Geelong has been overrun by Melbourne in a wet and wild game at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night.
The Cats fell to the Dees in a gritty display, falling short by two points.
With 43 seconds remaining, Jackie Parry earned a free kick when Paxy Paxman gave the ball to her teammate Lauren Pearce instead of the umpire at a stoppage, the Cats forward kicking truly to cut the margin to two points, but it wasn’t enough.
The Cats burst out of the blocks, running well on the overlap and crucially, getting the ball inside 30m to put the Melbourne defenders under pressure.
Melbourne skipper Kate Hore showed her class with a quick pair of goals, the second of which saw her dodge round Georgie Rankin with ease, to haul the Demons back into the contest.
Hore was so dominant she led the field with 14 disposals at half-time, despite spending most of her time in attack.
The spring wind and rain hit with a vengeance in the second term, the rain somehow managing to blow towards the centre of the ground from both ends of the field while the stadium lights briefly flickered.
With Geelong constantly searching for the one handball to get them out into space, Melbourne's tackle pressure was vital, and the Dees cut the Cats off time and time again.
The Cats had more paths to goal, and were particularly deadly when the ball was on the deck inside 50, getting out to a two-goal lead as conditions settled at the start of the third.
Sinead Goldrick saluted with her first after 44 games, quickly followed by countrywoman Blaithin Mackin to give Melbourne the lead for the first time. The Cats clawed level, but it was the previously quiet Eden Zanker who slammed a goal home from point-blank range to seal the win.
GEELONG 2.2 3.2 5.2 6.4 (40)
MELBOURNE 2.0 2.2 5.4 6.6 (42)
GOALS
Geelong: Parry 2, Morrison, Bowen, Kearns, Kenny
Melbourne: Hore 3, Goldrick, B. Mackin, Zanker
BEST
Geelong: Prespakis, Am. McDonald, Morrison, Bowen, Webster, Parry
Melbourne: Hore, B. Mackin, Pearce, Mithen, McNamara, Goldrick
Crowd: 3,838 at GMHBA Stadium
