Rocky Cranston said it best earlier in the week: “That’s the AFLW – we’re okay with winging it. We don’t care how we get there or where we’re going, we just want to play footy.”

The words were said at the time about the prospect of a big day of fly-in, fly-out for what was going to be a clash with Brisbane at Hickey Park, but they’re all the more pertinent now after a swift fixture change following the latest COVID-19 situation in Victoria.

So now the Cats will be taking on Collingwood instead, a day earlier, at Victoria Park. Let’s look at what’s a very important clash for the Cats to get their season up and running after last week’s lost to North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos.

The Details

Collingwood v Geelong
Saturday, Feb 6 at 3.10pm AEDT
Victoria Park, Abbotsford VIC

Tickets: Get them through Ticketek.

Last Time They Met

We have to go all the way back to the Cats’ first-ever game in the NAB AFL Women’s competition for the last time the Cats took on the Pies.

It was a historic day for the club in front of a crowd of more than 18,000 at GMHBA Stadium. As well as being the first game for the Cats’ AFLW team, it was also their first win.

Maddie Boyd made history as their first-ever goalkicker and the team turned it on for a brilliant home crowd, winning by a point in a heart-stopper.

Nina Morrison, the number-one draft pick making her debut, was best-afield for the Cats, and earned a NAB Rising Star nomination.

Cats to Keep Your Eye On

Olivia Purcell picked up where she left off with an impressive outing on a tough day against the Kangaroos. She collected 17 possessions – eight of them contested – had four kicks, seven tackles and gained 296 metres, the most by any Cat.

Second-year Cat Amy McDonald was also a standout, gathering the ball 18 times and intercepting on eight occasions, while Denby Taylor worked hard for an efficient 15 disposals, and also laid seven tackles.

The Key Points

1) First goal a big one:  The importance of getting an early goal on the board has always been well-known, but after taking three quarters to register their first major last week, the Cats will be keen to make amends against the Pies and get on the board early.

The Pies had their own struggles early in the season-opener against Carlton last Thursday. Neither side kicked a goal in the opening quarter, and while the Pies piled on four in the second quarter, they added just one in the second half

But the second term was enough to set them up for a one-goal win over the Blues.

2) Young blood rises to the challenge: Encouragingly for the Cats, a number of young players look to have stepped up again in 2021.

We’ve already touched on Purcell and Taylor, but Becky Webster is another third-year who made her presence felt through the midfield, while second-year defender Millie Brown was solid in defence, particularly early when the game was there for the taking.

3) Pressure paramount: Geelong showed in the fourth term against the Roos that their brand of football can stand up against the best teams. Now they just need to do it for a longer period.

An area of the game which the Kangaroos really exploited the Cats was coming out of their back half with precision and speed.

If Geelong want to give themselves the best chance of beating Collingwood, they must not give the opposition’s half-back flankers the time and space they afforded North Melbourne in Round 1 and that starts with pressure.

If they can bring the heat and put Collingwood’s defensive group under more pressure, it will give their players upfield a better chance of stopping any counterattacking. Plus, it will give their forwards a better chance of kicking a winning score.

Full of Pride

Round 2 of the NAB AFL Women’s competition marks the first time the competition has had a dedicated Pride Round. The Cats will be one of five teams donning a special Pride Guernsey this weekend to mark the occasion.

You can find out more about the Cats’ design here.

How to Watch

Those wishing to attend the game must pre-purchase a ticket through Ticketek here. Persons under 18 have free entry, but must still reserve a ticket.

For home viewers, the game will be shown on Fox Footy from 3pm and streamed through Kayo with a subscription, as well as womens.afl and the Official AFL Women’s App.

Follow the @catswomens on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the game.

COLLINGWOOD continues to build the perfect platform for its AFLW season, outlasting a brave Geelong side to win by 29 points in an arm-wrestle of a contest at Victoria Park on Saturday.

The Magpies recovered a relatively slow start, with the quality of Brianna Davey eventually rising to the fore as the club's co-captain inspired her side to a gritty 6.9 (45) to 2.4 (16) victory.

Davey had 25 disposals, four clearances and kicked the game's sealing goal in the final quarter, with her grunt in the midfield throughout the match ultimately helping to swing a hard-fought contest in Collingwood's favour.

Geelong, led admirably by Amy McDonald (15 disposals, five tackles), had started strongly despite being thrust into the encounter just days out after a series of AFLW fixtures were rearranged due to Victoria's COVID-19 situation.

Having gone more than three quarters without scoring in round one, the Cats barely had to wait 30 seconds to register their first major on Saturday courtesy of a smart soccer off the ground by debutant Olivia Barber.

It came amid a quarter that Geelong dominated, with only fortunate 50m and 100m penalties respectively putting Collingwood within reach of goal to ensure the deficit remained in touching distance at the first change.

But once the Magpies had drawn parity on the scoreboard, they quickly evened out the momentum in the run of play. A superb Chloe Molloy goal saw the hosts edge ahead at the main break, before retaining their advantage in the third quarter.

The Pies led by only 10 points at the final change, but broke the game open in the final quarter courtesy of Davey's brilliance and another stunning goal from Sarah Rowe to ensure Steve Symonds' side started the 2021 season with back-to-back wins.

The hero

Collingwood was locked in a scrappy battle on Saturday, until the quality of Brianna Davey helped to finally unlock an avenue to goal. Playing predominantly through the midfield, the Magpies' co-captain was far and away the game's best player and lit up the match through her precision kicking, prolific ball-winning abilities and composure in possession. A clever goal from Davey early in the final quarter then settled any nerves surrounding a potential upset, as the hosts cruised to victory.

Blink and you missed it

It took Geelong almost an hour of play before registering its first score in last Sunday's bruising 62-point loss to North Melbourne. But it took the Cats only 38 seconds before debutant Olivia Barber snuck through their first goal on Saturday afternoon. Fans were still finding their seats at Victoria Park as the visitors celebrated the game's opener.

Sliding doors moment

Geelong entered Saturday's contest as serious underdogs, but started with a spark and should have led by more in the game's early stages. Despite nearly doubling Collingwood for inside 50s to quarter-time, two moments of madness allowed its opponents back into the contest as the Cats gave away a 50m penalty to Ruby Schleicher and a 100m penalty to Mikala Cann – both resulting in goals that changed the momentum of the match before the first change.

COLLINGWOOD    2.0    3.4     3.7      6.9 (45)
GEELONG               2.2    2.3     2.3      2.4 (16)

GOALS
Collingwood: Schleicher, Cann, Molloy, Davey, Rowe, Alexander
Geelong: Barber, Boyd

BEST
Collingwood: Davey, Schleicher, Bonnici, Lambert, Chiocci, Livingstone, Rowe
Geelong: McDonald, Purcell, Webster, Crockett-Grills, O'Connor

INJURIES
Collingwood: Allen (illness) replaced in selected side by Lin
Geelong: Nil

Reports: Nil

Crowd: 3479 at Victoria Park