GEELONG will look to learn from its more experienced opposition after suffering a 29-point loss to Adelaide in a scorcher at Norwood on Sunday afternoon.
The Cats, who were boosted by the inclusion of inspirational captain Mel Hickey and tough midfielder Rocky Cranston, started well but struggled in the 33-degree heat and eventually conceded to a dominant Crows outfit, 10.6 (66) to 6.1 (37).
Geelong dug deep late in the third quarter with consecutive goals to Danielle Orr and Kate Darby, bringing the margin back to 23 points.
However, three late goals to Anne Hatchard, Chloe Scheer and Stevie-Lee Thompson sealed the Cats fate.
Ebony Marinoff and co-captain Erin Phillips starred for the Crows, with Marinoff racking up a record 33 disposals, while Philips was everywhere finishing with three goals.
Hatchard was also busy finishing with 27 disposals, and the dominance in the midfield for the Crows allowed them to build pressure all around the ground.
Cranston was dominant for the Cats in her return from suspension, collecting 18 disposals and adding more depth to the Cats midfield after the loss of Nina Morrison to injury earlier in the season.
Orr and Maddy Keryk worked hard all day, while Maddy McMahon stood tall in defence repelling a number of the Crows’ inside 50s.
Geelong recorded its highest score in their short AFLW history, and coach Paul Hood emphasised how much his team could take from the result.
“We’ll work hard, we’ll learn a lot, we’ll review the game and work hard on the training track”, Hood said.
“It’ll be a great learning experience for our group”.
“In the centre bounces it was tough to stop Marinoff and Phillips and Harchard. It’s a credit to them; they played really well.” Hood said.
“A positive for us was that a lot of our players had really good moments that showed they can compete at the level, we just need to improve the consistency”.
Hickey returned for her first match at AFLW level since tearing her ACL just over 11 months ago when playing for Melbourne and got through unscathed.
The veteran was proud of the effort her teammates produced.
“It felt like we battled really hard today,” Hickey said.
“But our attitude is to keep learning, be humble, and keep improving each week.”
Twitter: @laurathistle9
