Nina Morrison, Dan Lowther open up on Geelong’s round 7 AFLW loss to Hawthorn
Geelong overlooked captain Meghan McDonald for a fourth week in their loss to Hawthorn, as deputies Nina Morrison and Amy McDonald continue to step up to fill game-day duties.
Geelong vice-captain Nina Morrison admits it isn’t ideal having skipper Meghan McDonald out of the side, but backed the Cats’ collective leadership ahead of crunch games against Carlton and GWS Giants.
McDonald was left out of the Cats’ side for a fourth straight game during Thursday night’s seven-point loss to Hawthorn, with the Cats now 3-4 leading into back-to-back home games against Carlton and GWS Giants.
With their skipper currently on the outer, also failing to feature in the emergencies, it’s seen Morrison and fellow vice Amy McDonald rotate game-day captaincy duties, with the latter taking the lead against the Hawks.
“Obviously, it’s not ideal not having Meg out there, but I think we’ve always sort of prided ourselves on having a really shared sort of collective leadership model,” Morrison said.
“Ames and I have just sort of been sharing that official duty, rotating through.
“But not too much changes in terms of the way I’m sort of approaching game day and just trying to lead by action as I usually would.
“Meg’s the ultimate professional and she’s still contributing a lot to our side in an off-field way, and still hoping to drive the standard at training and make sure we’re on track as a group.
“There’s still that leadership there from her, absolutely.”
With little separating the Cats and a mid-table log-jam after seven rounds, Morrison pointed to missed opportunity inside 50 and consistency in their contest work as two areas exposed in defeat to the Hawks.
“They’re (Hawthorn) a great midfield and got a bit of speed on the outside too,” Morrison said.
“You can sort of tell the difference between when you’re able to win contested ball and when you sort of give them outs on the shape and release, so probably just being able to tidy that up at times and make sure we’re not all sort of collapsing into contest.
“I feel like when we trust the ball winner and then shape off pretty well, then we get good looks, but if we collapse in a bit, then we sort of expose ourselves, so just getting that balance right.”
Hawks fly home to pip Cats
Geelong AFLW coach Dan Lowther conceded his side was outworked in their second half against Hawthorn on Thursday night, as missed opportunities up forward reared its head again for the Cats.
Lowther’s side is yet to win at home in their three attempts this season, their latest a seven-point defeat to the Hawks to fall to a 3-4 record as upcoming home games against Carlton and GWS Giants loom as crunch matches in the context of the Cats’ season.
“We just want to keep getting better, don’t we? So we’ll learn a lot from (Thursday’s) game,” Lowther said.
“Carlton obviously in a really good vein of form with their season too, so I’m expecting another close, exciting game.
“We just have to keep giving ourselves the best look upfront … scoreboard pressure counts for a lot so we’ll clean up some of our contest work and get our forwards up and firing.”
The Cats had led by four points at three quarter time against the Hawks off the back of better efficiency inside 50, though the Hawks soon turned the tide through greater inside 50 opportunities (+12 for the game) and better looks on goal late in the game.
“They (Hawthorn) played a super second half, their third quarter was really good,” Lowther said.
“I thought their contest and spread to outnumber in between the arc in particular was really dynamic and we just couldn’t quite catch them on the hop unfortunately in that second half.
“We tried hard, they did a great job with their spread but they got some good looks off the back of it in their front 50, took a few marks and kicked accurately again.
“We’re probably leaving a few (goals) out of the ground for us, where it was a close, hard game and scoreboard pressure counts for a lot.
“They took their moment when they had that chance and we didn’t at times.
“But they worked harder than us in that last half.”
In a battle of two star-studded midfields, it appeared the Cats’ trio in Georgie Prespakis, Amy McDonald and Nina Morrison had an edge in the first half, but it was the emergence of Jasmine Fleming in the second half in support of Emily Bates and Eliza West which saw the Hawks dominate the clearance and inside 50 game, while ruck Lucy Wales (27 disposals, 16 hit-outs, seven tackles, five marks, five clearances and 354 metres gained) dominated around the ground for the visitors.
“I thought their CB (centre bounce) work was super, Wales was dynamic around stoppage,” Lowther said.
“I think had 30 possessions as well, so getting around the ground and having an influence and we just couldn’t quite stop that.”
The Cats got caught out at times during some frantic periods of play in their front half, with Lowther pointing to natural ebbs and flows of the game as an area the Cats are still trying to master.
“There was times where we went faster than we probably shouldn’t have, and there were times where we controlled them really well and had good looks upfront,” he said.
The Cats had two injury scares in-game, Claudia Gunjaca (throat) and Kate Darby (ankle) coming off after clashes, though both returned to play out the game.
Meanwhile, Emma Kilpatrick – who missed Thursday night through concussion protocols — could be available next round, while Lowther didn’t confirm on timeline for Julia Crockett — Grills’ hamstring injury, but said she completed running drills on Thursday and would benefit from the Cats’ 10-day turnaround into a round 8 clash against Carlton next Sunday.
