GEELONG coach Chris Scott has called out Gold Coast counterpart Rodney Eade for seeking AFL clarification on umpiring decisions, saying the move could have benefits for the Suns this week.
Eade put in a call to umpires coach Hayden Kennedy on Tuesday to discuss two decisions in his team's loss to North Melbourne, also complaining about the umpiring in his post-match press conference last Saturday night.
Speaking as the Cats flew out of Melbourne on Friday to play Gold Coast, Scott said it was a move the Suns had benefited from against his team last year, when Eade complained about the treatment of his star forward Tom Lynch.
"I think sometimes saying you've rung the umpires and got some clarification around some rules can have a benefit," Scott said.
"Last year we played Gold Coast and Rodney Eade had made some comments about Tom Lynch being manhandled and he (Lynch) got two dubious free kicks early in the game.
"So sometimes it works, I notice he's done it again. It's not something we've done this week."
The two decisions Eade sought clarification on were a push-in-the-back against Sean Lemmens that led to a Nathan Hrovat goal, and a free kick paid against Brandon Matera for a throw, with the umpires admitting both calls were errors.
While not labelling the phone call to AFL House as a tactic from Eade, Scott said it could impact the way umpires view the game.
"I'll just draw on past experience where there have been comments made and it's only human nature for the umpires to react in some way," the coach said.
"They would say they're strongly impartial and they treat every situation on its merits.
"But the umpires are the same as us. You watch the opposition play in previous weeks and draw some conclusions from it."
Geelong is coming off a 29-point loss to Collingwood, with Scott confident his star duo of Patrick Dangerfield and Scott Selwood would rebound from quiet games.
The coach was not worried about Selwood attracting another hard tag after Magpie Levi Greenwood restricted the skipper to just 17 possessions – his equal lowest tally since round 16, 2014.
"Joel has been played closely for the majority of his career, it's a fallacy to say that's something new," Scott said.
"Hopefully what we have been able to do over a number of years is make it difficult to sit on everyone.
"Our preference is they do try to sit on all of our guys."
Asked if the Cats would return serve by tagging champion midfielder Gary Ablett, Scott said his team would use a combination of methods to try and control their former star.
"We need to be really aware of him, because he's such a dominant player," Scott said.
"But if you go completely negative, it will disrupt parts of your game and take out the obligation for him to defend, which is potentially a problem."
Ablett will face Geelong for the sixth time, holding a 1-4 record against his old team since crossing to the Suns ahead of the 2011 season.
The two-time premiership Cat's only win against his former club came in 2014, when he starred with 33 possessions and eight tackles, earning two Brownlow Medal votes.
Geelong has made four changes for Saturday night's clash, dropping midfielder Sam Menegola, defender Tom Stewart and ruckman Zac Smith, while losing Brandan Partitt to a hamstring injury.
However, Menegola, Stewart and Smith all travelled as emergencies, with Scott suggesting the trio were all chances of playing on Saturday night.
