THERE have been moments in the past 11 years when the self-doubt voice inside Chris Scott's head was the dominant one.

It was shouting negative thoughts post the 2012 season after a week one finals exit, and again following a straight sets finals dismissal two years later. It was very loud in 2015, the only season of his 12 as coach of Geelong where finals were not reached. It was bellowing in 2018 after another elimination final loss. And after an 83-point loss in Perth in the 2021 preliminary final, it was screaming for days.

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Each time, Scott, and those in whom he confides inside Cats headquarters, chose to argue with that voice.

Which is why, when Scott reflects on Geelong's premiership success of 2022 and the myriad of happy reflections which have bounced off it, his most cherished satisfaction is that his club refused to abandon a commitment it made in 2010 when he was appointed coach.

Remember those days? The Cats appeared - publicly at least - to be imploding. They had just been belted in a preliminary final. Gary Ablett and Mark Thompson had just walked out. Key assistant coaches had also exited. Club saviour Frank Costa's time as president was expired. Fitness staff departed.

When Scott walked into this maelstrom, he sat down with remaining powerbrokers where a pledge was made that while he was in charge, the club would seek to win a premiership every single season. There were to be no rebuilds by choice, no deflective and scrutiny-avoiding five-year plans. Just old-school philosophy to ensure every decision made at every level of the football department would lead to giving the Cats the best hope of victory in every single match it played.

When asked by AFL.com.au last week what aspect of the 2022 premiership gave him the most satisfaction, Scott said: "That it was a plan coming together, and that part of that plan was looking back to 2010 when I first walked into the club."

"We put a plan together that was really, really ambitious. And to be frank, it was unlikely to work. The idea that we should try to win every year and yet still prepare to win a premiership in 10 years' time, hadn't been done before. It was unlikely to work. But if it did, how good would that be?

"And then the doubling down of our philosophy even before the last half of the year around the management of players. We had tried it before, but we had at times limped into finals. We have been the beneficiary of luck at times, but we have also been stung by some bad luck."

Asked if he wavered on several occasions in the years after managing to secure a premiership in his first season of 2011, Scott answered simply: "Yep."

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To the point of considering aborting the plan? "I don't think we ever got to the stage of aborting it. (Recruiting boss) Stephen Wells and I in particular, and (former head of football and current CEO) Steve Hocking as well, have had this conversation all the way through, and I was generally the driver of: 'you know we are going to have to pivot at some point in time' and 'there is going to be a reckoning'.

"… if we didn't win the premiership last year, I am really confident that I would still sit here today and the thing I am most proud of is the fact we have had a crack every year, while always having an eye on the future.

"And that has been hard for some people to see. I completely understand where people might have thought that that is not a very good strategy because historically it hasn't worked. But things that haven't happened then happen all the time. The rebuild, the fact we haven't done it with early draft picks, we have really had to think about how we integrate some unorthodox picks, some Category B rookies, some late picks, some Irishmen, go after need, manage out TPP, and have all those pieces come together to still give ourselves a chance.

"We have had some luck also. We haven't forecast everything. It was vaguely being aware of everything but continuing to iterate and do what was right for us. And again, it is a hard sell publicly because there is so much competitive advantage and stuff that is in-confidence internally, and going and explaining it to the world is not a good idea.

"But back to those conversations with Wellsy and Steve Hocking and now Andrew Mackie, the wavering starts with: 'we should be critical, and no one should me more critical of our plan than us'. And then go through the alternatives. If we tipped it, if we flipped it on its head and did it completely differently, what would it look like? And that didn't look that good. It wasn't that appetising. My view for the most part is that teams which embark upon a long-term rebuild do it because they have to, not because they want to."

Immediately after the 2022 flag, Geelong set about giving itself the best chance to secure its next one in creatively negotiating during the trade period to add Ollie Henry, Jack Bowes (and draft pick No.7) and Tanner Bruhn, then using that pick No.7 on Jhye Clark in the draft.

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With Max Holmes (a young gun injured in the preliminary final) and Sam Menegola (unluckily injured throughout the first half of 2022) also seeking regular appearances in 2023, the Cats will be frequently making tough calls at selection.

"All of them (the new faces) are in the mix," Scott said. "You could reel off another six or seven. Around 30 players who could all play in round one where we would be comfortable. It is a good problem to have. We have always shown a willingness to be creative and give opportunity, while prioritising best-team for the week."

In Scott's 12 seasons as Geelong coach, the Cats have qualified for 11 finals series, reached eight preliminary finals, three Grand Finals and two flags.

He is contracted for 2023 and 2024.

"Practically, when you have been at a club for a long time … if you had asked me five, six, seven years ago, I never would have thought I'd still be here, and I've been really willing over the years to see and find the right reason for me to go," Scott said.

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"And in a way, starting with an older group which needed to transition players has meant that there are very few players on our list who have had me a long time. If we had 30 guys who had only heard me for 10 years – that would be a good enough reason to go. And at some point that will happen. If I want to keep coaching, and I'm not 100 per cent sure that I do, long-term, the question I am going to have to answer, and I can’t get to it at the moment, is how is it going to be better than Geelong?"

Asked if it was likely he would be at the Cats in 2025, Scott said:

"If you held a gun to my head, I'd probably say yes, but I'm open to the possibility that I won't be. Aah, I think I probably will."