GEELONG coach Chris Scott saw nothing untoward in the tactics Collingwood tagger Levi Greenwood used to shut down Cats' skipper Joel Selwood at the MCG on Sunday.
Greenwood harassed and blocked Selwood throughout the game to limit the Cats' champion to just 17 disposals, his lowest tally in a game since round 12, 2015.
Although Scott said he thought Selwood won his fair share of contests, his output was well down on his season average of 32 disposals a game.
"A lot of our players didn't have great days, full stop," Scott said.
Selwood's teammate Patrick Dangerfield said the Cats' skipper did not receive enough support around the ball.
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"We can't just leave it to him every time to get the job done," Dangerfield said.
"In that respect we need to support him more and that is not going out of our way to get into Greenwood. That is playing the Geelong way inside the contest."
Selwood still won three centre clearances but did not gain a clearance around the ground, which slightly shaded Greenwood who had two centre clearances and no clearances around the ground.
Scott said 'flying the flag' was not the answer in the modern game with the potential to give away free kicks high when reacting.
He said it was more important for his teammates to make good decisions that help the team win the ball in tight.
WATCH: Geelong coach Chris Scott's full post-match media conference
"You can't just cop it and you do need to defend your good players who are getting really close treatment off the ball…[but I'd] rather our guys focusing on the ball," Scott said.
"Does pushing him behind the play off the ball make much difference? I would contend that it doesn't. [However] putting a block [on] so Joel can get access to the ball probably does make a difference."
Scott said he was more disappointed in the players' inability to stop Collingwood's ball movement with the Cats' defensive effort ordinary.
