{"id":162577,"date":"2025-05-29T16:41:35","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T06:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=162577"},"modified":"2025-05-29T16:41:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T06:41:35","slug":"scott-defends-bailey-smiths-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/sport\/scott-defends-bailey-smiths-joke\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Not a hanging offence’: Scott defends Bailey Smith’s joke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coach Chris Scott says the latest Bailey Smith controversy barely caused a ripple at Geelong while calling for “ultra-conservatives” to lay off the recruit.<\/p>\n

The AFL’s “ultra-conservative” finger-waggers should lay off polarising Geelong recruit Bailey Smith, his coach says.<\/p>\n

Cats coach Chris Scott has shrugged off Smith’s latest stint in the headlines as trivial.<\/p>\n

Smith, after Geelong defeated his former side Western Bulldogs, responded to a comment on his Instagram profile asking whether he had ‘nose beers’ – \u00a0a common reference to cocaine – to celebrate.<\/p>\n

Smith replied: ‘Na bro, after the flag maybe tho.’ before later deleting the comment.<\/p>\n

AFL chief Andrew Dillon said bluntly of Smith’s interaction: “We wouldn’t want to see it again.”<\/p>\n

\"\"
Cats coach Chris Scott has shrugged off the latest Bailey Smith controversy. (Julian Smith\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

But coach Scott said the issue barely created a ripple inside Geelong.<\/p>\n

“The simple way of describing the interaction between our key people and Bailey has been one where he has kind of approached us and gone: ‘I wish I hadn’t of done that’,” Scott told reporters on Thursday.<\/p>\n

“And we’re like: ‘We’re a bit the same. But it’s not a hanging offence’.<\/p>\n

“But in the end, I just don’t think we need ultra-conservative people wagging their finger at Bailey.”<\/p>\n

Scott then added sarcastically: “I appreciate your help, but we have got it covered.”<\/p>\n

The Cats coach reiterated his stance against sanctions.<\/p>\n

“Things like warnings and when it extends to penalties just remind me of the way teachers treat little kids,” he said.<\/p>\n

“There’s always going to be that other side of the world where people enjoy seeing people get punished.<\/p>\n

“And even if I take it a bit further – and this is my personal view, I am not necessarily representing the position of the football club – \u00a0but I am not sure we should be tipping in to these people that choose to bait players or prominent people and take glee when they see them get punished.<\/p>\n

“I am not playing that game.”<\/p>\n

Scott was also asked about his name being mentioned in speculation surrounding the AFL’s new Tasmanian entity.<\/p>\n

“I think it would be enticing for a coach. But not as enticing as Geelong,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Geelong coach Chris Scott says critics should lay off star recruit Bailey Smith. (Julian Smith\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The fifth-placed Cats (seven wins, four losses) travel to play West Coast on Sunday with Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield (hamstring), Jhye Clark (concussion) and Jack Bowes (hamstring) to miss.<\/p>\n

Scott said Dangerfield was likely to return for the June 7 clash against Gold Coast in Geelong with Bowes “a couple of weeks after that”.<\/p>\n

Veteran Cam Guthrie, who returned in VFL ranks last weekend, would remain in the state league for at least another fortnight.<\/p>\n

Guthrie has played only 10 AFL games since 2023 – the most recent was in round 11 last year – because of various injuries, the latest an achilles problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coach Chris Scott says the latest Bailey Smith controversy barely caused a ripple at Geelong while calling for “ultra-conservatives” to lay off the recruit. The AFL’s “ultra-conservative” finger-waggers should lay off polarising Geelong recruit Bailey Smith, his coach says. Cats coach Chris Scott has shrugged off Smith’s latest stint in the headlines as trivial. Smith, […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":162578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-162577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n'Not a hanging offence': Scott defends Bailey Smith's joke - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chris Scott has defended Bailey Smith\u2019s Instagram joke, calling it trivial and not a hanging offence.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/sport\/scott-defends-bailey-smiths-joke\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Not a hanging offence': Scott defends Bailey Smith's joke - 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