‘Didn’t even know’: Chris Scott’s surprising call on injury list as Tom Stewart blow ‘snuck up’

Geelong coach Chris Scott has claimed he didn’t know the club released a weekly injury list, saying he leaves calls on injured players to his medical staff after Tom Stewart succumbed to a knee issue late this week.

Stewart was left off Geelong’s injury report earlier this week, despite the star defender suffering a knee setback against Carlton last weekend, before not training Thursday and being ruled out for Saturday night’s clash against Collingwood.

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Asked during Friday’s press conference if there was a reason Stewart wasn’t initially injury listed, Scott said: “I didn’t even know that we release an injury list.”

The Cats coach then cheekily turned to Geelong’s media staff: “Unless, is there a conspiracy theory, is there something going on in the shadows, you people?

“But I think likely, if I can speculate, is that we thought he would be OK.”

Geelong coach Chris Scott has claimed he didn’t know the club released a weekly injury list, saying he leaves calls on injured players to his medical staff after Tom Stewart succumbed to a knee issue late in the week. Source: FOX SPORTS

The AFL last year implemented a stricter approach to injury reporting by clubs surrounding providing specific timelines.

Geelong earlier this week listed seven injured players with a ‘TBC’ return, while the club has made late changes in five of its seven matches this season.

Scott has previously said he won’t be changing the club’s selection process and that he doesn’t care what others think about it.

The Cats have opted to replace Stewart with veteran Mitch Duncan for his first game of 2025 after Stewart’s knee injury “snuck up” on the club.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 27: Tom Stewart of the Cats is seen injured during the 2025 AFL Round 07 match between the Carlton Blues and the Geelong Cats at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on April 27, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

“Stewart (call) was made probably pre-training (on Thursday) ... he was obviously sore from early in the game against Carlton and battled on to get through, but just didn’t recover as well as we would have liked,” Scott added.

“It’s not a purely precautionary thing. The way we think about these things is evolving and moving more towards, not could this guy play, but he should he play in the context or where he’s at in his career and where we’re at in the season.

“We try to avoid situations where we think: ‘Collingwood is on the top of the ladder and it’s a really big game’. With the greatest respect to them — and they deserve it — I’m not sure they’re that much better than anyone else.

“Then you play GWS the next week, then Port Adelaide in Adelaide. Trying to prioritise these games doesn’t make much sense.

“We’re thinking more in terms of what’s best for him long term. Having to play less than his best, which is where he was at last week, seems more counter productive to us.

“Our medical staff say there's no serious structural damage, it’s one where he was going to be limited and they expect it to come good pretty quickly.”

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Gryan Miers also failed to get up to face the Magpies as he works through concussion protocols from a hit from Hawk Conor Nash in the Easter Monday game.

“Gryan Miers is a different situation. I don’t really get much feedback (on concussions), and I don’t want it. The call came through (Wednesday) he’s unavailable, that’s it,” Scott added.

“I could follow up on the detail, but I don’t. It’s impossible to answer how he’s going. He looks fine to me, but what do I know? I sense again this is one where it was erring on the side of caution, but we support that mode.

“There was some very minor hiccup in there that meant he was unavailable this week. (On Wednesday) he was out there for our whole session.

“I am sort of giving a bit more information than I normally would, just be clear that there’s nothing nefarious here. It’s just a conservative call made by the people who make those calls.”

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