“We always knew it was going to be a hard year,” Scott said.
“I think we’d be saying exactly the same thing if we had won two close games[instead of losing them],so the fact we haven’t got over the line;there’s disappointment there – that’s obvious – but it’s certainly not a situation where we’re really panicking.
“We’ve come into this year with a view that we are going to be different[to last year,and] there are going to be teething problems with a few things,and we’ve lost a couple of close games,but there’s still a lot to like.
“There’s a quiet confidence about us ... I get that negative momentum can throw you off the rails a little bit,but we’re miles off that.”
Geelong might source inspiration from their 2004 season,when they rallied from a 0-3 win-loss start to finish fourth at the end of the home and away campaign,then reach a preliminary final.
It is just the third time in VFL/AFL history that the reigning premiers began 0-2 and the previous year’s wooden spooner – in this case,the Kangaroos – won their first two matches. The other two occasions were 1970 (Richmond and Melbourne) and 2000 (North Melbourne and Collingwood).
Scott’s identical twin,Bombers coach Brad Scott,on the other hand,would love to see history repeat.
Essendon sat atop the ladder at the completion of round one thanks to a 59-point demolition of Hawthorn,before overpowering the Suns by 28 points on Sunday.
Since the final eight was introduced to the AFL in 1994,only two clubs have failed to make the finals after topping the table after round one – Adelaide in 1994 and the Brisbane Lions in 2007.
But Scott has cautioned against expectations getting out of hand at Bomberland.
He revealed toThe Age this month that hewarned new president David Barham and his board not to hire him if they believed the Bombers were close to turning everything around after two underwhelming decades.
“I don’t want to dampen[supporters’] excitement. I want them to be encouraged,but also to have an eye on what’s coming through,” Scott said.
“We keep talking about the need for stability,and[how] we won’t make short-term decisions – and we’re going to come up against some really,really good teams.
“For us,every game is a hard game. But we want our fans to be excited;just also understanding that it’s going to take us some time.”
There is every reason for Essendon supporters – and those of the other undefeated teams,Sydney,St Kilda,Collingwood and North Melbourne – to be bullish.
Of the 107 teams since 2000 to start their season with two wins,79 made the finals,and 20 of them advanced at least to a preliminary final.
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The other statistic of note? Fourteen of those clubs went on to win the premiership.
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