Geelong’s VFL Women’s side has suffered its fifth loss of the season, going down 1.1 (7) to Darebin Falcons 2.8 (20) in windy conditions at Ikon Park on Saturday.

Darebin came out of the blocks firing, booting two unanswered goals in the opening quarter, and looked dangerous.

But the Cats outscored the Falcons in the remaining three quarters with the side’s sole goal kicked by debutant Millie Klingbiel.

There were plenty of stoppages as the game was heavily impacted by strong winds, which also made scoring difficult.

Former Australian frisbee player Hannah Mangan was a standout in what was her best performance of the season, while Krista Woodroffe was impressive in defence.

The Cats were without several key players including ruck Erin Hoare, and Elise Strachan and Jamie Woollett who were both injured last match.

Darebin has won nine of the last 11 VFL Women’s premierships and boasts 15 AFL Women’s players in its 2017 squad including Daisy Pearce.

Geelong VFL Women’s coach Paul Hood said it was pleasing to see his side compete well against one of the league’s top teams.

“Darebin are a fantastic team and all their players are really well respected, so it was a chance for our girls to test themselves against some really good opposition,” Hood said.

“Conditions made it a bit of a slog, but we fought really hard and it was great to see us kick a goal in that last quarter and finish the game playing like a really strong team,” he said.

Hood said while it was pleasing to concede just two goals, the scoreboard was almost irrelevant in the end given the conditions.

“It was just about how hard we competed and our ability to think our way through the game and I thought we did that really well.

“We’ve been able to get some real synergy from our midfield in the last four or five weeks, it was difficult to cope with the loss of Erin Hoare early in the game because she’s obviously made it very predictable being so dominant in the ruck.

Hood praised Klingbiel for her first performance in the hoops after being added to the squad earlier this month.

“Millie is the youngest member of our squad so all the girls were really keen to support her and make sure she had a great day.

It was a bit of a fairy tale for her in the end; to be the one that kicked the only goal, it was terrific.

The Cats take on Box Hill Hawks next Saturday 11.45am at Box Hill City Oval and Hood said his side would focus on its attack throughout the week.

“We’ll work on making sure we use our free players and trying to attack effectively.

“Our defensive game’s coming along really solidly, we’ve got a lot of faith we’ll do that right. Now it’s about trying to use the ball in a way that allows us to attack and defend behind it.”

VFL Women's: Round 10

Geelong Cats 1.1 (7) defeated by Darebin Falcons 2.8 (20)

Goals: Klingbiel

Best: Mangan, Blakeway, Garing, Woodroffe, Trevean, Boyd

Injuries: Nil

Reports: Nil

@ Ikon Park, Carlton