The AFL wishes to congratulate the Geelong Cats' Senior Coach Chris Scott ahead of his record-breaking 305th game this round.

Scott is set to become the longest-serving coach in the club's history, passing Australian Football Hall of Fame member Reg Hickey who coached 304 games for the Cats.

Scott has coached the Cats to 209 wins, three draws and 92 losses. He has coached them to 28 Finals appearances, three Grand Finals and two Premierships in 2011 and 2022. He was named All Australian coach in both premiership years.

AFL Chief Executive Officer Gillon McLachlan congratulated Scott ahead of the milestone.

"Breaking the all-time record is a special achievement," McLachlan said.

"You have an incredible will to win but also see the broader perspective for our sport.

"You are one of the great leaders of our game, both on-field and off-field, and I'm thrilled you're breaking the record for Geelong."

Chris Scott holds the premiership cup aloft after Geelong's win over Sydney in the 2022 Grand Final. Picture: AFL Photos

The AFL historian has compiled a list of Scott's achievements:

  • Scott holds the best winning percentage (68.75 per cent) for any coach with more than 100 games in charge, with the next highest being John Coleman at 67.6 per cent.
  • He coached the Geelong Cats to a premiership in his first year in the role (2011), becoming the first to do so since Alan Joyce in 1988.
  • Scott started his career with 13 consecutive wins, which is the best winning streak from debut by any coach. The previous record was 10 Johnny Leonard who coached South Melbourne in 1932.
  • Geelong have been in the top eight for 240 of the 291 home and away games Scott has coached. Only Mick Malthouse (314 from a possible 469) has spent more weeks inside the top eight during the top eight era.
  • Scott is one of 11 people to coach more than 300 games. Geelong and Essendon are the only clubs with two coaches in this group, with Reg Hickey being the other Geelong representative alongside Scott.
  • He became the quickest coach to 300 games in Round 15 this season, reaching the milestone in 12 years and 89 days. He beat the previous record by 16 days which was held by Ross Lyon.
  • He has coached 117 different players, with 27 playing more than 100 games. Six players have played more than 200 matches under Chris Scott.
  • Scott has had the pleasure of telling 61 players that they will be making their AFL debut. Those 61 players have gone on to play a combined 3,656 games
    • Longest serving players with their entire career under Scott: Mark Blicavs (245), Cam Guthrie (236), Jake Kolodjashnij (169), Jed Bews (164), and Tom Stewart (143)
  • He has made the Finals in 11 out of a possible 12 seasons so far. This season, he could become the 10th person to have coached in 12 Finals campaigns.
    • The nine coaches before him are all members of the Australian Football Hall of Fame.
  • Round 23 in 2015 is the only time where it was known at the beginning of the game that his side couldn't win the Premiership that year.
  • He has come up against 46 different coaches so far. Nathan Buckley (7-8) and Adam Kingsley (0-1) are the only coaches Scott has a win rate less than 50 per cent.
    • He also shared the field with 37 of these coaches during his playing days with the Brisbane Lions – 32 as opposition players, four as teammates (Michael Voss, Justin Leppitsch, Craig McRae and Brad Scott) and one as both (Ross Lyon played one game with and one game against Scott).
  • Scott has coached 56 games where the margin was 10 goals or more. Geelong were the victors in 52 of those games.
  • He has coached 10 games where the margin was decided with a kick after the siren – three more than any other coach. Geelong won six of these games, lost three and drew one.
  • Scott has coached 15 home and away games against sides that were sitting on the top of the ladder. He has won 11, lost three and drew one.
  • Scott coached a record 245 games with Joel Selwood as captain, the highest number of games for any coach and player pairing in VFL/AFL history.
    • The second most is 188 games with Damien Hardwick and Trent Cotchin.
  • He has coached in 195 wins with Tom Hawkins – the second most by any coach and player pairing. Jock McHale and Gordon Coventry hold the record with 220 wins.
  • 97 of his games have been coached at GMHBA Stadium, three fewer than Reg Hickey's record.
15:56

Relentless: Geelong's decade-long journey to a flag

Chris Scott, Joel Selwood and more look back at the Cats' path to 2022 premiership glory

Published on Mar 9, 2023

Most games as coach of the Geelong Cats:

Games

Coach

Wins

Years

304

Chris Scott

209

2011-

304

Reg Hickey

184

1932; 1936-40; 1949-59

260

Mark Thompson

161

2000-10

145

Malcolm Blight

89

1989-94

116

Bob Davis

72

1956; 1960-65

116

Gary Ayres

65

1995-99

105

Peter Pianto

70

1966-70

91

Rod Olsson

45

1976-79

80

Arthur Coghlan

48

1929-34

71

Bill Goggin

41

1980-82


Most games played under Chris Scott:

Games

Player

W-L-D

284

Tom Hawkins

195-86-3

262

Mitch Duncan

187-73-2

261

Joel Selwood

180-80-1

245

Mark Blicavs

163-79-3

236

Cameron Guthrie

158-76-2

214

Harry Taylor

149-63-2

169

Jake Kolodjashnij

113-53-3

164

Jed Bews

102-59-3

162

Patrick Dangerfield

108-52-2

155

Tom Lonergan

110-43-2

  

Most games coached against Chris Scott:

Games

Opponent

Scott
W-L record

23

John Longmire

12-10-1

 

23

Alastair Clarkson

15-8

 

18

Damien Hardwick

11-7

 

16

Ken Hinkley

11-5

 

15

Brad Scott

10-5

 

15

Nathan Buckley

7-8

 

14

Ross Lyon

8-6

 

12

Leon Cameron

7-4

 

12

Adam Simpson

8-4

 

12

Luke Beveridge

10-2

 


People to have coached more than 300 VFL/AFL games at one club:
  

Games

Coach

Club

714

Jock McHale

Collingwood

635

Kevin Sheedy

Essendon

415

Dick Reynolds

Essendon

390

Alastair Clarkson

Hawthorn

355

David Parkin

Carlton

332

Allan Jeans

St Kilda

307

Norm Smith

Melbourne

307

Damien Hardwick

Richmond

304

Reg Hickey

Geelong

304

Chris Scott

Geelong

301

John Longmire

Sydney


Coaches to have won a premiership in their first year in charge of a club:
  

Year

Coach

Club

1909

Charlie Ricketts

South Melbourne

1913

Percy Parratt

Fitzroy

1916

George Holden

Fitzroy

1918

Herb Howson

South Melbourne

1920

Dan Minogue

Richmond

1925

Cliff Rankin

Geelong

1931

Charlie Clymo

Geelong

1933

Jack Bissett

South Melbourne

1934

Perce Bentley

Richmond

1972

John Nicholls

Carlton

1988

Alan Joyce

Hawthorn

2011

Chris Scott

Geelong