CHRIS Scott got the collaboration he was seeking from the AFL's new head of officiating, saying there was nothing "adversarial" about his meeting with the game's decision-makers earlier in the week.
Scott queried the interpretation of the holding-the-ball and advantage rules following last Friday's loss to Yartapuulti and met with Stephen McBurney on Monday along with head umpiring coach Michael Jennings.
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon in Darwin, the Cats' coach said McBurney was in the process of getting to all clubs in his new role, and he was just trying to add his voice to the conversation around rule interpretations.
"It's not a matter of saying this is right or this is wrong," Scott said.
"Things continually evolve.
"Laura Kane and the AFL have gone to great lengths, and we support this, that they want to communicate more and they're really happy for people to contribute to the conversation as long as it's respectful.
"I'm comfortable and confident that that was, and will be, the case."
Scott said he appreciated how difficult it was to umpire, and that we should never expect "perfection".
He said, for example, players now had to be really really careful on how they tackle opponents, which added a new "wrinkle" to interpreting holding the ball.
"I don't think anyone should think behind the scenes there's this adversarial relationship, it's really the opposite," Scott said.
"It's like: 'What are you seeing from your end? These are the challenges we see coaching'.
"At the end of the day, that's our responsibility, above and beyond everything else, to understand the rules as well as you possibly can so you can coach the players appropriately.
"I think it's in our interest to be really open about those things and in return they're really clear on the challenges they face as well."
Scott said he had no concerns with how Geelong handled Jeremy Cameron's delayed concussive symptoms on the field last Friday night.
"The way the rules are at the moment, I'm very removed from it," he said.
"From my end I'm none the wiser, I'm completely oblivious to it. I could ask questions, but I just don't think that’s appropriate or helpful."
