After steady improvement over the first three weeks of the season, the Cats will be striving to notch up their first win for the 2021 NAB AFL Women’s season when they take on St Kilda this Friday night.

The Cats have been well in the contest at three-quarter-time over the past fortnight, but will need to carry that competitiveness deep into the fourth quarter as they look to get the four points against the Saints at RSEA Park.

The Details
St Kilda v Geelong
Friday, 19 February at 7.10pm AEDT
RSEA Park, Moorabbin

Public attendance at the match is subject to Victorian Government guidelines. Keep an eye on @catswomens and @aflwomens on Twitter for updates later in the week.

Last Time They Met

… They haven’t yet.

Friday night’s clash marks the first time the Cats and Saints will meet in the AFLW. The Saints were one of four teams to join the competition in 2020 – alongside Gold Coast, West Coast and Richmond – and even before the season was cut short due to COVID-19, they weren’t due to face each other in St Kilda’s inaugural season.

Cats to Keep Your Eye On

Amy McDonald’s breakout season continued against the Western Bulldogs in Round 3. The 23-year-old picked up 23 disposals and eight clearances, and laid six tackles as she put in a best afield performance for the Cats. She is averaging 18.3 disposals and 5.3 tackles a match in 2021.

Captain Meg McDonald has been determination personified in defence for the Cats, and put in another whole-hearted performance against her former team, the Western Bulldogs. If the ball is heading towards her opponent, you can be sure McDonald will be going all-in as she attempts an intercept or spoil. She finished with 16 disposals and three marks against the Bulldogs.

The Key Points

1) The final quarter: against the Magpies a fortnight ago, there were just 10 points in it at three-quarter-time. Against the Bulldogs last Friday, there was just one point separating the sides. The Cats have been a lot closer than the scoreboard would suggest in the past couple of weeks, but need to find a way to stay in the thick of it in the final 15 minutes.

2) Efficiency inside 50: The Cats have come up against some strong defences in their opening three rounds and will be hoping to take the lessons learned from that into their clash with the Saints. Around the ground against the Bulldogs, Geelong’s disposal efficiency was 68.3 per cent (up from a season average of 65.4), however once the ball entered the forward arc, disposal efficiency dropped to 21.7 per cent. By contrast, the Bulldogs were going at 39.3 per cent efficiency inside 50.

3) Pressure paramount: The Cats’ pressure and intensity has been brilliant. Whether it be smothers, tackles or spoils, the Cats have come out with a clear intent to do all the right things when the opposition has the ball. They will need to emulate their efforts against the Saints this week to give themselves a strong footing in the game.

How to Watch

There are plenty of ways you can follow the action on Friday night!

It will be shown on subscription TV through Fox Footy, can be streamed on Kayo with a subscription, and will also be streamed on womens.afl and the official AFLW App.

Follow the @catswomens on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the game.