Chris Scott on... Shaun Mannagh

They're one of the most enjoyable conversations you have as a coach. They're all a little bit different and it's really exciting when a first year player comes in and plays his first game but arguably it's even better when you get to speak to a 26 year old who's really done his time, and probably thought his dream of playing AFL footy was over long ago and he has fought his way back to this point. 

We brought him in thinking he was a strong chance to play AFL footy straight away but he still needed to prove himself in our system over the preseason, and we've got pretty good availability. It is different to this time last year in some respects in that to force your way into our team at the moment with really only a couple of injuries is a quality effort. 

Chris Scott on... The Veterans 

Besides their age, which is a pretty flimsy and casual assessment, I don't see any reason why those guys can't play at their best.

Tom Hawkins, I'll use as an example, I just watch him train session after session, he just doesn't miss, and he does what we ask of him. We're conscious of not pushing him to his absolute limit, we'll manage him through the season, but unless people are seeing something I'm not, he just looks like his normal self to me, and we are conscious of that.

I'm not saying we're right, necessarily, it's just the way we do things. Sometimes you look at a 29-year-old and think he's not the player he used to be. I'm looking at a 35-year-old and thinking he just looks like his normal self. 

Chris Scott on... Max Holmes' Role

He'll do a bit of everything.

We think he's a player who is ready to go. He complements some of the adjustments we tried to make over the preseason but at least for me, and every one of our coaching staff might have a slightly different view, but the bottom line is it's very difficult to forecast where he is going to end up, but we certainly think that he's going to play a lot as an inside mid as his career develops. 

Chris Scott on... Shannon Neale Being Name an Emergency

Completely line ball, to the point where he may still play.  

That was a tough call. We're determined to get him into the team but not at the expense of players having to earn it and play well. He has had a good preseason and he has played well enough to justify a spot in the team, it just came down to a line ball call more on structure than him individually.

I'm very confident that he'll play well enough to just demand his spot in the team. 

Chris Scott on... Ollie Dempsey

If he were a stock, you'd be buying him.

His rate of growth has been significant from playing in the ammos, so if he continues that improvement and it hasn't slowed down in the last six to 12 months, he has forced his way into our team based on his training form and a couple of preseason games.

In our forward half, we're missing Gary Rohan, but that's it. So that's a good effort, it's not like three spots opened up and he's the next best candidate, he just is the best in his role right at the moment. There's no reason for us to expect his rate of improvement is going to slow down, but if that happens he's going to be a special player. 

Chris Scott on... The Opening of the Selwood Stand

It's felt like a long time coming, it was hoped that the stand would be finished a year ago, give or take. We've had pretty good crowds with 20,000 in here, so to double it and get 40,000, my understanding is that Cats supporters can still get to the game but there aren't that many tickets left and clearly we should be aiming to sell it out and have the place pumping.

It's a historic moment.