NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott will miss four matches after deciding to have back surgery following weeks of intense and "debilitating" pain.
Despite hoping medication and treatment would be able to manage his condition, the back concern has increased in recent weeks to the point he will go under the knife, which will see Scott sit out at least four games as North coach.
He is expected to be back coaching by round 15. The club hopes to have him back at Arden Street a week earlier, but he will not be able to fly to the Gold Coast for the Roos' clash with the Suns in round 14.
"The last two weeks, in particular, have been a pretty slippery slope to the point where it's pretty debilitating and it makes it impossible to function. Pain's one thing, but function's another," Scott told the club's website.
"I'm really disappointed that I have to miss games. But as I said, we've explored every possible alternative to this, and we're at the point where there is just simply no other alternative.
"The club has been fantastic and supportive, and we'll look back on this as a really minor thing and I'll be back on my feet in no time."
The club will give Scott as much time as required to recuperate following his operation.
"It's obviously not great timing, and Brad was hopeful this was something he could deal with in the off-season and push through but symptoms and the pain levels have become such that he requires immediate surgery."
Senior assistant Darren Crocker, who played 165 games for the club in a 14-year career which included the 1996 premiership, will take on the position in Scott's absence.
The Roos discussed elevating assistant Leigh Tudor - who has been linked as a possible candidate for several senior coaching roles - but felt Crocker's experience as an interim coach when Dean Laidley resigned in 2009 made him a better fit.
Scott said he plans to still have a say in the team's preparation for games despite not physically being at the club.
"I think it will only be a really short period of time – a matter of one or two weeks – where I won't be able to do much at all," Scott said.
"But then even the games I'm not coaching I'll have significant input into the way we prepare, the way we train and plan. In a strange sort of way it will give me a little bit more opportunity to do some work."
The Kangaroos host West Coast at Blundstone Arena on Sunday before playing the Swans at Etihad and the Giants away before their bye in round 13.
After the break, North takes on the Suns and the following week it locks horns with Geelong at Etihad Stadium.
Walsh conceded the club's run of interstate travel had also been a factor in Scott deciding to have the surgery now but backed the group of assistants to take on the load.
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"You just hope that in this type of situation, which is fairly unusual, that everyone puts the shoulder to the wheel and takes some responsibility. We hope the team approach will get it done," Walsh said.
The news follows North's disappointing loss to Collingwood on Sunday, when the Kangaroos gave up a 39-point lead to be overrun by the Magpies, who won by 17 points after a barnstorming third term.
The players were informed of Scott's impending surgery on Monday morning, although Walsh said many were aware he had been carrying the back complaint for some time, which emanates from his playing career.
"Apart from the concern for Brad as a person and as their coach, they see it as an opportunity to step up," he said.
Scott will have surgery as soon as a time is available, and in the short-term the club may take some coaches meetings to Scott's house while he is unable to move around.
It is a blow to the Roos, who have struggled to find any consistency across the first half of the season, finding themselves 13th on the ladder at 4-5 after nine rounds.
"It's not great because in my eyes and I think in most people's eyes he's the most important person in this footy department because he's the leader of this team," Walsh said.
"It would never have been great timing but particularly coming off yesterday's loss, and the next morning we wake up and know our senior coach is out of action, it's not great.
"[He's] very frustrated. He's a greatly competitive beast.
"I'm sure there's part of him that feels he's letting his team and his players and his club down, but he's also a realist to know if he's going to function as well as we want him to, and be the coach he can be, that he needs this repair surgery done as soon as possible."
Bolton coached the Hawks to five straight wins.
Following the sacking of Mick Malthouse last week, Drew Petrie talked about Crocker’s stint as North’s interim coach in 2009 on the AFL Exchange podcast.
"He brought in some really good standards and I know he wanted to create this high-performance culture. That’s probably the first time I heard that, that high-performance culture in 2009, when ‘Crock’ took over," Petrie said.
Crocker retired in 1998, and then coached Port Melbourne in the VFL for a season before joining Richmond as an assistant to Danny Frawley.
He returned to North as an assistant to Dean Laidley in 2004, becoming the club’s interim coach after Laidley resigned following the club’s 44-point loss to Adelaide in round 12, 2009.
Crocker coached the Roos for 10 matches, finishing with a record of three wins, six losses and a draw.
Brad Scott was named as North’s coach for the 2010 season with two rounds remaining in 2009, although Crocker coached out the year.
The Roos finished 2009 in 13th position.
