He’s the AFL coach, trying to minimise the impact of the Essendon supplements scandal on his team ahead of Saturday’s must-win game.
No, not James Hird – North Melbourne’s Brad Scott.
While Essendon have slumped alarmingly in the last three weeks, Scott is wary of their woes distracting his players.
He notes that throughout this season, Essendon have repeatedly shown an ability to cope with massive stress.
North must beat Essendon on Saturday at Etihad Stadium to keep their slim finals hopes alive, with the Kangaroos’ top-eight hopes potentially resting on whether the Bombers are stripped of their premiership points at the August 26 AFL Commission hearing.
They are currently 11th, a game behind Carlton and West Coast, but with a much better percentage.
Scott said on Friday it is imperative that his players shut out the massive amount of focus on the Essendon crisis and concentrate on beating their fierce rivals.
“You can’t pick up a paper or turn on a TV at the moment without hearing something about it,” Scott said.
“As a coaching staff, we’ve focussed on Essendon and the way they play and what their strengths are and how we’re going to play against that.
“We’ve completely blocked that out to the extent that you can and focussed on what they’re good at, because I still think at their best they’re a devastating football team.
“Regardless of what’s happened to them off the field, if they play (well) on the weekend and we’re not on our game and able to counter that, they’re going to tear us apart.”
Essendon are coming off big losses to Hawthorn, Collingwood and West Coast, which have sent them tumbling out of the top four to seventh.
“If you look through their year … I mean, every week has been a tough one for them,” Scott said.
“I don’t envy the position they’re in, in terms of the scrutiny they’re under.
“But the club has been galvanised to a certain degree.
“They’re clearly playing for their coach, playing for their club and it’s been a tough week for them, but history says that’s when they’re most dangerous.
“We’re expecting their best … we just simply look at their best.”
After upsetting Geelong, North slipped up badly last week with an upset nine-point loss to Adelaide.
Hard-nut midfielder Jack Ziebell hurt his ankle against the Crows and while he was named for the Essendon game, is yet to prove his fitness.
“He’ll have to do more fitness testing and we’ll stage that over the next 24 hours, right up to game time,” Scott said.
“He’s critical to the way we want to play this weekend, but he’s such an important player that we won’t take any risks if there is risk of long-term damage there.
“We’ll make a decision as late as we can.”
