Cats coach Chris Scott claims massive twist in verbal barrage confrontation

Geelong coach Chris Scott has claimed Lions superstar Lachie Neale triggered his angry, on-field verbal tirade on Friday night.

Senior Geelong players pulled Scott away from an ugly confrontation with Brisbane stars as both teams headed to their quarter-time huddles.

The Cats won a controversial thriller that came down to the final minute where the Lions appeared to be dudded by the umpires after Cats star Mark Blicavs dropped the ball in a tackle that would have given Zac Bailey an easy shot to win the game with just 23 seconds left on the clock.

However, Scott’s own antics were the main conversation in his post-match press conference.

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Geelong star Cameron Guthrie tried to pull Scott away as tempers threatened to boil over in the heated exchange with Lions players before Cats captain Joel Selwood came over and grabbed his coach by the arm, dragging him back towards his own troops.

Chris Scott was on the warpath.Source:FOX SPORTS

Scott claimed after the match it was words from Neale that started the bitterness. However, he claims he didn’t hear exactly what Neale said.

“I was walking onto the ground and Lachie Neale just said to me something like — I couldn’t understand exactly what he said — but something about Gary Rohan,” Scott said.

“And I said, ‘I’m happy to have the conversation with you if you like. I’ve seen the vision and I’m comfortable with it.’

“I suspect he didn’t hear all of that. That’s all that was said.

“I think a few of them, they weren’t paying me compliments. I didn’t say anything after that.”

There was speculation the bad blood was related to an incident in the opening term where Geelong’s Gary Rohan took a swing at Neale and looked to hit him in the head off-the-ball.

Neale bounced straight back up though and showed some cheek, flashing three fingers at Rohan — perhaps suggesting the Cat is facing a three-week ban for his brain explosion.

Chris Scott’s face said it all.Source:FOX SPORTS

Neale was also seen rubbing his jaw in a taunting gesture towards Rohan. The video evidence of Rohan’s striking motion is unclear as to whether Rohan made contact with Neale’s face. It lead to speculation on Friday night from footy legend Nick Riewoldt may have been staging the high contact.

Scott says he is comfortable with Rohan’s controversial attack, claiming Neale started the altercation with Rohan as well.

“I thought Neale struck Gary on the chest and then Gary struck him on the chest,” Scott said.

“But I’m certainly not saying he did the wrong thing. That’s footy.

“But I’ve had a pretty good look at what Gary did and I’m comfortable with it.”

The dramatic quarter-time bust-up came after COVID-19 caused chaos before the first bounce in Geelong, because Queensland recorded a new coronavirus case — who visited a dozen Brisbane venues while infectious.

Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services announced new regulations relating to the latest positive test, saying anyone who arrived in the state from Brisbane since March 12 must get a coronavirus test and isolate until they receive a negative result.

The Lions fell under that category because they arrived from Queensland on Thursday, but the game went ahead after the visitors were granted an exemption due to enhanced biosecurity protocols players are abiding by.

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