The VFLW Cats suffered their sixth loss of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling to Essendon by 40 points at Deakin University.
Geelong brought immense pressure throughout the match, eventually finding success and outscoring the Bombers in the final term, but Essendon’s consistency created too big a margin for the Cats to overcome.
Hayley Peck put together a standout performance in today’s match, dominating in her ruck role with a game high 33 hit-outs along with four clearances and 19 disposals, helping to keep the ball in Geelong’s attacking end.
Cats captain, Mel Staunton (17 disposals, seven tackles, four inside 50’s) displayed strong leadership and composure in the midfield, as did Zoe Cowan (11 disposals, eight tackles, 4 interceptions) who proved instrumental in Geelong’s second half success.
Geelong started strongly and fought hard with some early pressure in the opening quarter, but Essendon gained momentum and kicked three unanswered goals to leave the Cats 18 points behind.
Elise Cook and Mel Staunton were defensively sound in the back half, managing to open up avenues for Geelong to surge ahead but forward entries were hard to come by, leaving the Cats trailing heading into the second term.
Geelong continued to stifle the Bombers attacks by creating stoppages, leading the tackle count (+14) as they sought to trim the margin, but another two majors for Essendon saw the Cats trailing by 31 points at the main break.
Hayley Peck dominated around stoppages reaching 13 hit-outs and two clearances by half time, giving Geelong more opportunities to breach the centre line and put the Bombers on the back foot.
The Cats took some momentum back from the Bombers in the third quarter, Selsia White kicked Geelong's first goal of the match to give the squad a boost that carried throughout the quarter.
Geelong showed plenty of composure in the second half, with Lily Jordan and Chloe Bryant holding possession and creating greater chances, but a few quick goals on the counter-attack from Essendon pushed their lead to 42 points at the final break.
The Cats applied immense pressure in the fourth quarter, building on their hard work and managing to outscore the opposition with two goals from Jemima Woods and Poppy Schaap, trimming the deficit back to 40 points at the final siren.
Zoe Cowan and Abby Favell assisted in bringing the ball forward from the midfield, finishing with three inside 50’s and two score involvements each at the end of the match.
2025 VFLW Season – Round 6
GEELONG 0.1 0.3 1.5 3.6 (24)
ESSENDON 3.1 5.4 8.5 9.10 (64)
GOALS
Geelong: Woods, White, Schaap 1
Essendon: Davidge 3, Bernadi 2, Melnikas, McDonald, Jordan, Johnston 1
DISPOSALS
Geelong: Peck 19, Cook, 18, Staunton 17, Woods 15, Jordan, Bryant 14, Favell 12
Essendon: Ford 22, Prince 20, McDonald, Chaston 17, Richardson, Melnikas, Ford 15
@ Deakin University, Geelong - Wadawurrung
