smacked by a team over and over again. The four-out-of-five bit, I actually didn't know it. That's an indication of how much time I spend on it. We look at the last couple of times, maybe. I reckon once you go back more than last season you are in ancient history territory."
Granted, I'm speculating here, but surely Scott would have known this? Surely at some point during the week it would have been mentioned and absorbed into his brain. Again, I can't say this with 100% certainty, but it feels close to impossible he wouldn't be aware.
If Scott was indeed telling a little porkie, it's ironic that it was delivered literally 90 seconds after claiming: "we are quite strong with our players. Don't lie." This comment came when discussing player honesty around calling for score reviews, a thread which stemmed from Oliver Dempsey's non-goal in the opening minutes of the game.
If he's not lying, and legitimately had no idea the Blues have had the wood over his club for three-and-a-half years, then perhaps we need to question his gameday preparation. Perhaps it's worth looking at that "ancient history" and maybe asking Champion Data what it is Carlton continues to do so well against his side.
-- Jake Michaels
Adem Yze should be feeling the pressure to keep his job
The Tigers are reeling after a 114-point loss to the Swans at the SCG on Saturday afternoon. At one stage it looked like Sydney could pass the 200 point barrier (they finished on 170 from 45 scoring shots), dominating all parts of the ground, with differentials in disposals (+113), inside 50s (+26), and marks inside 50 (+21) the most stark.
It's put the blowtorch firmly on Richmond coach Adem Yze, now into his third season at the helm of the rebuild with a win-loss of 9-49 (15.5%). Some footy pundits have even declared he's getting a "free pass" and isn't under enough scrutiny.
Verdict: Overreaction
There are some short memories in footy media. Richmond are barely a week on from an impressive win over Essendon in the annual Dreamtime game, their second win for the season. Sure, the Tigers won five matches in 2025, but that was widely considered overs. There were many in the media who thought they may even go winless in 2025.
Let's look at their wins so far this season: West Coast and Essendon. Two teams many think should finish bottom four. So the Tigers are beating who they should -- or could. To have two wins already on the board, and with the injury list as long as the federal budget papers, is impressive.
This season, the Tigers have already used 37 players, more than any other team other than Carlton, which has undergone a regime change. Here are just some of the names who have missed significant chunks this season: Sam Banks, Sam Cumming, Josh Gibcus (out for the year), Sam Lalor, Tom Lynch, Rhyan Mansell, Kane McAuliffe, Toby Nankervis, Hugo Ralphsmith, Maurice Rioli Jr., Tim Taranto, Luke Trainor, and James Trezise. Combine this with not being able to get good looks at draftees from the past three drafts, like Josh Smillie, Judson Clarke, and Taj Hotton, and two wins suddenly looks like a fine result.
Young, inexperienced teams are always going to struggle against battle-hardened sides like the Swans, at home. Richmond isn't the first, and won't be the last team to get belted at the SCG. Sydney has the best percentage in the league, and a high-flying attack.
What's important at this stage of the Tigers' development is getting games into the kids, and culture -- and the players seem to love what Yze brings to the table, fostering a great environment for development despite the many setbacks.
Yes, the 15.5% win-loss isn't great, but what did everyone expect going into a scorched earth rebuilt? Alastair Clarkson, Leigh Matthews, Ron Barassi, and the aforementioned Chris Scott combined wouldn't be getting much more out of this Tigers side.
Give Yze -- and the Tigs -- time.
-- Matt Walsh
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