GEELONG'S coaches were furious and foul-mouthed as Patrick Dangerfield inexplicably sat on the interchange bench late in their AFL loss to St Kilda.
The Saints kicked the last two goals of the match to beat the Cats by three points on Saturday night in one of the upsets of the season.
With St Kilda charging and the game on the outer wing, Dangerfield and Steven Motlop were stranded on the bench for several minutes.
Commentators noticed the drama, with Dangerfield one of Geelong's most important players.
"Don't overestimate the amount of control we have in the coaches' box," Scott dryly told Fox Footy on Monday.
"It would be interesting to hear the audio in the box at that time.
"It's not for this timeslot and there's a level of frustration.
"It would be incorrect to say everyone was sitting back, comfortable in the fact that Paddy Dangerfield was sitting on the bench."
If there were Brownlow Medal votes for the language in the coaches' box at the time, Scott said he undoubtedly would have scored three.
But he added even mild-mannered football manager Steve Hocking was animated.
"He's a calm operator - but he wasn't at his calmest," Scott said.
The Cats lost top spot because of the loss and it was the third time this season that they have lost to a team outside the top eight.
Scott said there is clearly a problem and they are trying to solve it.
"It would be folly for us just to say `that's not a factor at all' because the evidence is starting to stack up ... you can't defend the indefensible. We need to acknowledge that we do have a problem in that area," he said.
Scott added the loss again showed that while Hawthorn can play badly and still win, Geelong do not have that luxury.
"Less than our best is not good enough, just a statement of fact," he said.
Earlier on Monday, umpires coach Hayden Kennedy gave the thumbs-up to a couple of contentious decisions in the game that went against the Cats.
"Sometimes it's a difference of opinion ... I guess I respectfully disagree, that's OK," Scott replied.
"What we're working on is a better understanding of how the game is being interpreted in certain incidents, because clearly we haven't been good enough in some areas.
"It's a Geelong problem, not an umpiring problem."
