Scott on Carlton's form

The momentum is inarguable, but ours is pretty strong too.

I think I have been on record saying that the draw is very influential in those numbers, and you have to make sure that you dig a little bit deeper than just the superficial analysis of wins and losses. When we analyse it, we are not thinking that they have won X amount of games, which means they are playing really well.

We have looked at the way they have shifted their game and look, in some ways, I looked at their team a long time ago and thought you have to respect their talent. They are pretty balanced across the board, it is not just that they are stacked in the midfield or that their backs are really strong, which they are.

There is that intangible of having some belief. In a way, I have sort of always pushed back on that with us, I would hate to think that we would only play well when we are confident, and that we are really vulnerable when we lose that confidence.

They are formidable, they have got a good record against us as well, I am certainly not running away from that. We think there are a few reasons why they have been strong against us, and those are even more magnified now that they are playing better as a team.

But at the same time, I have to be consistent. We are not looking at when we played them in 2023, the last one is pretty relevant and was a close game, I think they are playing better now but so are we.  

Scott on Connor O'Sullivan's 50th game

Connor is killing them, All Australian squad in his third year.

It is much harder for young key position players to come in, especially key backs who are playing on the best forwards. Coming in as a young, physically underdeveloped key back and playing on guys that have been in the competition 10 to 15 years and performing really well, is kind of hard to believe.

It challenges the way I think about these things a little bit. Without giving too much away, I really admire the Jagga Smith and Will Ashcroft types.

But for a key position player to come in and play against men, having never done it before and performed so well, it sort of defies logic a little bit.

Connor has done a great job, but it just feels so early with Connor. Part of the reason I don't want to pump him up too much is because he just takes everything in his stride, so I don't want to contribute to that changing. 

Scott on whether Max Holmes is a chance

Yeah he is. It is getting to the point where he just keeps doing what has been asked of him.

So we are a long way from making that decision, but it has been really positive. He keeps hitting those milestones that the performance staff have been asking for.

We train again today, I expect him to look really good. Then we will have to make an assessment after that.

But it is a bit like I was describing before, waiting to see who we play before we think too much about the permutations. I have just been waiting on Max until it got to the point where he is within a week, a week and a half of playing.

We are at that point now, so I am thinking hard without having come to a conclusion. 

Scott on how he spent the bye week

I certainly enjoyed it as a footy fan. I didn't get to the games live, but enjoyed watching it on TV.

It is a nuanced debate the Wildcard Round, but what I think is irrefutable is that they were great spectacles, good for the game in terms of the people that got there and the people that were watching at home. The best of our game was on display.

It was a bit difficult watching the first one because you didn't really know who to look at, but in a way that was sort of better for me.

I was able to sit back more as a fan and sort of made the decision that until we knew what we were facing, that I wouldn't try to analyse it too much.

That made it more fun than watching the footy for me most of the time.  

Scott on a potential selection squeeze

It is still the hardest thing for me as a coach.

I am really quick to find 28 or 30 players that we would love to play, and really slow to find the ones that have to make room.

It is the old adage of it is a good problem to have, I guess it sort of holds true, but it doesn't make it easy. I think that is just stating the obvious, I get there is the old traditional view that you make your own luck and that sort of stuff.

But my guess sitting here now would be, when we pick the team we will go gee, it is hard to believe we haven't got that guy in the team.

I guess it is a sign of strength, but as I said, I find the interpersonal stuff as challenging today as I did in 2011. I was told it would get a little bit easier, but that hasn't been my experience.