AFL Origin: Harry Taylor warns Victorian coach Chris Scott will demand a ruthless approach against WA

Former Geelong star and WA’s High Performance Manager Harry Taylor has warned Victorian coach Chris Scott’s ruthless streak will mean he won’t settle for anything less than victory during Saturday’s AFL Origin game at Optus Stadium. The countdown is WA takes on Victoria in front of a sold out crowd, and the Vics have selected a star studded team filled with All-Australian players. WA will have to contend with megastars such as Marcus Bontempelli, Nick Daicos, Max Gawn, Patrick Dangerfield and Bailey Smith in the first AFL Origin game that has been played this century. Reports emerged last week that Scott has taken extended leave at Geelong since Christmas so he can spend more time preparing to coach Victoria. Scott already has coaching experience in representative footy, having led Australia to a clean sweep over Ireland in the 2017 International Rules series. Taylor, who played under Scott for 10 seasons at the Cats, said he would be taking the game incredibly seriously. “He has an outstanding ability to unite people. Players won’t have to look too far when it comes to playing for pride and playing with competitive instinct. He played like that and he coaches like that as well,” Taylor told The West Australian. “I played a lot of games of footy under Chris Scott and he is one of the best coaches of all time, One thing I learnt from him was the importance of being a competitor. “We played a golf together and he was very good at that and a real competitor. But his game day coaching and ability to get the team in the right mindset was phenomenal. That’s why a role like this will suit him really well.” Players will start arriving in Perth on Wednesday to prepare for the clash and Taylor has the challenging job of speaking to clubs around the country to work out how long each West Aussie can spend on the field, and produce with a list of bench rotations. He said most players would play for about 80 per cent of the game. But Taylor said the enthusiasm among the team to do whatever is needed to win is already clear. Taylor said it would be important to make sure the biggest names are on the field when the game is on the line. “We do have to be mindful of the time of the season, but I know the players will want to be out there as much as possible,” he said. “We’re all competitors so we all want to win. We will have to manage things and work ahead of where the game is actually going so we can have really good availability at the end, especially if it is very close. “We’ll be working through some rotation stuff in real time.” Get a FREE WA AAMI AFL Origin Guernsey worth RRP $130 when you sign up for a 12-month subscription to thewest.com.au Subscribe now from just $6 per week. T&Cs apply, limited time only. https://www.thewest.com.au/footypack