Just a day after Brad Scott was sacked as Essendon coach, it was clear from the outset Chris Scott was in no mood to answer any questions about his identical twin brother's downfall.
"I just don't talk about these things publicly," Chris Scott declared.
When asked if he had spoken to his brother in the wake of his sacking, Scott laughed before unleashing a steely stare and saying: "Have one more go and we'll move on".
There were no further attempts on that front.
Scott was evasive rather than dismissive when it came to talking about Stengle following a report the 27-year-old had returned to the club.Â
Stengle took an extended Christmas break citing personal reasons before returning to training in late January.
A VFL return was looming before Stengle took another break following Gather Round to deal with complex individual issues.
Scott didn't want to confirm or deny whether Stengle was now back at the club.
"I don't comment on unsubstantiated reports," Scott said.
"My position hasn't changed. I'm really optimistic that we can really help Tyson and he can really help us."
After some more probing questions, Scott turned to football boss Mackie to ask for the club's position.
"He's on an individualised program, and that'll be consistent," Mackie said to the press pack.
When asked if Stengle's program could soon turn into a return-to-play program, Scott looked to Mackie to chip in again.
"We'll keep talking about the individualised program. We won't get into too much detail about that," Mackie said.
Scott then resumed the press conference by saying it was a reasonable question, and the club would let fans know when Stengle is on the cusp of playing again.
"I think you can understand it's tricky for us as well, because we're actually limited in what we can talk about publicly, and you know how strongly I feel about players' personal medical situations, because it just leads to speculation," Scott said.
"The one thing I can guarantee is there are people who would be speculating about Tyson's situation who have it wrong, and it's disappointing in some ways that I can't clarify it for you.
"This is probably too personal to elaborate on, but some of the things that Tyson's had to deal with over his life, if you only pinpointed a couple of them, I'm sure you would sit back and say, 'It's almost a miracle that he's doing as well as he is'."
Scott confirmed Tanner Bruhn would return for Friday night's clash with a rejuvenated Carlton.
