In just his third season at the helm, Dan Lowther has lead the Cats AFLW team to their second consecutive finals series and a second home final at GMHBA Stadium.

Entering the top job at the beginning of 2022, the Cats had not finished with a winning record in their first three seasons in the competition, and were coming off just one win from nine matches in 2021.

Lowther immediately made a positive impact at the start of 2022, introducing a number of changes into the program in his first season before the Cats saw a rapid improvement in season seven.

Geelong went on to finish season seven in fifth spot on the ladder, winning seven of their ten games before falling short in a nail biting elimination final against North Melbourne.

Dan Lowther talked about the Cats journey under his leadership on SEN this week, stating how keeping one eye on the future was crucial to the team’s success.

“It has a been a strategic approach since I came in,” Lowther told SEN.

“We could see the way the AFLW competition was rapidly improving, so we had to make sure that we got ahead of the curve.

"We made some changes to our strength and conditioning space, we invested heavily in coaching around that and developed a running program to make sure we could negate injuries seen around the competition.

"Then on field we wanted to bring players onto our list that could support the growth of the game in a fundamental space.  

"Those were two of the key areas where we made some huge changes, we have made 21 changes to our list over the past three seasons so it has been a big difference.”

Lowther spent a number of years in a variety of roles with Geelong’s VFL and AFL programs, before taking over the top job as the AFLW head coach in 2022.

This weekend will present the Cats their best opportunity to win a game in the post season, taking on Essendon in front of their home crowd at GMHBA Stadium.

Lowther mentioned how important this Sunday will be not just for the players, but for the Cats AFLW program as they look to take the next step in their development.  

“It is a huge moment, absolutely huge,” Lowther said.

“To have the men’s success last year flow into our program, making our first finals series in the current competition format, and then for us to make another finals series is exceptional.

"We had an amazing crowd last week, close to 4,000 in the stands and it sounds more like 20,000 with the hype and the noise they make.

"It does drive the girls further, so to have another large crowd this weekend would certainly help to push the team against Essendon.

"Just to play in the post season again against a team in their first final, it will be a ripper of a day and I can’t wait for it.”