TWO-time Geelong best-and-fairest Amy McDonald is confident last week’s practice match win over Gold Coast isn’t a false dawn.
Despite the wet conditions on the Suns’ training ground, the Cats ran out 36-point winners, kicking 8.4 (52) – 14 points better than any score it posted in Season 6.
Geelong also won its practice match going into last season but only posted two wins for the season despite proving hard to score against.
“It is hard to know because it is a practice match, and come Round 1, you never really know what’s going to happen,” McDonald said.
“It did feel really different, and I feel like we have put in a lot of work over this pre-season; changed our gameplan and things like that.
“I think it will translate to Round 1, but (the) proof will be in the pudding.”
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McDonald says the crowd that turns out for the Round 1 meeting against Richmond at GMHBA Stadium on August 28 should notice a change in game style.
“Creating space is a big one,” she said. “Maybe in the past, we’ve been more territory-based; just wanting to get the ball forward and away from the opposition end.
“But, I think this year, we’ll be more attacking.
“No matter what, we know we’re probably going to keep the opposition to low scores; that’s been a theme across our last couple of years.
“But now it’s ourselves putting that scoreboard pressure on.
“Hopefully, you’ll see some angles changed in our attack and hopefully hitting the scoreboard.”
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Spectators will also notice a slight change to McDonald’s, with the 24-year-old’s unique kicking style undergoing a tweak between seasons.
“I’ve been working on trying to change my kicking technique,” she said.
“We’ve made some small improvements.
“And craft around the ball. If you can out-craft your opponent, you put yourself in a good position.”
Twitter: @krockfootball
