CTV> Shannon Cox is looking forward to the start of the home and away season CTV> Brad Scott addresses the media after the loss to Geelong on Friday night
ACTING Collingwood coach Brad Scott has identified his side's turnovers as a critical part of its poor display against Geelong in Friday night's NAB Cup grand final.
Scott, who called the shots from the box as Mick Malthouse sat on the interchange bench, said skill errors were seized on by the Cats time and time again.
"We gave them 23 scores from our direct turnovers," he said after the game. "When that happens I don’t care who you were playing, you are not going to win the game.
"That was the story of the night. The tables were turned tonight. The previous three weeks we have been well in front of that particular statistic."
Scott added that the one-sided contest was not an accurate reflection of the Magpies' otherwise promising pre-season.
The Cats defeated the Pies by 76 points, but Scott said wins over West Coast, Richmond and Essendon were a better indication of the team's standing ahead of round one.
"I don’t think it is a reflection of where we’re at," he said.
"We’ve been absolutely thrilled with the pre-season the boys have put together."
Scott said the club had been through an "incredibly emotional" period, which continued this week with the sudden death of defender Harry O'Brien's stepfather.
"The Collingwood family has had to rally around a lot of key people who have had tragedies in their lives," he said.
"The boys have been put through a pretty emotional time.
"We made a conscious decision to push them through instead of taper and perhaps that was a reflection tonight, but it is not a reflection on our pre-season. Hopefully we have given our supporters great hope because the previous three weeks have been fantastic."
Scott paid tribute to a relentless Geelong side that dominated the game from the second quarter but warned that a poor pre-season grand final was not always a pre-cursor to a similar home-and-away campaign.
He cited his former club the Brisbane Lions as an example.
The Lions were thrashed by Port Adelaide in the 2001 pre-season decider but went on to forge one of the most successful eras in Australian football history, beginning with their maiden premiership.
"I think back to the previous club I came from," he said. "We were absolutely demolished in a pre-season grand final and went on to have three pretty good years after that.
"It is encouraging. We are very pleased with where the boys are at and the club is at. We’re looking forward to the season ahead."
