Geelong showed great spirit but struggled to impact the scoreboard as it went down to Casey Demons by 43 points at Casey Fields on Saturday.

The Cats were up for the contest from the first bounce, bringing great pressure, but the Demons' class saw them make better use of their forward entries, winning 8.4 (52) to 1.3 (9).

In what was perfect conditions for footy at Casey Fields, both teams were evenly matched in the opening quarter, with the high pressure yielding just two scoring shots apiece.

The Demons broke away in the second term, opening up a five-goal lead as the weight of their forward pressure broke through the Cats' strong defence.

The Cats lifted again after the main break and looked to have reined the Demons in with one goal apiece until late in the third quarter - Tamara Smith got the breakthrough to get the Cats back within 25 points - but a goal after the siren saw the home team extend its lead to 36 points heading into the final term.

But the visitors never dropped their heads, and brought the challenge again in the final term, but were unable to add to their tally as Casey kicked the only goal of the term.

There were good signs for the Cats, though, with solid contributions from their five debutants, while Laura Gardiner continued to win plenty of the footy and Maddie Boyd's efforts stepping into the ruck role this week were commendable.

From the Coach - Andrew Bruce

"I was really pleased with their (the Geelong players') efforts for four quarters and I said to them I was proud of their efforts - at no time did they drop off. Casey are just a very good side that used the football better - that's probably the long and the short of it.

"Casey got probably four or five goals from within 15m of goal, which was a little bit disappointing. Our backs had defended really well for a period of time, but the weight of numbers got them a little bit. That happens in footy sometimes, but we spoke about that, about the things we need to get better at. We definitely know where we sit and what we need to get better at, so we keep trying to do that.

"We look at our stats, we had double their marks, we were even with them on possessions, had more tackles than them, more inside 50s, but we just need to get cleaner with the football, and we just need to do that quickly. That will put us in a position where we can go up against these types of sides and have a better result."

Key Points

Gardiner Going Strong
Another week, another huge day on the stats sheet for Laura Gardiner. The AFLW-listed onballer was again in the thick of the action, picking up an outstanding 39 disposals - 15 more than anyone else on the ground.

The 19-year-old also had a double-digit day with clearances (10), laid three tackles and had four inside 50s.

It was Gardiner's fourth-consecutive week of 30-plus disposals - perhaps not so surprising for those who have followed her career through from the NAB League, where she holds the record of most disposals in a match (38 - a feat equalled this year by Zara Hamilton and Charlotte Baskaran).

Debuts Galore
The Cats unveiled five debutants against the Demons on Saturday, with St Mary's player Rosie Cox brought in for her first VFLW game, alongside four Geelong Falcons players in Analea McKee, Keeley Hardingham, Mia Van Dyke and Kara Stacey.

Stacey was originally named as an emergency, but was a late inclusion for Ava McKeegan.

Rosie Cox had trained with the VFLW Cats through the pre-season, but an injury during an intraclub match delayed her start in the state league.

Hardingham spent time in the ruck and up forward, Stacey had a great second half as a small forward, and McKee started strongly in defence and pushed up onto the wing later in the game.

Van Dyke showed good confidence in her first game, with good run and carry and taking several bounces - much to the joy of her coaches - and was fantastic in the second half.

Maddie's Miles
With Rene Caris unavailable for Saturday's clash, Maddie Boyd stepped up as number-one ruck for the clash. The key position player's work rate was tireless as she clocked the furtherest distance covered in the match of any Cat on Saturday.

Boyd finished with 22 disposals, 12 hitouts, a team-high nine marks, and three clearances.

Still in the six
While the Cats will need to bag as many victories as possible in the final five weeks of the season to cement their spot in the top six, they were still clear of the chasing pack on Saturday night, with two games still to be played on Sunday.

The winner of the Darebin-Southern Saints clash will overtake them on the ladder, but the Cats will still finish the round in 5th spot, and are two games clear of seventh-placed Collingwood after the Pies lost to Essendon on Saturday.

VFLW Round 9

CASEY DEMONS   1.1   5.3   7.4   8.4 (52)
GEELONG              0.2   0.2   1.3   1.3 (9)

GOALS
Casey Demons: Caitlin Conroy 2, Tahlia Fellows 2, Melanie Hogg 2, Shree Fairchild, Jennifer Macdonald
Geelong: Tamara Smith

BEST
Casey Demons: Lucy Wales, Caitlin Conroy, Emma Horne, Tahlia Fellows
Geelong: Laura Gardiner, Maddie Boyd, Paige Sheppard, Breanna Beckley

At Casey Fields, Saturday, 23 April 2022.