Moloney, Cats’ AFLW keen to kick grand final week off in winning style
Geelong forward Aishling Moloney says the Cats’ AFLW team will aim to get the club off to a winning start to AFL Grand Final week.
Speaking alongside fellow Cats forward Jeremy Cameron ahead of a Thursday night AFLW blockbuster and Saturday’s AFL grand final, the Irish star hoped to build on momentum generated from three wins on the trot against the 5-1 Hawthorn.
The two sides played out an all-time classic at GMHBA Stadium last year, the Hawks triumphant by 18 points, with Moloney – who kicked three in that game – expecting another tough battle for the Cats, before getting behind their AFL men’s side in Saturday’s grand final against Brisbane.
“Coming from home, you know All-Ireland final week is a big week for us, so to experience a (AFL) grand final week, it’s just absolutely amazing,” Moloney said of the week.
“I’m delighted to eventually get to see it and feel it and visualise it.”
Standing alongside Cameron on Wednesday, it’s not hard to draw comparisons between the way the two forwards play the game.
The club’s leading goalkickers across AFLW and AFL, both kicked three goals in their last outing against the Hawks, with Jezza-like traits evident in the way Moloney plays similarly as a roaming key forward who can execute ridiculous goals.
Asked whether she took any tips from Cameron’s game, Moloney believed he was a good forward for any forward to look up to.
“I watch Jezza quite a bit, even his demeanour, the way he carries himself,” Moloney said.
“We can all get that from him today.
“Sometimes I sit in training and I watch him kick one from the boundary and just wonder, like, how is he even doing that?
“He’s just such a wizard.
“I really try to bring a bit of atmosphere … like Jezza does.
“Some days that works, and some days it doesn’t, Jezza is a bit more continuous with that.”
Making this week even more special for Moloney will be watching fellow Irish footballers Mark O’Connor and Oisin Mullin run out in an AFL grand final.
“When we’re away from home, everyone just rolls in together,” she said.
“It’s such a big weekend for the boys, and I think there’s an extra special touch in your heart, obviously, having the pair of them Irish boys playing.”
Cameron encouraged Cats fans to get to Thursday’s AFLW clash at GMHBA Stadium – with two-for-one priced tickets and AFL grand final tickets up for grabs for a lucky fan.
“They’re playing some really good football the last three weeks, and getting a big crowd along to support the women’s team is going to be awesome,” Cameron said.
“Having the day off the next day for the (grand final) parade, is even more reason to come along and watch tomorrow night.”
Lowther backs Cats’ winning brand of footy after contentious call
Geelong coach Dan Lowther is confident the Cats’ brand of footy was good enough to beat Port Adelaide, despite the AFL acknowledging a free kick call which resulted in a match winning goal to the Cats was paid incorrectly.
The AFL conceded on Monday Port Adelaide defender Amelie Borg’s free kick against her for deliberately rushing the ball through as the Power led by a point with under eight minutes to go was paid in error.
The league’s review determined while Borg was not under immediate physical pressure when she rushed a behind, it was assessed that her action was not intentional and that the moment should have seen a behind awarded rather than a free kick.
Geelong forward Mikayla Bowen then went back to kick truly from the top of the square to secure the five-point lead, which the Cats held on to to win.
“I can understand why Port would want to question it – a lot of things happen in games that might be interpreted in different ways so to get some clarity makes sense,” Lowther said.
“The rules say you need to be under pressure and maybe that was interpreted differently.
“I think Port also acknowledged it wasn’t the only reason why they maybe didn’t come away with a win.
“We still think our brand of footy on the weekend was good enough for the win.”
The Cats’ win – their third on the trot on the road – sees the club move to 3-3 and into the top 8 heading into a Thursday night blockbuster against Hawthorn.
Six days after Geelong’s’ men accounted for the Hawks to reach the AFL grand final, the Cats’ AFLW side will hope to channel the energy of the week to do the same.
“With the club and the men’s in the grand final this week, there is just an exciting buzz around the whole place,” Lowther said.
However, the Cats will need to do so without Emma Kilpatrick (concussion), while Lowther confirmed Julia Crockett-Grills was unlikely to play with a hamstring injury given the five-day turnaround as they continue to work through the severity of her injury.
Kate Darby is available for selection after overcoming a calf injury, with the door also open for several names who have been on the outer to put their hands up for selection.
The Cats’ clash against Hawthorn last year – a 18-point win to Hawks – was billed one of the games of the season.
And while the Hawks have been less than convincing in their five wins this year – four of those under a 10-point margin – in comparison to their highly attacking style of football 12 months ago, Lowther expects to see a “dangerous” Hawks come to play, with match winners across all three lines.
“Teams have had more time to study them and analyse how they play and try and put the clamps on a few of their important players, (but) that’s the thing, you can only do it for so long,” he said.
“They’re winning games, that’s the main thing, they might not be winning with as much flair as last year … (but a) highly respected, well-coached, strong side, so we’re expecting them to come out, again like last year’s game, highly entertaining for all the right reasons, though we didn’t win.
“They can score really well, so we need to make sure we’re on our A-game.”
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