Geelong’s VFL Women’s side remains undefeated after a dominant performance against Williamstown at Williamstown Football Ground on Sunday.
The Cats weren’t deterred by the windy conditions and controlled play for most of the match to keep Williamstown goalless, recording a final score of 8.9 (57) to 0.4 (4).
Impressive defensive pressure from Geelong kept Williamstown scoreless until the second quarter, and the Cats’ forward line pounced on the opportunity to impact the scoreboard early, kicking three opening quarter goals.
Next Generation Academy member Evelyn Dhamarrandji starred in just her second VFLW match, booting two goals and proving to be a valuable target in the forward line.
“To see Evelyn kick her first goal for us today and then get another one to start the third quarter was really exciting and gave us a great spark,” Geelong VFLW coach Paul Hood said.
“Having players in their first couple of games do great things really sets the team alight,” he said.
Maddy McMahon also impressed, playing an important role in the ruck.
“To be undersized in her position but then so good at ground level meant that she had a terrific day, and we’re really pleased with her performance,” Hood said.
Hood was happy with the entire team’s efforts despite the blustery conditions, praising their ability to work together.
“It was really pleasing the way the team played the conditions, working really hard to get the ball to the right part of the ground and give us scoring opportunities,” Hood said.
“We ran really powerfully and supported each other in numbers which was the reason that the scoreboard looked so good for us,” he said.
While the wind limited the scoring to mostly one end of the ground, Hood said that the team was prepared for these conditions.
“The wind does affect the game, but I’m not sure the performance. When you come to Williamstown you expect it to be windy, and we knew where we had to get the ball and the team did a really good job to follow out instructions,” Hood said.
Inaugural Geelong AFLW player Richelle Cranston was also among the Cats’ best, playing against quality opposition.
“We thought she (Cranston) did a great job today. She had a tough match up and did really well, and then in the second half we freed her up a little bit. Overall she had a really great performance and important impact on the game,” Hood said.
Hood said that the recent AFLW player announcements has caused excitement among the playing group.
“They’ve all got different individual goals but as a team we’ve celebrated everyone’s success along the way,” Hood said.
“Obviously there’s a few more spots up for grabs throughout the rest of the season so everyone’s pretty inspired to do their best, and as a whole it’s just a really great testament to the program,” he said.
Next week the Cats take on Carlton at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday at 4:30pm, in a curtain-raiser for the AFL match.
VFL Women’s Round Three
Geelong Cats 8.9 (57) defeated Williamstown 0.4 (4)
Goals: Dhamarrandji 2, Orr, Habib, Darby, McMahon, Currenti, Fogas
Best: Cranston, McMahon, Dhamarrandji, Fogas, Garing, Clifford
Injuries: Janssen (concussion), Williams (laceration), Darby (finger), Orr (shin)
Reports: Nil
@ Williamstown Football Ground
