Why there is scepticism surrounding Geelong coach Chris Scott’s role with key sponsor

Heads were turned and eyebrows raised when it became apparent that Geelong coach Chris Scott had taken up a role with Morris Finance - a key sponsor of the club.

Immediately there was speculation that this was a way to pay two-time premiership coach Scott outside the $7.65 million footy department cap.

Scott was quick to defend his new role after he was quizzed by Channel 7’s Mitch Cleary on Wednesday.

“People like you are more than entitled to ask that question, but it’s one that should be directed at the AFL,” Scott told Cleary on 7News.

“They’ll give you a clear answer. You obviously wouldn’t go into something unless you were crystal clear on how it’s all supposed to work.”

In reaction, SEN Breakfast’s Sam Edmund and Kane Cornes discussed Scott’s Chief of Leadership and Performance role at Morris who have a long association with the Cats, including a most recent involvement as ‘coach sponsor’.

They can both understand why there is scepticism surrounding the Scott situation even if the AFL has ticked it off as Scott explained.

“There’s no reason why other clubs should not be doing this with their coaches, with their players,” said Edmund.

“It is so hard for the league to determine what’s fair value. We have no detail. What are Morris paying him? How many appearances is he doing? What is he doing? How many hours a week? How many spare hours does he have in season?

“There’s a reason we’re sceptical. I don’t want to be overly sceptical but there’s a reason why it doesn’t have a great sniff to it.

“At the moment, it struggles to pass the pub test, I reckon. If there was a scepticism Richter scale it would be high in the 8s and 9s.”

Cornes also wonders if a situation like this is good enough for Geelong then why aren’t all the other clubs doing something similar?

“If you can do it, every club should be doing it,” said Cornes.

“There is a focus on Geelong because they keep signing players and they keep being under the salary cap and you question - How are Geelong in the race again? How can Geelong get Jeremy Cameron? How can Geelong get Bailey Smith? How can they get Jack Bowes and absorb his contract so you get Pick 7?

“We start sceptical about Geelong for those reasons. They do what teams shouldn’t be able to do and that’s remain competitive pretty much every year.

“Clubs need to be innovative to find extra dollars so they can pay the best (coaches) the best wages. Chris Scott doesn’t get paid enough anyway when you compare what the best players are earning.

“I’m not critical of this, I just want to know what the rules are. If the rules are good enough for Geelong to do it, why isn’t every team doing it?”

Additionally, Bailey Smith’s financial deal with Cotton On, the clothing brand that is also an ‘Elite Partner’ of the Cats, has also at times been questioned.

He signed with Cotton On in 2022 when he was still with the Western Bulldogs but it remains a point of contention.

“They’re already entangled in the Cotton On stuff too so in regards to optics it’s bold,” Edmund added.

“They’ve got on the front foot and they want to control the narrative here.

“Why doesn’t he (Scott) go and work for a company that’s not a sponsor? They don’t have an airline sponsor, so be a leadership consultant at Jetstar. Would look at it dimly then? Would there be eyebrows raised then?”

Cornes added: “A lot of opportunities come through relationships though, don’t they?

“There is an existing relationship there, it’s convenient, they clearly see a role for him. I would love to see a job description.”

He reiterated his point that wages in the AFL should be made public so uncertainty like this can be quickly put to bed.

“There’s a lack of detail everywhere in our game. Coach wages should be public, player wages should be public so we don’t have these scenarios. Everything should be broken down,” he continued.

“We are so far behind when it comes to transparency with this. It needs a full breakdown so you and I aren’t sitting here in October saying, ‘This is fishy, this is dodgy’, when we could just quickly put into Google the breakdown of Geelong’s soft cap.

“So it all adds up and we have the clear picture. We’re in the dark and we’re so far behind, it’s embarrassing.”

There have been other famous previous ‘add-ons’ with contracts including Chris Judd’s role with Carlton sponsor Visy and Adam Simpson’s foray into Hungry Jack’s franchising while coach of West Coast.