GEELONG has taken a giant step towards clinching a fourth consecutive VFLW finals berth following a 35-point win over Collingwood at GMHBA Stadium.
In the Cats’ final home game of the season, the 8.9 (57) to 3.4 (22) victory creates a two-game buffer between them and the seventh-placed Magpies with six rounds remaining.
“We knew it was a massively important game for that exact reason,” coach Andrew Bruce told Bay 93.9’s The Sideline View following the game.
“We were one game clear of the ‘Pies, and to beat them and go two games clear of them was important for us.
“We know it’s going to get quite tight before the end of the season.
“You want to be in there amongst this time of year, and give yourself the best opportunity to finish as high as you can, and see whatever happens from then on,” Bruce told Bay 93.9’s The Sideline View following the game.
Bruce said the Cats focused on producing a four-quarter performance after suffering three consecutive losses before last week’s win over the Western Bulldogs.
“It’s just something we’ve been talking about constantly for the last couple of weeks,”
“We took a small step forward last week, and today was better.
“At every break, everything we asked them to do, they really did try to execute it.
“The girls were really switched on and up for the challenge today, which was fantastic.”
AFLW-listed midfielder Laura Gardiner stood out for Geelong with 33 disposals, 11 clearances and six tackles, while Paige Sheppard was the ideal foil with 21 disposals and six clearances.
In her VFLW debut for the Cats, livewire forward Chloe Scheer gathered 16 possessions, took five marks and kicked 1.1.
Geelong will have Easter weekend off before facing the unbeaten Casey Demons at Casey Fields on Saturday, April 23.
Twitter: @tom_king79
