AFLW 2023: Geelong lose by a goal against Collingwood after failing to score a goal until third quarter

Geelong failed to kick a goal until the third quarter before a gallant fightback that saw them get within a kick. One of their stars sheds light on what hurt them early.

Nina Morrison says they were outmuscled in the contest.Picture: Getty Images

Geelong star Nina Morrison says the Cats were “outmuscled” at the contest in their goalless first half that cost them dearly in their narrow loss to Collingwood.

In dreary conditions at Victoria Park, including a torrential downpour in the second quarter, Collingwood booted the first four goals of the match as Geelong struggled to score.

The Cats failed to score a goal until the 15-minute mark of the third term with a stunning finish from Morrison in the pocket, before adding two majors in the final term to cut the lead to just six points with a minute to play.

The Magpies managed to hold on to claim their fourth win in a row, leapfrogging Geelong on the ladder to move into sixth spot, as the Cats remain just inside the eight on percentage

Young gun Georgie Prespakis led from the front with 25 disposals, eight clearances and eight tackles, while Amy McDonald had a whopping 14 tackles to go with 18 touches.

But the Cats were smashed 35-25 in clearances in conditions where winning it at the source was vital.

Morrison, who gave the Cats a serious spark after halftime with 13 disposals and a goal, said there were positives to take out of the close loss.

Nina Morrison bobs up with a pearler from the pocket! ⚡️

Watch live and free 📺: https://t.co/szDIOR25Au#AFLWPiesCatspic.twitter.com/YqskyEFhcr

— 7AFL (@7AFL) October 22, 2023

“I thought they probably just outmuscled us around the ball a little bit, contested possessions and that sort of thing in the first half and we were able to wrestle back the momentum in the first half but we couldn’t quite get there in the end,” Morrison said.

“(The conditions weren’t) great, it’s sort of funny like it was going alright at certain points and then in the second quarter it started bucketing down.

“It definitely made the deck pretty slippery the whole game and it’s not ideal conditions to play a game of footy in but both teams were experiencing it and they probably adjusted a bit better in the first half.

“I think we had a few moments in the first half, a few looks inside 50, we just couldn’t convert. Obviously need to do the review and watch the game back to see what else broke down but I think positives to take away from the way we were able to wrestle it back, at least partly.”

“(The goal) was a bit lucky to go through in the end, bit of a tumble torp, but you take what you can get sometimes.”

The Cats take on Richmond and Hawthorn in the final two rounds and are will need to keep winning to book a finals berth with several sides locked on the same amount of points.

Originally published as AFLW 2023: Geelong lose by a goal against Collingwood after failing to score a goal until third quarter