A MANTRA of “being hard to play against” will underpin Geelong’s second AFLW campaign.
Speaking at Friday night’s Season Launch, coach Paul Hood also reiterated the Cats would be “more adventurous” as it looks to improve on last year’s preliminary final finish.
“We’re working really hard on maintaining possession of the ball for a little bit longer,” he said.
“And we’ve spent a lot of time talking about how we attack.
“Natalie (Wood, assistant coach) has done a fantastic job of driving that, and we’re looking forward to that coming to fruition in games.”
After Geelong and North Melbourne became the 9th and 10th clubs to join the AFLW competition in 2019, four new teams – Richmond, St Kilda, West Coast and Gold Coast – will make their debuts next week.
“The main thing it does is add a layer of excitement to the competition,” Hood said.
“So that mystery about how the expansion teams are going to play and we go against them is an exciting thing for footy.
“The other thing is that we have four new cohorts of fans who can get behind their team, which is terrific.
Hood is unsure at this stage which of the Tigers, Saints, Eagles and Suns will have the biggest impact.
“I’m sure they’re all going to be competitive,” he said.
“We learned the lesson from last year that that excitement can certainly take you a long way.
Geelong opens its AFLW season on February 9 with a trip across the Nullarbor to take on Fremantle.
Twitter: @tom_king79
