Geelong Cats to get taste of AFLW intensity in hitout against Carlton

GEELONG AFLW forward Phoebe McWilliams says this week’s practice match against Carlton will provide her team’s new players with the perfect exposure to top league intensity.

Phoebe McWilliams and Joel Selwood.

GEELONG AFLW forward Phoebe McWilliams says this week’s practice match against Carlton will provide her team’s new players with the perfect opportunity to experience the intensity they will be confronted with in their season-opener against Collingwood on February 2.

McWilliams, who played 14 games with the GWS Giants and was leading goal kicker in 2017 and 2018 before making the switch to the Cats, is one of several players on Geelong’s list with AFLW experience.

But the 33-year-old said the chance for some of the side’s younger players to have a hit out against a rival club would give them a great insight into what to expect during the season.

“I think it’s a really good opportunity for us to put what we have been training for the past few months into actual games and see how well we are working together as a group,” McWilliams said.

“Hopefully we can execute the game plan and move the ball the way we want, but it is a good opportunity to get a hit out in and getting used to playing at that high level intensity.

“There is always a difference from training to games, so getting a proper hit out with proper tackling will help get the competitive juices flowing.”

Geelong’s AFLW team plays Collingwood in less than three weeks, in a match the club is hoping will attract more than 20,000 people through the gates of GMHBA Stadium.

But McWilliams said while preparations for the home-and-away season were on track, she didn’t expect to have a detailed look at the Magpies until closer to game day.

“I don’t think we will look at that until the week leading up to the game,” she said.

“At the moment we are just focusing on what we can do and what we can control. It will be my first game with Hoody as coach but from previous clubs I’ve been at we focus on teams closer to the game.

“We have played against Collingwood in the VFL and there is a lot of similarity between the squads so we should have quite a bit of knowledge on their team anyway.”

Originally published as Geelong Cats to get taste of AFLW intensity in hitout against Carlton