He is a man that has guided the Geelong Football Club to so much success, but Chris Scott says he is still taking things one game at a time as he prepares for another Preliminary Final.  

Scott took over the top job in 2011, with this year set to be his ninth Preliminary Final in 14 years as head coach of the Cats.  

Along the way Scott has led Geelong to three Grand Finals and two Premierships, while also holding a 68%-win rate across 333 games in charge.  

Reflecting on an incredible coaching career, Scott said he chooses to focus on what lies ahead of him each year rather than reminiscing about previous triumphs.  

“It sneaks up on me a little bit,” Scott said on AFL360.  

“I think it is because I try so hard to look at each year in isolation, maybe even break it down further than that. It was only a couple of weeks ago that someone noted the top four finishes, it doesn't feel like that.  

“The longer we have been in the game, the harder it feels like it is and that is part of the competition and how tight it is.  

“It is just relentless this job, even when you feel like you are going okay you are looking forward to things that might go wrong.” 

When Scott took over in 2011, Geelong had a list full of premiership players and ageing champions that were entering the twilight of their career.  

Now 14 years on, only three players from that team in Scott’s inaugural year remain: Tom Hawkins, Cameron Guthrie and Mitch Duncan.  

Scott said it was one of his proudest acheivements, keeping the side competitive across a long period of time while nearly completing a full list rejuvenation.  

“Everyone that I started with 14 years ago other than Tom Hawkins Mitch Duncan and Cameron Guthrie are gone, so it feels like that complete regeneration of the list and that is the thing I am most proud of,” Scott said.  

“We haven't done it by getting the most talented players if you look at draft position as a guide. We feel like we have learned a lot of lessons along the way, it forced us to think a little bit differently and that is something we have tried to continue.  

“When I have the chance to reflect a little bit, the challenge we had in front of us was to try and stay as competitive as possible while understanding that we had an older group of players.  

“You can become a victim to the cycle, we took a risk to try and fight that a bit.”