Geelong coach Chris Scott has criticised Wayne Carey's suggestion that his side is better without Gary Ablett.
Two weeks ago, Carey told afl.com.au's Pick a Winner that the Cats are a stronger unit without Ablett due to the dual Brownlow winner's lack of defensive pressure.
"I think they'll be better without Gary Ablett," Carey told afl.com.au
"Gary Ablett doesn't give you a lot defensively and I think Gary, and I think he'll admit himself, and a lot of people have noticed, that Gary just chips the ball around.
"He gets a lot of cheap possessions at the moment."
Scott did not take kindly to his comments, firing back at the AFL Hall of Famer.
"I give it a little more credence if it's during the game, where they can actually see it," Scott told reporters on Thursday.
"I suspect that there's a fair bit of looking at numbers and hearsay and other people's opinions when you haven't seen the game up close.
"Maybe he has watched it and analysed it really closely, maybe he just hates the talk of Gary being talked about as the best player of all time and think that title should be directed towards him so (he's) just trying to chip away a little bit.
Geelong have been without Ablett for the last two games due to a hamstring injury, and their pressure has significantly lifted since. But the Cats' coach could not identify any correlation between the two.
"I don't share the view, almost without exception the best midfielders in the comp aren't renowned for their defensive abilities," Scott said.
"Every team needs to get the balance right. Gary's going to be a really good player for us and has already."
Geelong are going to play it safe with Ablett and not bring their superstar onballer back until he is healthy and rearing to go.
"Technically he is (right), but I think we're in the position where we can say he's not going to play," Scott said.
"We always said we were going to wait until he was right and wait a little bit longer. The signs are pretty good for next week but I can't confirm that either."
