Geelong’s VFLW side has claimed their first win of season 2018 with a comprehensive 53-point win over the Southern Saints at Anthony Costa Oval.
The game got underway just prior to the AFL match at GMHBA Stadium in just the second time that all 3 Geelong sides (AFL, VFL and VFLW) have played on the same day at the same ground.
Both sides struggled early in the trying conditions, as they adjusted to the wet and windy conditions. Geelong, however, were the first to adjust, with forward Kate Darby kicking two goals in the second term to break the game open and stretch the lead out to 28 points at half time.
It was all Geelong in the second half, with the home team kicking six goals to two to run out 53-point winners. Kate Darby and Alisha Habib kicked three goals each, while Hannah Mangan and Hayley Trevean impressed all day.
The celebrations weren’t restricted to the players after the game, with the players putting coach Paul Hood in the circle to sing him happy birthday.
Here is a little of what Hood had to say about the game.
Positives from the game
“I think our ball movements in the conditions, we were really excited about that. Really challenging with the wind and the rain at times, but we were able to get some good use and deep entries and score off the back of that.”
“We battled a two-goal wind in the first term, so that probably worked against us in the first quarter, but then we were able to utilise it in the second term to help us kick away.”
What we worked on throughout the week after the AFLW Academy game
“We wanted to work on our outside game after our game against the AFLW Academy. In that game, we were very strong and did very well in contested ball situations, but the Academy were really fast, that challenged us to be quicker with our defensive transition and set up to give ourselves the best chance for the next contest.”
Moving onto the game against Western Bulldogs at GMHBA.
“We need to improve our setup of the ground and our ability to outnumber on the bigger ground. We did really well to get numbers around the ball on the smaller Anthony Costa oval, but the challenge of getting those numbers to the contest on the bigger GMHBA ground is going to be next level.”
The VFLW side’s final practice match is against the Western Bulldogs in a curtain raiser to the VFL game on Saturday 21 April.
The Geelong VFLW side start their season at home against Melbourne Uni on Sunday 6 May at 12.30pm.
Geelong VFLW 12.6 78
Southern Saints 4.1 25
Goal Kickers: Kate Darby 3, Alisha Habib 3, Michele Fedele, Renee Garing, Maighan Fogas, Matilda Arthur, Danielle Orr, Erin Hoare
Best: Kate Darby, Hannah Mangan, Hayley Trevean, Alisha Habib, Renee Garing, Mia-Rae Clifford
