Geelong coach Chris Scott has explained his brief exchange with a Port Adelaide fan at three-quarter time of the Cats’ 21-point victory at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
Scott appeared to say something in the direction of a supporter as he made his way down the stairs to address his troops at the final break.
He subsequently had a brief but animated discussion with the security guard who had escorted him down from the coach’s box through the grandstand.
Scott, who received a $10,000 fine for a quarter-time verbal altercation with Brisbane Lions players in Round 2, explained when asked about the incident post-match: “Yeah I tripped on someone’s leg.
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“So I said to the security guard, ‘Did he trip me? Or do you need to make sure that the legs aren’t popping out?’
“It was probably an accident, I’m not sure but it’s a strange situation given the circumstance and the meticulous way in which the South Australian government has looked after us over the last 24 hours that we’re still walking in that close proximity when people are actually brushing past us in the crowd.
“Again, you can come up with a million examples of things that don’t make much sense (around COVID-19 restrictions).
“But we should just focus on trying to jump into line and provide a good example for the rest of the public because it’s been a hard 18 months and with a bit of luck and a bit of hard work we can get through this last little bit and get on with our lives.”
Pressed on whether the Adelaide Oval and the AFL need to come up with an alternative route for coaches to make their way onto the ground, Scott replied: “In the most respectful terms possible, when you have a stadium of this quality renovated, and to overlook that fact that the coaches still have to walk through the crowd is a bit silly, especially in the circumstances we’re in at the moment.
“But can I say, and in all sincerity, post-game we were obviously trying not to get too close to the supporters, but Port Adelaide supporters were very sincere.
“It’s my first time walking off a game in Adelaide where the supporters have actually been quite complimentary and sportsmanlike in the way that they interacted with us.
“It’s rare and when it happens they should be complicated, I appreciate it. I’m being sincere.”
