Geelong have fallen just short in a Saturday afternoon nail-biter, going down by just three points to Carlton at Ikon Park.
The see-sawing contest took until the last few seconds to find a victor, but the Cats were unable to find a game winning goal in the dying moments.
Back in the team after two weeks on the sideline, Abbey McDonald was the clear stand out for the Cats finishing the game 34 disposals and 11 marks, with eight of those intercept possessions.
Carlton had the game on their terms early, controlling general play and hitting the scoreboard with the opening goal in the third minute of the game.
Geelong were able to absorb the intense pressure, led by McDonald who had three intercept marks and seven disposals in the first quarter.
The Cats were able to swing the momentum in their favour late in the opening term, continuing on into the second quarter as Brooke Plummer got Geelong on the board with an early goal.
CATS V BLUES - Round 7 Match Centre
Chantal Mason kicked truly just before the main break to put Geelong up by two points heading into half time.
Nothing could separate the two teams in the the third quarter, with the pressure taken up a notch making scoring difficult.
The stalemate was ended by Carlton who quickly piled on three unanswered goals, putting them 16 points clear early in the fourth quarter.
With their backs against the wall, Geelong produced a late push when Hannah Burchell slotted two goals in 90 seconds to close the gap to less than a kick, with eight minutes still on the clock.
The Cats were unable to land the decisive blow despite their desperation late, as the Blues defence hung on to close out the three point win.
Burchell led the Cats scoreboard presence with two goals, while Lily Jordan (19 disposals) and Breanna Pratt (18 disposals & 6 Clearances) found plenty of the footy.
The Cats will return home to Deakin University Oval next week to face Collingwood, with the first bounce at 12:00pm.
VFLW Round 7
GEELONG 0.2 2.4 2.5 4.6 (30)
CARLTON 1.1 2.2 4.3 5.3 (35)
GOALS: Burchell 2, Plummer, Mason 1
DISPOSALS: McDonald 34, Jordan 19, Pratt 18, Sunderland 17
@ Ikon Park, Melbourne
