Geelong coach Chris Scott is ready to welcome back Tanner Bruhn following a “egregious injustice” last year.
Bruhn missed the entire 2025 season while facing sexual assault chargers that were eventually dropped in November after a witness admitted to lying about the evidence.
The 23-year old made his unofficial return to the field in a new role across halfback in last week’s practice match against Carlton ahead of the Cats’ season-opening clash with Gold Coast on Friday night.
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And Scott was largely pleased to see Bruhn back on a footy field again after a tough 12 months.
“We were confident going into the 2025 season that he was going to be an important midfield player for us. And we still think that’s the case, but he was always going to be a flexible player as well,” Scott said.
“We’ve taken the opportunity through our training to look at him in positions behind the ball.
“But it’s just fantastic for him to get out there and be able to concentrate on footy after what is one of the most egregious injustices I can think of in the game. To put that behind him, I think is positive for everyone.”
Presser further about the role he’s played in supporting Bruhn, Scott noted he’d “said more than I want to” as “it’s largely a private matter”.
“I don’t want to draw any more attention to it than he would like,” the Geelong coach added.
“I support him in all the ways that you would imagine, but I don’t want to walk you through it.”
But Scott played down the significance of Bruhn playing in his first official AFL game since 2024.
“I’m excited about it all, so I try not to individualise too much,” Scott said.
“It’s his first game but he’s really been training and he played a practice game against Carlton, he’s kind of ready to go.
“I think we’ll all look back and think this was a small step, it’s important that we don’t overplay it.”
VOSS DENIES HE’S ‘COACHING FOR HIS LIFE’
Carlton coach Michael Voss has denied claims he is “coaching for his life” this year, maintaining his club’s focus is on anything but his future at Princes Park.
Plus, Chris Scott has explained why his club hasn’t reviewed last year’s grand final loss, labelling the concept “irrelevant”.
After two eye-catching wins over last year’s grand finalists Brisbane and Geelong in a match simulation and pre-season fixture respectively, the Blues couldn’t have asked for a much better February ahead of their season opener against Sydney this Thursday night.
It is hopefully the beginning of a stable 2026 for Voss’ side, who came under immense scrutiny last season after losing their opening four games, before later enduring seven losses in an eight-match stretch.
Joining Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Monday night, the 50-year-old was directly asked whether he felt he was “coaching for his life” in his fifth year at the helm in navy blue.
“I feel like that’s quite dramatic to explain it like that. From my perspective, it’s got to be about anything but me this year,” Voss said.
“Obviously there’s been a significant change at our football club; that decision was made at the back end of our year (in 2025). New coaches, new players, and a new way of doing things.
“With that, and those decisions, to think you’re making that call in six, 12 or 18 weeks’ time… I think they’re making these decisions for the long haul.
“The version we roll out in Round 1, you hope is going to be a hell of a lot better come Round 20 … the last thing this will be about in 2026 is my contract. It’ll be about our club first, and that’s the way we’ll approach it.”
‘I’ve completely lost trust in him’ | 02:03
While Voss lost dual Coleman Medallist Charlie Curnow to Sydney in last year’s trade period, he and his recruiting staff were able to gain a flurry of first-round picks in return — as well as five recruits from rival clubs; namely Will Hayward and Ollie Florent from the Swans.
The three-time Brisbane premiership player believes their arrival, alongside the likes of Ben Ainsworth (formerly Gold Coast), Campbell Chesser (West Coast) and Liam Reidy (Fremantle), has helped foster a positive change in the club’s environment.
“I separate culture and environment as two different things. We’ve definitely shifted the environment, but culture happens over a long period of time,” Voss continued.
“Culturally, we want to be a successful club over a long period of time. Geelong has been able to do that over a couple of decades now, so that’s what you’re trying to immerse yourself in as a football club.
“What we have done is definitely shift the environment; and the energy’s shifted. The players that we’ve brought in have created some really significant change for us, so you’re going to see a different brand of football. I think you’ll see a different team, and we’re really excited with what the year holds.”
Carlton’s Opening Round clash with Sydney kicks off at 7:30pm AEDT at the SCG, broadcast live on Fox Footy.
Scott refuses to dwell on, or review GF | 02:26
CATS COACH’S GF REVEAL
Chris Scott has revealed Geelong never formally reviewed last year’s grand final loss.
Appearing in AFL 360’s return on Monday night, Scott explained to Gerard Whateley and Garry Lyon why he couldn’t afford to “dwell on the past”.
The two-time premiership mentor was asked if he ever made peace with the 47-point loss.
“Not really, but I don’t think about it any differently to 2020, when we lost (to Richmond). I tend to move on pretty quickly,” he told Fox Footy.
“I don’t really think about it that differently to 2022, either, when we won — it’s like, we’ve got to get on with it. If you preach living in the moment, you can’t dwell on the past.
“I came to the conclusion pretty quickly that these things can affect you … but if you allow them to affect you, or if you open the door to that, then there is a big risk that it has a big impact moving into the future.
“I’ve said this a number of times; I don’t think you can ever make up for it, I’ve never believed in that either. We could win the next three premierships and I wouldn’t feel better about (losing last year) … it is what it is.”
Probed by Whateley on how the club went about reviewing the game, Scott said the concept is “pretty much irrelevant” that far on from the match.
It comes a year after Dean Cox infamously spent seven and a half hours reviewing Sydney’s horror 2024 grand final loss with his Swans side.
“We almost never formally review the last game,” he said.
“I put it in the bucket of … it’s kind of like reviewing a game from six months ago; it’s pretty much irrelevant.”
Scott said he’s watched “bits and pieces” of the game, but not in the presence of the playing group.
“But each to their own, I’m not saying it’s the wrong thing to do, it’s just, for us, we’re able to move into what we needed to work on this year,” he continued.
“(It’s) along the lines of not opening the door to those scars, or not letting it scar you. If you’re going to make a mistake, you’re better off making a mistake (while) moving on, as opposed to overreacting to one game.
“I’ve got no interest in really reliving that last day, especially, but the last month (of the season) was pretty close to seamless.”
A candid Scott closed with: “I hate to sound flippant about it — it was a disappointing period of my life, but I’ve got heaps of them, and I just keep pushing on.”
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