The fact Chris and Brad Scott are coaching against each other is not new.
Not remotely.
As head coaches, they have done it six times.
They have fielded the same questions leading up to each meeting.
Who will your mum be supporting? How does it feel? Is it hard? Will you be talking to each other this week?
Even at the beginning, it was already tiresome for the Scotts.
“It’s not about us. It’s about North Melbourne versus Geelong,” has been the refrain.
Most twins hate being viewed or treated as one, the Scotts are no different.
Except for the fact they’re the first set of twins to coach against each other in VFL/AFL history, and 10 years ago played in Brisbane’s golden era together.
“I understand that’s of great interest,” North mentor Brad said in 2011, ahead of their first meeting as head coaches.
“But when you’re 35 years of age and been constantly compared and spoken about as one, instead of individuals, it probably starts to wear thin after a while.”
There has been little uncharted ground in the oft-told tale of the twins.
But Friday night will offer up a new chapter.
North Melbourne and Geelong meet in a semi-final, one Scott’s team will progress to a preliminary final.
The conquered side’s season will be over.
It is the first time that brothers have coached against each other in a VFL/AFL final since Norm Smith’s Melbourne defeated Len Smith’s Fitzroy in 1960.
It will be different to the Scott twins’ past meetings.
Perhaps John and Jim Harbaugh, whose Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers met in last year’s NFL Super Bowl, are best placed to describe how different.
Across the four major US sporting leagues – NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL – they became the first siblings to compete in a post-season game as head coaches.
The Harbaugh hype hit overdrive in the US, but the pain for both brothers after the game was very much genuine.
“It’s tough. It’s very tough. It’s a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be,” John Harbaugh said of beating his brother’s team in a thrilling season decider.
“It’s very painful.
“It was a great joy (winning the Super Bowl). But it was also the most difficult thing in the world to understand that he (Jim) is over there.
“I think anybody out there who has a brother can understand what that is all about.
“I just believe in him and I have so much respect for him. I admire him. I look up to him in so many ways and I am hurting for him.”
There will be no AFL premiership on the line at the MCG, but Chris Scott admitted the pain will be all too raw for either he or his brother.
“It’ll be a hard conversation post-game, no matter what happens,” he said this week.
“Generally we need a little bit of a buffer post-game. Because one of us has lost and they’re not in a great mood.”
Brad agreed on Thursday.
“We both want success for each other,” he said.
“Inevitably if we get that we’re going to run into each other at the pointy end of the year.”
SCOTT v SCOTT COACHING RECORD
Chris Scott:
*73 wins from 96 games (76.04 per cent)
*4 wins from 8 finals (50 per cent)
*4 wins from 6 games v Brad (66.67 per cent)
Brad Scott:
*60 wins from 112 games (53.57 per cent)
*1 win from 2 finals (50 per cent)
*2 wins from 6 games v Chris (33.33 per cent)
MOTHER, DO YOU THINK THEY’LL DROP THE BALL?
RECENT SIBLING COACHING SHOWDOWNS IN THE WORLD OF SPORT
*NFL – John Harbaugh v Jim Harbaugh. First clashed as coaches in 2012, but it was their meeting in the following year’s Super Bowl that captured the US’s fascination
*NBA – Jeff Van Gundy v Stan Van Gundy. Coached against each other five times before Jeff settled into a media career. That also created some awkward moments, Jeff analysing every move his brother made while coaching Orlando to a 4-1 loss in the the 2009 finals
*NHL – Brian Sutter v Duane Sutter v Darryl Sutter v Brent Sutter. Ice hockey royalty, six of the seven brothers played in the NHL and four of them went on to coach. Darryl has been the most successful, winning the past two Stanley Cups.
