From one win, to two wins, to seven wins and a finals appearance in the space of eighteen months: it is fair to say 2022 saw a big turnaround in fortunes for Geelong’s AFL Women’s side.

After a difficult Season 5, the Cats went about making big changes to their AFLW program to ensure the team could become a genuine competitor again in 2022.

It meant some very difficult calls on list management, and a new focus in recruiting. A new-look strength and conditioning program with an emphasis on coaching. And on the coaching front, it meant a change in methods and game style.

It was a big step to try to get things back on track in the ever-evolving and expanding AFLW competition, and it took courage.

But two seasons into the changes, and they are well and truly paying off.

“I’m feeling very proud of the footy club and everyone involved in the AFLW program,” Geelong Cats Head of AFLW and Pathways Brett Johnson said.

“To deliver two seasons in 12 months was a huge effort, but something that we really embraced.

“There was a lot of renewal across the program, and we made some improvement in Season 6, without getting the huge increase in wins, but then to follow up in Season 7 and get that rapid improvement and win seven out of 10 games, it’s been really positive.

“It just validates some of the things that we’ve put in place over the past 12 months.”

Johnson credits a change in thinking as the key driver for what turned things around for the Cats.

He says better understanding of the unique requirements of the women’s game, and subsequently adapting across coaching and game style, list management, and strength and conditioning, underpinned the Cats’ transformation.

“There were a lot of changes across those three areas. Season 6 we kind of had to go slow before we could go fast with our game style, and then to see some of our attacking method take shape in Season 7 was really pleasing, it was a credit to Dan and the coaching team," Johnson said.

But better success on the field and a return to finals is only the start for this Geelong Cats group, with big challenges ahead as they now strive to keep on their upward trajectory and establish themselves as a real threat in the competition.

After finishing fifth on the ladder this season, the Cats can expect their draw to step up in difficulty next year.

However, strong performances against heavyweight Brisbane Lions (in Season 6) and Adelaide Crows (in Season 7) have shown the Cats can hold their own against the competition’s elite.

“There’s lots to look forward to, but I think the thing we have to avoid is thinking that we can just roll out the same thing, because the competition will look different again in Season 8,” Johnson said.

“There might be some minor rule changes or different interpretations. We have to make sure that we adapt quickly and continue to evolve.

“We feel like our list is in a good spot, (and) we want to keep improving our list. We think that our game style really stood up this season, but I think we found out a bit more about ourselves late in the season when we played in some of those big games.

“I think there’s an opportunity to now have another full pre-season to train those things that really matter in those big games, which will help us and hold us in good stead for Season 8.”

The Cats players will use the off-season to strengthen the areas they want to improve, before launching into another big pre-season.

The introduction of track and field coaches Anula Costa and Dom Trimboli has played a big role in the Cats’ improved fitness and running capacity across the past two seasons and, combined with the stellar work of the medical team, had the Cats’ list in tiptop shape for most of the year.

While ACL injuries continued to prove a problem for the league, the Cats managed to get through the year unscathed, with no long-term injuries, and often a full list of players to choose from.

“To avoid those nasty injuries over these two seasons has been great, because it just has such a devastating impact on players’ careers, personally, which you never want to see, and then also to the team’s performance,” Johnson said.

“I think Nina (Morrison) has been a fantastic example of that – to get her back in the team and playing the footy that we know she has been capable of has helped elevate the team’s performance. It’s just so great to see. She’s a fantastic leader out there as well.

“For the most part of this season – I mean, Rach (Kearns) had her nasty shoulder injury in Round 1, and only missed six games – but outside of that, for the whole 10 rounds, we had pretty much 30 players available, so it made it really hard for the coaches (to select a team each week).

“It’s a credit to the medical staff, as well. I think we only had eight games missed (through injury) in Season 6 and seven games missed in Season 7 and no long-term injuries, which is fantastic.”

Coach Dan Lowther's role became full-time ahead of Season 7 with an increase in soft cap spending, which created more flexibility in the program, including introducing a second Monday session for players able to attend during the day, to free up an evening for them during the week.

“To put Dan on full-time was a priority, and then to have (AFLW assistant coach and VFLW senior coach) Elise Coventry on three days a week as well from a coaching point of view, it just unlocked so many opportunities around players having access to coaches to be able to help improve their fundamentals,” Johnson said.

“It also allowed more access to look at vision, to improve their understanding of the game, get feedback from the previous week’s game and look ahead to make sure that we’re preparing well for the next game.

“It just made such a difference, and Dan’s so invested in helping every single player improve their football, and helping the team as a whole.

“(Dan being full-time) has just enabled us to do a few more things differently and to help with flexibility as well.

“I think Dan in his second season has done a terrific job, and I think he’s very enthusiastic for what lies ahead for us now.”